BILL REQ. #:  H-1515.2 

Read first time 02/21/2005.   Referred to Committee on Capital Budget.

     AN ACT Relating to including a portion of the real estate excise tax as general state revenue; amending RCW 82.45.180; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   Over the past decade, traditional school construction funding sources, such as timber revenues, have been declining, while the demand for school facility construction and improvements have been increasing. Washington's youth deserve safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments to help meet their educational needs. To increase state assistance for local school construction projects, the legislature expects to rely more on state bonding authority. The purpose of this act is to expand the constitutional definition of general state revenues by removing the dedication of a portion of the real estate excise tax for common schools. Nothing in this act is intended to affect the state's current efforts to support common schools in the state's omnibus appropriations act.

Sec. 2   RCW 82.45.180 and 1998 c 106 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For taxes collected by the county under this chapter, the county treasurer shall collect a two-dollar fee on all transactions required by this chapter where the transaction does not require the payment of tax. A total of two dollars shall be collected in the form of a tax and fee, where the calculated tax payment is less than two dollars. The county treasurer shall place one percent of the proceeds of the tax imposed by this chapter and the treasurer's fee in the county current expense fund to defray costs of collection and shall pay over to the state treasurer and account to the department of revenue for the remainder of the proceeds at the same time the county treasurer remits funds to the state under RCW 84.56.280. The state treasurer shall deposit the proceeds in the general fund ((for the support of the common schools)).
     (2) For taxes collected by the department of revenue under this chapter, the department shall remit the tax to the state treasurer who shall deposit the proceeds of any state tax in the general fund ((for the support of the common schools)). The state treasurer shall deposit the proceeds of any local taxes imposed under chapter 82.46 RCW in the local real estate excise tax account hereby created in the state treasury. Moneys in the local real estate excise tax account may be spent only for distribution to counties, cities, and towns imposing a tax under chapter 82.46 RCW. Except as provided in RCW 43.08.190, all earnings of investments of balances in the local real estate excise tax account shall be credited to the local real estate excise tax account and distributed to the counties, cities, and towns monthly. Monthly the state treasurer shall make distribution from the local real estate excise tax account to the counties, cities, and towns the amount of tax collected on behalf of each taxing authority. The state treasurer shall make the distribution under this subsection without appropriation.