Posted on 03/19/2026 4:41:10 PM PDT by lowbridge
The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners passed an ordinance requiring home sellers to conduct Home Energy Score assessments when listing a house for sale.
The decision makes the county the first in the nation to mandate such a program, said Ashley Arai, Director of the county’s Community Planning and Economic Development Department.
The board voted 4-0-1 to pass the ordinance on Tuesday, March 17, with Commissioner Wayne Fournier abstaining due to concerns about the county's legal authority to implement the program.
A Home Energy Score is a U.S. Department of Energy standardized rating system that evaluates a home's energy efficiency.
The ordinance requires home sellers to hire a private assessor to perform a Home Energy Score assessment, which would take a few hours and cost between $150 and $350.
Arai said the ordinance doesn't require homeowners to make efficiency improvements to their homes before selling. She added that low-income households are exempt from the program and could benefit from subsidized assessments if funding is available.
The program is scheduled to take effect in about a year in order to allow for community education and workforce development efforts to train more inspectors.
(Excerpt) Read more at thejoltnews.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Doctor Zhivago: He had no right whatever to get me at work.
Local delegate: As Soviet deputy, I have the right to...
Zhivago: That gives you the power, not the right.
The state of Washington is becoming very Soviet.
100%
That’s just great. I live in Thurston County. And we thought we were immune to the craziness known as King County and Seattle. Double ugh.
BUTT THE H OUT
For those of you outside of Washington, Thurston County is where the state capital Olympia is. Thurston County/Olympia also is home to one of the most liberal colleges on the west coast. THE Evergreen State College.
Not - y e t
If they could, they would implement the carbon allotment system
Carbon, in the woke envirowacko world, is code for using hydrocarbons.
If they could, they would establish daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and yes, lifetime carbon allotments. If you exceed your daily or weekly allotment, you can "borrow" from your yearly and lifetime allotment. Eventually, if you exceed your lifetime allotment...... Oh well, time to make room for those who use less. .
Yes, this is my birth county but my family would slide due to a low income exclusion. However, the low income should not be an excuse to waste energy.
My family burned oil to heat the house. Later we moved to a home with a coal furnace. This seems to me to be a gimmick to employ inspectors. Cool, I am a board certificatied safety professional, maybe this will help similar to smog check stations.
From the article:
“The ordinance requires home sellers to hire a private assessor to perform a Home Energy Score assessment, which would take a few hours and cost between $150 and $350.”
And coincidentally the mayors brother in law happens to be a certified Home Energy Score assessor.
Boy, am I glad I didn’t get that job with Thurston County!!
And how many inspection companies are kicking back to the politicians that voted for it?
Just another scam like the radon crap.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.