H-4302 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1654
_______________________________________________
C 050 L 86
State of Washington 49th Legislature 1986 Regular Session
By House Committee on Local Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Haugen and May)
Read first time 1/31/86 and passed to Committee on Rules.
AN ACT Relating to local government debt computation; amending RCW 39.36.030; and adding a new section to chapter 39.36 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. Section 2, chapter 143, Laws of 1917 as amended by section 1, chapter 123, Laws of 1921 and RCW 39.36.030 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Whenever it shall be necessary to compute the indebtedness of a taxing district for bonding or any other indebtedness purposes, taxes levied for the current year and cash on hand received for the purpose of carrying on the business of such taxing district for such current year shall be considered as an asset only as against indebtedness incurred during such current year which is payable from such taxes or cash on hand: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That all taxes levied for the payment of bonds, warrants or other public debts of such taxing district, shall be deemed a competent and sufficient asset of the taxing district to be considered in calculating the constitutional debt limit or the debt limit prescribed by this chapter for any taxing district: PROVIDED, That the provisions of this section shall not apply in computing the debt limit of a taxing district in connection with bonds authorized pursuant to a vote of the electors at an election called prior to March 1, 1917.
(2) If reductions in assessed valuation of property within a taxing district result in the outstanding indebtedness of the taxing district exceeding its statutory indebtedness limitations, the amount of such excess indebtedness shall not be included in the statutory indebtedness ceiling. Additional indebtedness that is subject to indebtedness limitations, other than refinancing indebtedness that does not increase the total amount of indebtedness, may not be issued by such a taxing district until its total outstanding indebtedness, including that which this subsection removes from the statutory indebtedness limitations, is below these limitations.
(3) Nothing in this section authorizes taxing districts to incur indebtedness beyond constitutional indebtedness limitations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 39.36 RCW to read as follows:
Prior to December 1, 1986, the house local government committee and the senate committee on governmental operations shall undertake a joint study of local government debt limitations. Such study shall include an analysis of the degree which taxing districts have utilized existing voter and nonvoter approved debt issuance authority, the degree to which increased debt authority is necessary to accommodate substitution of state and federal loan programs for former grant-in-aid programs, and the degree to which issuance of debt may provide for a greater long-run efficient utilization of resources to meet prospective capital needs.