H-1241.2  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1728

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Thomas, Carrell, Pflug, Pennington, Talcott, Cairnes, Benson, Huff, Clements, Delvin, Schindler, Boldt, Mielke, Fortunato, Ericksen, Lambert, Esser, Bush, Dunn, Mitchell and D. Schmidt

Read first time 02/03/1999.  Referred to Committee on Finance.

Restricting the ability of taxing districts to bank levy capacity.

    AN ACT Relating to restricting property tax levies based on prior levies that were less than the maximum allowed; and amending RCW 84.55.092.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 84.55.092 and 1998 c 16 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

    The regular property tax levy for each taxing district other than the state may be set at the amount which would be allowed otherwise under this chapter if the regular property tax levy for the district for taxes due in the prior ((years beginning with 1986)) year had been set at the full amount allowed under this chapter without reference to this section, and including any levy authorized under RCW 52.16.160 that would have been imposed but for the limitation in RCW 52.18.065, applicable upon imposition of the benefit charge under chapter 52.18 RCW.

    The purpose of this section is to ((remove the incentive for a taxing district to maintain its tax levy at the maximum level permitted under this chapter, and to protect the future levy capacity of a taxing district that reduces its tax levy below the level that it otherwise could impose under this chapter, by removing the adverse consequences to future levy capacities resulting from such levy reductions)) allow a district that reduces its tax levy below the maximum permitted under this chapter to retain its levy capacity for one year.

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