H-0993.1                  _______________________________________________

                                                      HOUSE BILL 1562

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Representatives Brown, Dellwo, H. Myers, Orr, Mastin and J. Kohl

Read first time 02/01/93.  Referred to Committee on Local Government.

Authorizing local governments to exceed statutory property tax limitations for the purpose of financing affordable housing for very low-income households.

          AN ACT Relating to the authority of counties, cities, and towns to exceed statutory property tax limitations for the purpose of financing affordable housing for very low-income households; adding a new section to chapter 84.52 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that:

          (1) Many very low-income residents of the state of Washington are unable to afford housing that is decent, safe, and appropriate to their living needs;

          (2) Recent federal housing legislation conditions funding for affordable housing on the availability of local matching funds;

          (3) Current statutory debt limitations may impair the ability of counties, cities, and towns to meet federal matching requirements and, as a consequence, may impair the ability of such counties, cities, and towns to develop appropriate and effective strategies to increase the availability of safe, decent, and appropriate housing that is affordable to very low-income households; and

          (4) It is in the public interest to encourage counties, cities, and towns to develop locally based affordable housing financing plans designed to expand the availability of housing that is decent, safe, affordable, and appropriate to the living needs of very low-income households of the counties, cities, and towns.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 84.52 RCW to read as follows:

          (1)(a) Notwithstanding the limitations set forth in chapter 84.55 RCW, a taxing district may impose an additional regular property tax levy in excess of the limit established by RCW 84.52.043 up to an amount that does not exceed fifty cents per one thousand dollars of assessed value of property in the taxing district in each year for up to ten consecutive years when specifically authorized to do so by a majority of the voters of the taxing district voting on the proposition approving a proposition authorizing the levies submitted at a general or special election.  The ballot proposition must conform with RCW 84.52.054.

          (b) If exercise of the authority conferred under this section will result in the aggregate of all taxes levied upon real property in the taxing district exceeding one percent of the assessed value of the property, the levy authority granted under this section requires an affirmative vote by a majority of three-fifths of the voters of the taxing district voting on the proposition to levy in a general or special election in which the number of voters voting on the proposition to levy exceeds forty percent of the total votes cast in the taxing district at the preceding general election.

          (2) The levy authority granted under this section may not be exercised by the local taxing district until:

          (a) The governing body of the local taxing district declares the existence of an emergency with respect to the housing that is affordable to very low-income households in the taxing district; and

          (b) The governing body of the local taxing district adopts an affordable housing financing plan to serve as the plan for expenditure of funds raised by a levy authorized under this section, and that the governing body determines that the affordable housing financing plan is consistent with either the locally adopted or state adopted comprehensive housing affordability strategy, required under the Cranston-Gonzalez national affordable housing act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12701, et seq.), as amended.

          (3) The following definitions apply throughout this section.

          (a) "Taxing district" means a county, city, or town.

          (b) "Very low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose income is at or below fifty percent of the median income, as determined by the United States department of housing and urban development, with adjustments for household size, for the county where the taxing district is located.

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