S-1670               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5964

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Hayner, Newhouse, Rasmussen, Nelson, Rinehart, Matson, McDonald, Bluechel, Talmadge, Cantu, Stratton, Sellar, Johnson, Bauer and Saling

Read first time 2/20/89 and referred to Committee on  Higher Education.

AN ACT Relating to donated equipment for institutions of higher education; adding new sections to chapter 28B.10 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.12 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     A shortage of high-quality equipment and other personal property in Washington's institutions of higher education hinders the ability of those institutions to provide the advanced instruction needed to maintain industrial competitiveness and spur economic development in the state.  This problem can be at least partially solved by encouraging donations of personal property.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this section and section 3 of this act:

          (1) "Personal property" means tangible personal property that has been donated by a taxpayer and actually accepted by an institution of higher education.

          (2) "Institutions of higher education"  means those institutions of higher education defined in RCW 28B.10.016 and independent colleges and universities.

          (3) "Donation"  means a transfer to an institution of higher education of personal property that is not encumbered in any manner.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     After issuing a need statement and accepting a donation of personal property, an institution of higher education shall promptly have the fair market value of such property assessed by a qualified, independent expert.  However, when the price of the donated property is listed in current catalogs or price lists, an independent expert need not be used.  The assessed fair market value of such property or the listed value shall then be reported to the donor who shall forward this information to the department of revenue if requested.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 82.12 RCW to read as follows:

          The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to personal property donated to institutions of higher education, as defined in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     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. 6.     Sections 2 and 3 of this act are each added to chapter 28B.10 RCW.