SB 5055 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Promoting agritourism in Washington.

SB 5055 promotes agritourism in Washington by adjusting building code requirements for agricultural structures. It specifies that agricultural buildings used for agritourism activities are not subject to standard commercial building permit requirements. This exemption applies if the building is used for agritourism for six months or less per year, provided it still meets all life and fire safety standards. This change directly affects farmers and landowners who host agritourism events on their property, potentially easing regulatory burdens for these activities.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Jan 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from Senate Bill 5055 to Substitute Senate Bill 5055 and its sponsor list was updated to reflect committee referral. The most significant change is the removal of provisions amending RCW 36.70A.177 regarding zoning techniques and the addition of a new section to RCW 19.27 that clarifies building code exemptions for agritourism structures. This streamlines the bill to focus exclusively on building safety standards for agritourism venues rather than broader zoning and land use regulations.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from covering zoning techniques, land use, and tax categories to focusing solely on building code exemptions for agritourism activities.

SCOPE

Removed all text related to amending RCW 36.70A.177, which previously allowed counties to use specific zoning techniques like cluster zoning and sliding scale zoning to protect agricultural land.

REQUIREMENT

Deleted a standalone section that previously required agritourism venues to obtain a specific beer and wine license and outlined rules for off-premises sales.

Added a new section to RCW 19.27 clarifying that agricultural buildings used for agritourism are exempt from commercial building permit standards, provided the venue operates for six months or less per year and meets life and fire safety requirements.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill header to reflect it is a 'Substitute Bill' and revised the sponsor list to include the Senate Local Government committee.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2025

How they voted

50–1

Passed

Total votes 51

Mar 4, 2025

D Democratic31

30 Yea 1 Nay

96% Yea

R Republican20

20 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Local Government at 8:00 AM.

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (50-1)

senate

Feb 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Local Government at 1:30 PM.

upper

Jan 16, 2025

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Government at 1:30 PM.

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors