AN ACT Relating to watercraft; amending RCW 82.49.010, 82.49.030, and 88.02.030; adding new sections to chapter 82.49 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 88.02 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 82.49.040, 82.49.050, 82.49.060, and 82.49.070; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1. Section 9, chapter 7, Laws of 1983 as amended by section 42, chapter 3, Laws of 1983 2nd ex. sess. and RCW 82.49.010 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An excise tax is imposed for the privilege of using a vessel upon the waters of this state, except vessels exempt under RCW 82.49.020. The annual amount of the excise tax ((~~is one-half of one percent of fair market value, as determined under this chapter, or five dollars, whichever is greater.~~)) shall be as follows:

(a) For vessels sixteen feet or more in length but less than twenty feet, one dollar and fifty cents per foot;

(b) For vessels twenty feet or more in length but less than twenty-six feet, one dollar and eighty-five cents per foot;

(d) For vessels thirty-two feet or more in length but less than thirty-eight feet, two dollars and sixty-five cents per foot; and

(e) For vessels thirty-eight feet or more in length, three dollars per foot.

Length is determined by means of a straight line measurement of the overall length from the foremost point of the vessel to the aftermost part of the vessel, measured parallel to the centerline. Bow sprits, bumpkins or boomkins, rudders, outboard motor brackets, and similar fittings or attachments are not included in the measurement.

(2) The excise tax upon a vessel registered for the first time in this state shall be imposed for a twelve-month period, including the month in which the vessel is registered, unless the director of licensing extends or diminishes vessel registration periods for the purpose of staggered renewal periods under RCW 88.02.050. A vessel is registered for the first time in this state when the vessel was not registered in this state for the immediately preceding registration year, or when the vessel was registered in another jurisdiction for the immediately preceding year. ((~~The excise tax on vessels required to be registered in this state on June 30, 1983, shall be paid by June 30, 1983.~~))

Sec. 2. Section 10, chapter 7, Laws of 1983 and RCW 82.49.030 are each amended to read as follows:

The excise tax imposed under this chapter is due and payable to the department of licensing or its agents at the time of registration of a vessel. The department of licensing shall not issue or renew a registration for a vessel until the tax is paid in full.

The excise tax collected under this chapter shall be deposited in the ((~~general fund~~)) marine recreation and safety account under section 4 of this 1986 act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 82.49 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Any vessel which is not less than twenty-five years old and whose hull is substantially unmodified shall be considered to be a classic vessel for the purposes of this chapter.

(2) Owners of classic vessels as described in subsection (1) of this section may, as an alternative to paying the vessel excise tax imposed in RCW 82.49.010, have the vessel appraised by the county assessor of the county in which the vessel is moored or stored. The appraised value of the vessel shall be reported to the department on a form prescribed by the department and the excise tax due and payable each year shall be paid at the rate of one-half of one percent of the appraised value of the vessel as certified by the county assessor.

(3) The fee for the appraisal shall be twenty-five dollars, payable to the county treasurer for deposit in the county current expense fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 88.02 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The marine recreation and safety account is hereby established in the state treasury. The proceeds from the watercraft excise tax under chapter 82.49 RCW and license and title fees paid by vessel owners and dealers under this chapter shall be deposited into the account.

(2) Expenditures from the account shall be authorized by legislative appropriation and shall include but not be limited to:

(a) Distribution under section 5 of this act;

(b) Administrative costs of vessel registration, dealer registration and regulation, and issuance of vessel titles pursuant to this chapter;

(c) Maintenance and operations costs of marine state parks and recreational tidelands incurred by the state parks and recreation commission pursuant to RCW 43.51.220 and 43.51.240; and

(d) Boating safety, safety education, marine law enforcement assistance, and accident reporting program expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 82.49 RCW to read as follows:

From the proceeds of the tax imposed by RCW 82.49.010 and deposited in the marine recreation and safety account, the department of licensing shall distribute, subject to appropriation, annually to each county an amount equal to fifty cents per foot of boat length for the sum of all boats registered within each respective county. The distribution shall occur no later than sixty days following the end of each calendar year: PROVIDED, That municipalities providing marine patrols for the protection of persons and property, search and rescue operations, boating safety services, and marine fire suppression shall receive one-half of the county entitlement for those registered vessels owned by residents of the eligible city. Determination of a city's entitlement shall be derived through a joint city-county survey of county vessel registration data provided to each county by the department of licensing in conjunction with the distribution of the total county entitlement as prescribed by this section.

Sec. 6. Section 16, chapter 7, Laws of 1983 as last amended by section 1, chapter 452, Laws of 1985 and RCW 88.02.030 are each amended to read as follows:

Vessel registration is required under this chapter except for the following:

(1) Military or public vessels of the United States, except recreational-type public vessels;

(2) Vessels owned by a state or subdivision thereof, used principally for governmental purposes and clearly identifiable as such;

(3) Vessels owned by a resident of a country other than the United States if the vessel is not physically located upon the waters of this state for a period of more than sixty days;

(4) Vessels owned by a resident of another state if the vessel is registered in accordance with the laws of the state in which the owner resides, but only to the extent that a similar exemption or privilege is granted under the laws of that state for vessels registered in this state: PROVIDED, That any vessel which is validly registered in another state and which is physically located in this state for a period of more than sixty days is subject to registration under this chapter;

(5) Vessels used as a ship's lifeboat;

(6) Vessels equipped with propulsion machinery of less than ten horse power that:

(a) Are owned by the owner of a vessel for which a valid vessel number has been issued;

(b) Display the number of that numbered vessel followed by the suffix "1" in the manner prescribed by the department; and

(7) Vessels under sixteen feet in overall length which have no propulsion machinery of any type or which are not used on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States or on the high seas beyond the territorial seas for vessels owned in the United States and are powered by propulsion machinery of ten or less horsepower;

(8) Vessels with no propulsion machinery of any type for which the primary mode of propulsion is human power;

(9) Vessels which are temporarily in this state undergoing repair or alteration;

(10) Vessels ((~~primarily engaged in commerce which have or are required to have a valid marine document as a vessel of the United States~~)) exclusively engaged in transporting passengers or cargo for hire; and

(11) Vessels primarily engaged in commerce which are owned by a resident of a country other than the United States.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) Section 11, chapter 7, Laws of 1983 and RCW 82.49.040;

(2) Section 12, chapter 7, Laws of 1983 and RCW 82.49.050;

(3) Section 13, chapter 7, Laws of 1983 and RCW 82.49.060; and

(4) Section 49, chapter 3, Laws of 1983 2nd ex. sess., section 4, chapter 250, Laws of 1984, section 155, chapter 7, Laws of 1985 and RCW 82.49.070.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act shall not be construed as affecting any existing right acquired or liability or obligation incurred under the sections amended or repealed in this act or under any rule, regulation, or order adopted under those sections, nor as affecting any proceeding instituted under those sections.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 1986.