State Affairs Work Continues to Focus on WUI and Build Clean

AWC’s state government affairs work carried the momentum from the 2023 legislative sessions as a number of states wrapped up 2-year cycles with monumental pushes to pass policy. Staff engaged in 15 states across the country, sending 25 comment letters on various pieces of legislation, budget- funded studies, and code proposals. Additionally, AWC sent letters of support for two embodied carbon policies in Los Angeles and Boston and engaged in conversations with local government in New York City on the same topic.

Some highlights of our state-level advocacy work in 2024 include:

 

C A L I F O R N I A

AWC successfully advocated for an amendment to a bill in California that could have limited wood use. AB 2416 was originally designed to require the Department of Insurance to evaluate if additional provisions should be included in the Safer from Wildfires regulations, specifically through the installation or use of noncombustible construction material on the State Fire Marshal Building Materials Listing. AWC’s proactive approach led to a meeting with the Assembly member’s office to educate staff on WUI codes and to form a coalition to push back against the focus on noncombustible materials. The bill’s amendment ensured that AB2416 would not circumvent Chapter 7A of the California Building Standards Code. The bill is profiled for the 2025-2026 legislative session and continues to include our added language in the amendment. AWC staff continues to monitor and work with Assembly members in California to make sure the bill does not reintroduce provisions to limit material choice.

 

M A S S A C H U S E T T S

AWC engaged thoroughly in the 2024 session to successfully prevent the passage of bills that would have restricted light frame wood construction and circumvented the state’s building codes (SB 1523/HB 2321). AWC also proactively educated lawmakers on the importance of comprehensive embodied carbon reduction policies. As a result of a climate bill passing, AWC will be engaged in further embodied carbon conversations in 2025 as the newly established Intergovernmental Coordinating Council on Embodied Carbon evaluates how the state can reduce its emissions. We will continue advocacy for multi- compliance approaches and the inclusion of Whole Building Life Cycle Assessments (WBLCA) to recognize the greatest reductions in emissions.

 

W A S H I N G T O N

AWC’s engagement in Washington state during 2024 provided the foundation for our efforts to support embodied carbon legislation in the 2025 session. During the short session, AWC staff and our partners worked to improve language in the state’s Buy Clean and Buy Fair bill, while developing a broad coalition to support a multi-compliance approach and the inclusion of WBLCA in the 2025 session. In addition to direct legislative engagement, AWC’s state affairs staff has provided comments on an embodied carbon study funded by the state’s supplemental budget and engaged in numerous building code conversations on a separate embodied carbon proposal. These conversations are ongoing. AWC will stay engaged in all embodied carbon policy initiatives in the state and in larger discussions regarding the forest products industry through participation in the Forest Products Roundtable.