Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research	BILL ANALYSIS
Appropriations Committee

PSHB 1926

Brief Description:  Increasing the surcharge on county auditor recording fees.

Sponsors:  Representatives Sehlin, H. Sommers, Romero and Wood; by request of Secretary of State.

Brief Summary of Proposed Substitute Bill

$Removes the sunset clause on a $1 surcharge that applies to documents filed with county auditors.

$ Replaces the $1 surcharge with a $2 surcharge beginning January 1, 2002;

$ Authorizes state and local funds used for archives and records management services to also be used for digital archive facilities and services; and

$ Creates a competitive grants program for local governments for records management and archive projects.

Hearing Date:  2/19/01

Staff:  Linda Brooks (786‑7153).

Background: 

The Secretary of State, through the Division of Archives and Records Management, provides for the preservation and storage of the official records of state agencies and local governments.

Historical records of state government are collected, preserved, and made available at the archives' main Olympia office.  Historical records of local governments are collected, preserved, and made available at five regional branch archive facilities.  The regional branch archive facilities are located in Bellevue, Bellingham, Cheney, Ellensburg, and Olympia.

State Funding

Two revenue sources fund the Secretary of State's records management and archive services for state agencies.   One revenue source is an assessment per employee that all state agencies pay to support archive activities.  The other revenue source is a box fee paid by state agencies that store boxes in the state records center.

Local Funding

Two revenue sources fund the Secretary of State's records management and archive services for local governments' records.   One revenue source is a $20 surcharge that applies to the filing of unpaid tax warrants in superior courts.   The other revenue source is a $1 surcharge that applies to each document filed with county auditors.   This $1 surcharge is scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2001.

A committee of local government officials advises the Secretary of State on the local government archives and records management program.

Digital Archives

The main archives in Olympia and the five regional branch archives are not equipped as digital archive centers.

Competitive Grants Program

The Secretary of State does not award grants on a competitive basis to local governments for records management and archive projects.

Summary of Bill: 

State Funding

No change is made to state funding.

Local Funding

The $1 surcharge on each document filed with the county auditor continues in effect through December 31, 2001.   On January 1, 2002, a permanent $2 surcharge replaces the $1 surcharge.  

Digital Archives

Funds from the $2 surcharge on each document filed with the county auditor may be used to pay for storing and accessing digital records and for constructing facilities to provide these digital records services.  Funding from the $2 surcharge is limited to paying for costs associated with providing digital records services and facilities for local governments' records.  To the extent that digital record services and facilities are utilized for state records, state funding must be used to pay for that portion of total costs.

Competitive Grants

The Secretary of State is authorized to spend up to $400,000 per biennium on a local government records management training program and a competitive grants program.  Funding for the training program and competitive grants program is to come from any surplus of revenues from the $20 tax warrant fee and the $2 surcharge fee that are used by the Secretary of State to pay for records management and archive services provided to local governments.  

The local government committee that advises the Secretary of State on the local government archives and records management program is responsible for reviewing and ranking grant applications.   Subject to the availability of funds, grants are awarded based on the prioritized ranking of applications.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Requested on February 15, 2001.

Effective Date:  The bill contains an emergency clause, and takes effect on June 30, 2001.