AN ACT Relating to tax incentives; amending RCW 84.25.030, 82.60.049, 82.04.294, 82.60.020, and 82.60.120; adding a new section to chapter 82.60 RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and providing expiration dates.

(2) "Family living wage job" means a job that offers health care benefits with a wage that is sufficient for raising a family. A family living wage job must have an average wage of $23 an hour or more, working 2,080 hours per year on the subject site, as adjusted annually for inflation by the consumer price index. The family living wage may be increased by the local authority based on regional factors and wage conditions.

(3) "Governing authority" means the local legislative authority of a city or county having jurisdiction over the property for which an exemption may be applied for under this chapter.

(5) "Industrial/manufacturing facilities" means building improvements that are 10,000 square feet or larger, representing a minimum improvement valuation of $800,000 for uses categorized as "division D: manufacturing" or "division E: transportation (major groups 40-42, 45, or 47-48)" by the United States department of labor in the occupation safety and health administration's standard industrial classification manual, provided, a city may limit the tax exemption to manufacturing uses.

(6) "Lands zoned for industrial and manufacturing uses" means lands in a city zoned ((as of December 31, 2014,)) for an industrial or manufacturing use consistent with the city's comprehensive plan where the lands are designated for industry.

(8) "Targeted area" means an area of undeveloped lands zoned for industrial and manufacturing uses in the city that is located within or contiguous to an innovation partnership zone, foreign trade zone, or EB-5 regional center, and designated for possible exemption under the provisions of this chapter.

(9) "Undeveloped or underutilized" means that there are no existing building improvements on the portions of the property targeted for new or expanded industrial or manufacturing uses.

(2) In addition to the provisions of ((RCW 82.60.040))section 6 of this act, the department shall issue a sales and use tax deferral certificate for state and local sales and use taxes due under chapters 82.08, 82.12, and 82.14 RCW, on each eligible investment project that is located in an eligible area, if the applicant establishes that at the time the project is operationally complete:

(a) The applicant will hire at least one qualified employment position for each seven hundred fifty thousand dollars of investment for which a deferral is requested; and

(b) The positions will be filled by persons who at the time of hire are residents of the community empowerment zone. As used in this subsection, "resident" means the person makes his or her home in the community empowerment zone or the county in which the zone is located. A mailing address alone is insufficient to establish that a person is a resident for the purposes of this section. The persons must be hired after the date the application is filed with the department.

(4) The qualified employment position must be filled by the end of the calendar year following the year in which the project is certified as operationally complete. If a person does not meet the requirements for qualified employment positions by the end of the second calendar year following the year in which the project is certified as operationally complete, all deferred taxes are immediately due.

(1) Upon every person engaging within this state in the business of manufacturing solar energy systems using photovoltaic modules or stirling converters, or of manufacturing solar grade silicon, silicon solar wafers, silicon solar cells, thin film solar devices, or compound semiconductor solar wafers to be used exclusively in components of such systems; as to such persons the amount of tax with respect to such business is, in the case of manufacturers, equal to the value of the product manufactured, or in the case of processors for hire, equal to the gross income of the business, multiplied by the rate of 0.275 percent.

(2) Upon every person engaging within this state in the business of making sales at wholesale of solar energy systems using photovoltaic modules or stirling converters, or of solar grade silicon, silicon solar wafers, silicon solar cells, thin film solar devices, or compound semiconductor solar wafers to be used exclusively in components of such systems, manufactured by that person; as to such persons the amount of tax with respect to such business is equal to the gross proceeds of sales of the solar energy systems using photovoltaic modules or stirling converters, or of the solar grade silicon to be used exclusively in components of such systems, multiplied by the rate of 0.275 percent.

(3) Silicon solar wafers, silicon solar cells, thin film solar devices, solar grade silicon, or compound semiconductor solar wafers are "semiconductor materials" for the purposes of RCW 82.08.9651 and 82.12.9651.

(a) "Compound semiconductor solar wafers" means a semiconductor solar wafer composed of elements from two or more different groups of the periodic table.

(b) "Module" means the smallest nondivisible self-contained physical structure housing interconnected photovoltaic cells and providing a single direct current electrical output.

(f) "Solar energy system" means any device or combination of devices or elements that rely upon direct sunlight as an energy source for use in the generation of electricity.

(g) "Solar grade silicon" means high-purity silicon used exclusively in components of solar energy systems using photovoltaic modules to capture direct sunlight. "Solar grade silicon" does not include silicon used in semiconductors.

(i) "Thin film solar devices" means a nonparticipating substrate on which various semiconducting materials are deposited to produce a photovoltaic cell that is used to generate electricity.

(5) A person reporting under the tax rate provided in this section must file a complete annual tax performance report with the department under RCW 82.32.534.

(4)(a) "Eligible investment project" means an investment project that is located, as of the date the application required by ((RCW 82.60.030))section 6 of this act is received by the department, in an eligible area as defined in subsection (3) of this section.

(b) "Eligible investment project" does not include any portion of an investment project undertaken by a light and power business as defined in RCW 82.16.010(4), other than that portion of a cogeneration project that is used to generate power for consumption within the manufacturing site of which the cogeneration project is an integral part, or investment projects that have already received deferrals under this chapter.

(6) "Investment project" means an investment in qualified buildings or qualified machinery and equipment, including labor and services rendered in the planning, installation, and construction of the project.

(a) Before July 1, 2010: (i) Computer programming, the production of computer software, and other computer-related services, but only when the computer programming, production of computer software, or other computer-related services are performed by a manufacturer as defined in RCW 82.04.110 and contribute to the production of a new, different, or useful substance or article of tangible personal property for sale; (ii) the activities performed by research and development laboratories and commercial testing laboratories; and (iii) the conditioning of vegetable seeds; and

(b) Beginning July 1, 2010: (i) The activities performed by research and development laboratories and commercial testing laboratories; and (ii) the conditioning of vegetable seeds.

(9) "Qualified buildings" means construction of new structures, and expansion or renovation of existing structures for the purpose of increasing floor space or production capacity used for manufacturing or research and development activities, including plant offices and warehouses or other facilities for the storage of raw material or finished goods if such facilities are an essential or an integral part of a factory, mill, plant, or laboratory used for manufacturing or research and development. If a building is used partly for manufacturing or research and development and partly for other purposes, the applicable tax deferral must be determined by apportionment of the costs of construction under rules adopted by the department.

(10) "Qualified employment position" means a permanent full-time employee employed in the eligible investment project during the entire tax year. The term "entire tax year" means a full-time position that is filled for a period of twelve consecutive months. The term "full-time" means at least thirty-five hours a week, four hundred fifty-five hours a quarter, or one thousand eight hundred twenty hours a year.

(11) "Qualified machinery and equipment" means all new industrial and research fixtures, equipment, and support facilities that are an integral and necessary part of a manufacturing or research and development operation. "Qualified machinery and equipment" includes: Computers; software; data processing equipment; laboratory equipment; manufacturing components such as belts, pulleys, shafts, and moving parts; molds, tools, and dies; operating structures; and all equipment used to control or operate the machinery.

(12) "Qualifying county" means a county that has an unemployment rate, as determined by the employment security department, which is at least twenty percent above the state average for the three calendar years immediately preceding the year in which the list of qualifying counties is established or updated, as the case may be, as provided in RCW 82.60.120.

(14) "Research and development" means the development, refinement, testing, marketing, and commercialization of a product, service, or process before commercial sales have begun, but only when such activities are intended to ultimately result in the production of a new, different, or useful substance or article of tangible personal property for sale. As used in this subsection, "commercial sales" excludes sales of prototypes or sales for market testing if the total gross receipts from such sales of the product, service, or process do not exceed one million dollars.

The department, with the assistance of the employment security department, must establish a list of qualifying counties effective July 1, 2010. The list of qualifying counties is effective for a twenty-four month period and must be updated ((by July 1st of the year that is two calendar years after the list was established or last updated, as the case may be))every 24 months as long as applications are accepted under section 6 of this act.

(1) Application for deferral of taxes under this chapter must be made before initiation of the construction of the investment project or acquisition of equipment or machinery. The application must be made to the department in a form and manner prescribed by the department. The application must contain information regarding the location of the investment project, the applicant's average employment in the state for the prior year, estimated or actual new employment related to the project, estimated or actual wages of employees related to the project, estimated or actual costs, time schedules for completion and operation, and other information required by the department. The department must rule on the application within 60 days.

(2) The department must issue a sales and use tax deferral certificate for state and local sales and use taxes due under chapters 82.08, 82.12, and 82.14 RCW on each eligible investment project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) This section is the tax preference performance statement for the tax preference contained in section 3, chapter . . ., Laws of 2022 (section 3 of this act). This performance statement is only intended to be used for subsequent evaluation of the tax preference. It is not intended to create a private right of action by any party or be used to determine eligibility for preferential tax treatment.

(2) The legislature categorizes this tax preference as one intended to improve industry competitiveness and to create and retain jobs as indicated in RCW 82.32.808(2) (b) and (c).

(3) It is the legislature's specific public policy objective to maintain and grow jobs in the solar silicon industry. Trade disputes currently threaten employment in this sector. It is the legislature's intent to extend by five years the preferential tax rates for manufacturers and wholesalers of specific solar energy material and parts in order to maintain and grow jobs in the solar silicon industry.

(4) If a review finds that the number of people employed by the solar silicon industry in Washington is the same or more than in 2019, and that at least 60 percent of employees earn $60,000 a year or more, then the legislature intends to extend the expiration date of the tax preference.

(5) In order to obtain the data necessary to perform the review in subsection (4) of this section, the joint legislative audit and review committee may refer to the department of revenue's annual survey data.