S-3260

AN ACT Relating to local tax revenues; amending RCW 9.46.110, 35.21.280, 35.21.710, 35.22.280, 35.23.440, 35.24.290, 35.27.370, 35A.82.020, 36.38.010, 82.14.030, 82.29A.080, 82.46.030, and 84.33.081; adding a new section to chapter 35.21 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35A.21 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.01 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 84.52 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 35.21 RCW to read as follows:

Tax receipts received by a city or town from the imposition of a municipal tax may be expended for any lawful municipal purpose and specific expenditure levels of such receipts may not be mandated by the legislature or any state agency. This section does not apply to state or federally shared revenues earmarked for a specific purpose.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 35A.21 RCW to read as follows:

Tax receipts received by a city from the imposition of a municipal tax may be expended for any lawful municipal purpose and specific expenditure levels of such receipts may not be mandated by the legislature or any state agency. This section does not apply to state or federally shared revenues earmarked for a specific purpose.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 36.01 RCW to read as follows:

Tax receipts received by a county from the imposition of a county tax may be expended for any lawful county purpose and specific expenditure levels of such receipts may not be mandated by the legislature or any state agency. This section does not apply to state or federally shared revenues earmarked for a specific purpose.

Sec. 4. RCW 9.46.110 and 1991 c 161 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislative authority of any county, city-county, city, or town, by local law and ordinance, and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and rules and regulations promulgated hereunder, may provide for the taxing of any gambling activity authorized by this chapter within its jurisdiction, the tax receipts to go to the county, city-county, city, or town so taxing the same((~~: PROVIDED, That~~)). The tax imposed by this section is a tax for county or municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the county or municipality for county or municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency. Any such tax imposed by a county alone shall not apply to any gambling activity within a city or town located therein but the tax rate established by a county, if any, shall constitute the tax rate throughout the unincorporated areas of such county: PROVIDED FURTHER, That (1) punch boards and pull-tabs, chances on which shall only be sold to adults, which shall have a fifty cent limit on a single chance thereon, shall be taxed on a basis which shall reflect only the gross receipts from such punch boards and pull-tabs; and (2) no punch board or pull-tab may award as a prize upon a winning number or symbol being drawn the opportunity of taking a chance upon any other punch board or pull-tab; and (3) all prizes for punch boards and pull-tabs must be on display within the immediate area of the premises wherein any such punch board or pull-tab is located and upon a winning number or symbol being drawn, such prize must be immediately removed therefrom, or such omission shall be deemed a fraud for the purposes of this chapter; and (4) when any person shall win over twenty dollars in money or merchandise from any punch board or pull-tab, every licensee hereunder shall keep a public record thereof for at least ninety days thereafter containing such information as the commission shall deem necessary: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That taxation of bingo and raffles shall never be in an amount greater than ten percent of the gross revenue received therefrom less the amount paid for or as prizes. Taxation of amusement games shall only be in an amount sufficient to pay the actual costs of enforcement of the provisions of this chapter by the county, city or town law enforcement agency and in no event shall such taxation exceed two percent of the gross revenue therefrom less the amount paid for as prizes: PROVIDED FURTHER, That no tax shall be imposed under the authority of this chapter on bingo or amusement games when such activities or any combination thereof are conducted by any bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in this chapter, which organization has no paid operating or management personnel and has gross income from bingo or amusement games, or a combination thereof, not exceeding five thousand dollars per year, less the amount paid for as prizes. No tax shall be imposed on the first ten thousand dollars of net proceeds from raffles conducted by any bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in this chapter. Taxation of punch boards and pull-tabs shall not exceed five percent of gross receipts, nor shall taxation of social card games exceed twenty percent of the gross revenue from such games.

Sec. 5. RCW 35.21.280 and 1965 c 7 s 35.21.280 are each amended to read as follows:

Every city and town may levy and fix a tax of not more than one cent on twenty cents or fraction thereof to be paid by the person who pays an admission charge to any place: PROVIDED, No city or town shall impose such tax on persons paying an admission to any activity of any elementary or secondary school. This includes a tax on persons who are admitted free of charge or at reduced rates to any place for which other persons pay a charge or a regular higher charge for the same privileges or accommodations. The city or town may require anyone who receives payment for an admission charge to collect and remit the tax to the city or town. The tax imposed by this section is a tax for municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the municipality for municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.

The term "admission charge" includes:

(1) A charge made for season tickets or subscriptions;

(2) A cover charge, or a charge made for use of seats and tables reserved or otherwise, and other similar accommodations;

(3) A charge made for food and refreshment in any place where free entertainment, recreation or amusement is provided;

(4) A charge made for rental or use of equipment or facilities for purposes of recreation or amusement; if the rental of the equipment or facilities is necessary to the enjoyment of a privilege for which a general admission is charged, the combined charges shall be considered as the admission charge;

(5) Automobile parking charges if the amount of the charge is determined according to the number of passengers in the automobile.

Sec. 6. RCW 35.21.710 and 1983 2nd ex.s. c 3 s 33 are each amended to read as follows:

Any city which imposes a license fee or tax upon business activities consisting of the making of retail sales of tangible personal property which are measured by gross receipts or gross income from such sales, shall impose such tax at a single uniform rate upon all such business activities. The taxing authority granted to cities for taxes upon business activities measured by gross receipts or gross income from sales shall not exceed a rate of .0020; except that any city with an adopted ordinance at a higher rate, as of January 1, 1982 shall be limited to a maximum increase of ten percent of the January 1982 rate, not to exceed an annual incremental increase of two percent of current rate: PROVIDED, That any adopted ordinance which classifies according to different types of business or services shall be subject to both the ten percent and the two percent annual incremental increase limitation on each tax rate: PROVIDED FURTHER, That all surtaxes on business and occupation classifications in effect as of January 1, 1982, shall expire no later than December 31, 1982, or by expiration date established by local ordinance. Cities which impose a license fee or tax upon business activities consisting of the making of retail sales of tangible personal property which are measured by gross receipts or gross income from such sales shall be required to submit an annual report to the state auditor identifying the rate established and the revenues received from each fee or tax. The tax imposed by this section is a tax for municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the municipality for municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency. This section shall not apply to any business activities subject to the tax imposed by chapter 82.16 RCW. For purposes of this section, the providing to consumers of competitive telephone service, as defined in RCW 82.04.065, shall be deemed to be the retail sale of tangible personal property.

Sec. 7. RCW 35.22.280 and 1990 c 189 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

Any city of the first class shall have power:

(1) To provide for general and special elections, for questions to be voted upon, and for the election of officers;

(2) To provide for levying and collecting taxes on real and personal property for its corporate uses and purposes, and to provide for the payment of the debts and expenses of the corporation. The tax imposed by this section is a tax for municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the municipality for municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency;

(3) To control the finances and property of the corporation, and to acquire, by purchase or otherwise, such lands and other property as may be necessary for any part of the corporate uses provided for by its charter, and to dispose of any such property as the interests of the corporation may, from time to time, require;

(4) To borrow money for corporate purposes on the credit of the corporation, and to issue negotiable bonds therefor, on such conditions and in such manner as shall be prescribed in its charter; but no city shall, in any manner or for any purpose, become indebted to an amount in the aggregate to exceed the limitation of indebtedness prescribed by chapter 39.36 RCW as now or hereafter amended;

(5) To issue bonds in place of or to supply means to meet maturing bonds or other indebtedness, or for the consolidation or funding of the same;

(6) To purchase or appropriate private property within or without its corporate limits, for its corporate uses, upon making just compensation to the owners thereof, and to institute and maintain such proceedings as may be authorized by the general laws of the state for the appropriation of private property for public use;

(7) To lay out, establish, open, alter, widen, extend, grade, pave, plank, establish grades, or otherwise improve streets, alleys, avenues, sidewalks, wharves, parks, and other public grounds, and to regulate and control the use thereof, and to vacate the same, and to authorize or prohibit the use of electricity at, in, or upon any of said streets, or for other purposes, and to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which the same may be so used, and to regulate the use thereof;

(8) To change the grade of any street, highway, or alley within its corporate limits, and to provide for the payment of damages to any abutting owner or owners who shall have built or made other improvements upon such street, highway, or alley at any point opposite to the point where such change shall be made with reference to the grade of such street, highway, or alley as the same existed prior to such change;

(9) To authorize or prohibit the locating and constructing of any railroad or street railroad in any street, alley, or public place in such city, and to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which any such railroad or street railroad shall be located or constructed; to provide for the alteration, change of grade, or removal thereof; to regulate the moving and operation of railroad and street railroad trains, cars, and locomotives within the corporate limits of said city; and to provide by ordinance for the protection of all persons and property against injury in the use of such railroads or street railroads;

(10) To provide for making local improvements, and to levy and collect special assessments on property benefited thereby, and for paying for the same or any portion thereof;

(11) To acquire, by purchase or otherwise, lands for public parks within or without the limits of such city, and to improve the same. When the language of any instrument by which any property is so acquired limits the use of said property to park purposes and contains a reservation of interest in favor of the grantor or any other person, and where it is found that the property so acquired is not needed for park purposes and that an exchange thereof for other property to be dedicated for park purposes is in the public interest, the city may, with the consent of the grantor or such other person, his heirs, successors, or assigns, exchange such property for other property to be dedicated for park purposes, and may make, execute, and deliver proper conveyances to effect the exchange. In any case where, owing to death or lapse of time, there is neither donor, heir, successor, or assignee to give consent, this consent may be executed by the city and filed for record with an affidavit setting forth all efforts made to locate people entitled to give such consent together with the facts which establish that no consent by such persons is attainable. Title to property so conveyed by the city shall vest in the grantee free and clear of any trust in favor of the public arising out of any prior dedication for park purposes, but the right of the public shall be transferred and preserved with like force and effect to the property received by the city in such exchange;

(12) To construct and keep in repair bridges, viaducts, and tunnels, and to regulate the use thereof;

(13) To determine what work shall be done or improvements made at the expense, in whole or in part, of the owners of the adjoining contiguous, or proximate property, or others specially benefited thereby; and to provide for the manner of making and collecting assessments therefor;

(14) To provide for erecting, purchasing, or otherwise acquiring waterworks, within or without the corporate limits of said city, to supply said city and its inhabitants with water, or authorize the construction of same by others when deemed for the best interests of such city and its inhabitants, and to regulate and control the use and price of the water so supplied;

(15) To provide for lighting the streets and all public places, and for furnishing the inhabitants thereof with gas or other lights, and to erect, or otherwise acquire, and to maintain the same, or to authorize the erection and maintenance of such works as may be necessary and convenient therefor, and to regulate and control the use thereof;

(16) To establish and regulate markets, and to provide for the weighing, measuring, and inspection of all articles of food and drink offered for sale thereat, or at any other place within its limits, by proper penalties, and to enforce the keeping of proper legal weights and measures by all vendors in such city, and to provide for the inspection thereof. Whenever the words "public markets" are used in this chapter, and the public market is managed in whole or in part by a public corporation created by a city, the words shall be construed to include all real or personal property located in a district or area designated by a city as a public market and traditionally devoted to providing farmers, crafts vendors and other merchants with retail space to market their wares to the public. Property located in such a district or area need not be exclusively or primarily used for such traditional public market retail activities and may include property used for other public purposes including, but not limited to, the provision of human services and low-income or moderate-income housing;

(17) To erect and establish hospitals and pesthouses, and to control and regulate the same;

(18) To provide for establishing and maintaining reform schools for juvenile offenders;

(19) To provide for the establishment and maintenance of public libraries, and to appropriate, annually, such percent of all moneys collected for fines, penalties, and licenses as shall be prescribed by its charter, for the support of a city library, which shall, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by ordinance, be open for use by the public;

(20) To regulate the burial of the dead, and to establish and regulate cemeteries within or without the corporate limits, and to acquire land therefor by purchase or otherwise; to cause cemeteries to be removed beyond the limits of the corporation, and to prohibit their establishment within two miles of the boundaries thereof;

(21) To direct the location and construction of all buildings in which any trade or occupation offensive to the senses or deleterious to public health or safety shall be carried on, and to regulate the management thereof; and to prohibit the erection or maintenance of such buildings or structures, or the carrying on of such trade or occupation within the limits of such corporation, or within the distance of two miles beyond the boundaries thereof;

(22) To provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fires and to regulate or prohibit the transportation, keeping, or storage of all combustible or explosive materials within its corporate limits, and to regulate and restrain the use of fireworks;

(23) To establish fire limits and to make all such regulations for the erection and maintenance of buildings or other structures within its corporate limits as the safety of persons or property may require, and to cause all such buildings and places as may from any cause be in a dangerous state to be put in safe condition;

(24) To regulate the manner in which stone, brick, and other buildings, party walls, and partition fences shall be constructed and maintained;

(25) To deepen, widen, dock, cover, wall, alter, or change the channels of waterways and courses, and to provide for the construction and maintenance of all such works as may be required for the accommodation of commerce, including canals, slips, public landing places, wharves, docks, and levees, and to control and regulate the use thereof;

(26) To control, regulate, or prohibit the anchorage, moorage, and landing of all watercrafts and their cargoes within the jurisdiction of the corporation;

(27) To fix the rates of wharfage and dockage, and to provide for the collection thereof, and to provide for the imposition and collection of such harbor fees as may be consistent with the laws of the United States;

(28) To license, regulate, control, or restrain wharf boats, tugs, and other boats used about the harbor or within such jurisdiction;

(29) To require the owners of public halls or other buildings to provide suitable means of exit; to provide for the prevention and abatement of nuisances, for the cleaning and purification of watercourses and canals, for the drainage and filling up of ponds on private property within its limits, when the same shall be offensive to the senses or dangerous to health; to regulate and control, and to prevent and punish, the defilement or pollution of all streams running through or into its corporate limits, and for the distance of five miles beyond its corporate limits, and on any stream or lake from which the water supply of said city is taken, for a distance of five miles beyond its source of supply; to provide for the cleaning of areas, vaults, and other places within its corporate limits which may be so kept as to become offensive to the senses or dangerous to health, and to make all such quarantine or other regulations as may be necessary for the preservation of the public health, and to remove all persons afflicted with any infectious or contagious disease to some suitable place to be provided for that purpose;

(30) To declare what shall be a nuisance, and to abate the same, and to impose fines upon parties who may create, continue, or suffer nuisances to exist;

(31) To regulate the selling or giving away of intoxicating, malt, vinous, mixed, or fermented liquors as authorized by the general laws of the state: PROVIDED, That no license shall be granted to any person or persons who shall not first comply with the general laws of the state in force at the time the same is granted;

(32) To grant licenses for any lawful purpose, and to fix by ordinance the amount to be paid therefor, and to provide for revoking the same: PROVIDED, That no license shall be granted to continue for longer than one year from the date thereof;

(33) To regulate the carrying on within its corporate limits of all occupations which are of such a nature as to affect the public health or the good order of said city, or to disturb the public peace, and which are not prohibited by law, and to provide for the punishment of all persons violating such regulations, and of all persons who knowingly permit the same to be violated in any building or upon any premises owned or controlled by them;

(34) To restrain and provide for the punishment of vagrants, mendicants, prostitutes, and other disorderly persons;

(35) To provide for the punishment of all disorderly conduct, and of all practices dangerous to public health or safety, and to make all regulations necessary for the preservation of public morality, health, peace, and good order within its limits, and to provide for the arrest, trial, and punishment of all persons charged with violating any of the ordinances of said city. The punishment shall not exceed a fine of five thousand dollars or imprisonment in the city jail for one year, or both such fine and imprisonment. Such cities alternatively may provide that violations of ordinances constitute a civil violation subject to monetary penalties;

(36) To project or extend its streets over and across any tidelands within its corporate limits, and along or across the harbor areas of such city, in such manner as will best promote the interests of commerce;

(37) To provide in their respective charters for a method to propose and adopt amendments thereto.

Sec. 8. RCW 35.23.440 and 1986 c 278 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

The city council of each second class city shall have power and authority:

(1) Ordinances: To make and pass all ordinances, orders, and resolutions not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States or the state of Washington, or the provisions of this title, necessary for the municipal government and management of the affairs of the city, for the execution of the powers vested in said body corporate, and for the carrying into effect of the provisions of this title.

(2) License of shows: To fix and collect a license tax, for the purposes of revenue and regulation, on theatres, melodeons, balls, concerts, dances, theatrical, circus, or other performances, and all performances where an admission fee is charged, or which may be held in any house or place where wines or liquors are sold to the participators; also all shows, billiard tables, pool tables, bowling alleys, exhibitions, or amusements.

(3) Hotels, etc., licenses: To fix and collect a license tax for the purposes of revenue and regulation on and to regulate all taverns, hotels, restaurants, banks, brokers, manufactories, livery stables, express companies and persons engaged in transmitting letters or packages, railroad, stage, and steamboat companies or owners, whose principal place of business is in such city, or who have an agency therein.

(4) Peddlers', etc., licenses: To license, for the purposes of revenue and regulation, tax, prohibit, suppress, and regulate all raffles, hawkers, peddlers, pawnbrokers, refreshment or coffee stands, booths, or sheds; and to regulate as authorized by state law all tippling houses, dram shops, saloons, bars, and barrooms.

(5) Dance houses: To prohibit or suppress, or to license and regulate all dance houses, fandango houses, or any exhibition or show of any animal or animals.

(6) License vehicles: To license for the purposes of revenue and regulation, and to tax hackney coaches, cabs, omnibuses, drays, market wagons, and all other vehicles used for hire, and to regulate their stands, and to fix the rates to be charged for the transportation of persons, baggage, and property.

(7) Hotel runners: To license or suppress runners for steamboats, taverns, or hotels.

(8) License generally: To fix and collect a license tax for the purposes of revenue and regulation, upon all occupations and trades, and all and every kind of business authorized by law not heretofore specified: PROVIDED, That on any business, trade, or calling not provided by law to be licensed for state and county purposes, the amount of license shall be fixed at the discretion of the city council, as they may deem the interests and good order of the city may require.

(9) Riots: To prevent and restrain any riot or riotous assemblages, disturbance of the peace, or disorderly conduct in any place, house, or street in the city.

(10) Nuisances: To declare what shall be deemed nuisances; to prevent, remove, and abate nuisances at the expense of the parties creating, causing, or committing or maintaining the same, and to levy a special assessment on the land or premises whereon the nuisance is situated to defray the cost or to reimburse the city for the cost of abating the same.

(11) Stock pound: To establish, maintain, and regulate a common pound for estrays, and to appoint a poundkeeper, who shall be paid out of the fines and fees imposed and collected of the owners of any animals impounded, and from no other source; to prevent and regulate the running at large of any and all domestic animals within the city limits or any parts thereof, and to regulate or prevent the keeping of such animals within any part of the city.

(12) Control of certain trades: To control and regulate slaughterhouses, washhouses, laundries, tanneries, forges, and offensive trades, and to provide for their exclusion or removal from the city limits, or from any part thereof.

(13) Street cleaning: To provide, by regulation, for the prevention and summary removal of all filth and garbage in streets, sloughs, alleys, back yards, or public grounds of such city, or elsewhere therein.

(14) Gambling, etc.: To prohibit and suppress all gaming and all gambling or disorderly houses, and houses of ill fame, and all immoral and indecent amusements, exhibitions, and shows.

(15) Markets: To establish and regulate markets and market places.

(16) Speed of railroad cars: To fix and regulate the speed at which any railroad cars, streetcars, automobiles, or other vehicles may run within the city limits, or any portion thereof.

(17) City commons: To provide for and regulate the commons of the city.

(18) Fast driving: To regulate or prohibit fast driving or riding in any portion of the city.

(19) Combustibles: To regulate or prohibit the loading or storage of gunpowder and combustible or explosive materials in the city, or transporting the same through its streets or over its waters.

(20) Property: To have, purchase, hold, use, and enjoy property of every name or kind whatsoever, and to sell, lease, transfer, mortgage, convey, control, or improve the same; to build, erect, or construct houses, buildings, or structures of any kind needful for the use or purposes of such city.

(21) Fire department: To establish, continue, regulate, and maintain a fire department for such city, to change or reorganize the same, and to disband any company or companies of the said department; also, to discontinue and disband said fire department, and to create, organize, establish, and maintain a paid fire department for such city.

(22) Water supply: To adopt, enter into, and carry out means for securing a supply of water for the use of such city or its inhabitants, or for irrigation purposes therein.

(23) Overflow of water: To prevent the overflow of the city or to secure its drainage, and to assess the cost thereof to the property benefited.

(24) House numbers: To provide for the numbering of houses.

(25) Health board: To establish a board of health; to prevent the introduction and spread of disease; to establish a city infirmary and to provide for the indigent sick; and to provide and enforce regulations for the protection of health, cleanliness, peace, and good order of the city; to establish and maintain hospitals within or without the city limits; to control and regulate interments and to prohibit them within the city limits.

(26) Harbors and wharves: To build, alter, improve, keep in repair, and control the waterfront; to erect, regulate, and repair wharves, and to fix the rate of wharfage and transit of wharf, and levy dues upon vessels and commodities; and to provide for the regulation of berths, landing, stationing, and removing steamboats, sail vessels, rafts, barges, and all other watercraft; to fix the rate of speed at which steamboats and other steam watercraft may run along the waterfront of the city; to build bridges so as not to interfere with navigation; to provide for the removal of obstructions to the navigation of any channel or watercourses or channels.

(27) License of steamers: To license steamers, boats, and vessels used in any watercourse in the city, and to fix and collect a license tax thereon.

(28) Ferry licenses: To license ferries and toll bridges under the law regulating the granting of such license.

(29) Penalty for violation of ordinances: To provide that violations of ordinances constitute a civil violation subject to monetary penalties or to determine and impose fines for forfeitures and penalties that shall be incurred for the breach or violation of any city ordinance, notwithstanding that the act constituting a violation of any such ordinance may also be punishable under the state laws, and also for a violation of the provisions of this chapter, when no penalty is affixed thereto or provided by law, and to appropriate all such fines, penalties, and forfeitures for the benefit of the city; but no penalty to be enforced shall exceed for any offense the amount of five thousand dollars or imprisonment for one year, or both; and every violation of any lawful order, regulation, or ordinance of the city council of such city is hereby declared a misdemeanor or public offense, and all prosecutions for the same may be in the name of the state of Washington: PROVIDED, That violation of an order, regulation, or ordinance relating to traffic including parking, standing, stopping, and pedestrian offenses is a traffic infraction, except that violation of an order, regulation, or ordinance equivalent to those provisions of Title 46 RCW set forth in RCW 46.63.020 remains a misdemeanor.

(30) Police department: To create and establish a city police; to prescribe their duties and their compensation; and to provide for the regulation and government of the same.

(31) Elections: To provide for conducting elections and establishing election precincts when necessary, to be as near as may be in conformity with the state law.

(32) Examine official accounts: To examine, either in open session or by committee, the accounts or doings of all officers or other persons having the care, management, or disposition of moneys, property, or business of the city.

(33) Contracts: To make all appropriations, contracts, or agreements for the use or benefit of the city and in the city's name.

(34) Streets and sidewalks: To provide by ordinance for the opening, laying out, altering, extending, repairing, grading, paving, planking, graveling, macadamizing, or otherwise improving of public streets, avenues, and other public ways, or any portion of any thereof; and for the construction, regulation, and repair of sidewalks and other street improvements, all at the expense of the property to be benefited thereby, without any recourse, in any event, upon the city for any portion of the expense of such work, or any delinquency of the property holders or owners, and to provide for the forced sale thereof for such purposes; to establish a uniform grade for streets, avenues, sidewalks, and squares, and to enforce the observance thereof.

(35) Waterways: To clear, cleanse, alter, straighten, widen, fill up, or close any waterway, drain, or sewer, or any watercourse in such city when not declared by law to be navigable, and to assess the expense thereof, in whole or in part, to the property specially benefited.

(36) Sewerage: To adopt, provide for, establish, and maintain a general system of sewerage, draining, or both, and the regulation thereof; to provide funds by local assessments on the property benefited for the purpose aforesaid and to determine the manner, terms, and place of connection with main or central lines of pipes, sewers, or drains established, and compel compliance with and conformity to such general system of sewerage or drainage, or both, and the regulations of said council thereto relating, by the infliction of suitable penalties and forfeitures against persons and property, or either, for nonconformity to, or failure to comply with the provisions of such system and regulations or either.

(37) Buildings and parks: To provide for all public buildings, public parks, or squares, necessary or proper for the use of the city.

(38) Franchises: To permit the use of the streets for railroad or other public service purposes.

(39) Payment of judgments: To order paid any final judgment against such city, but none of its lands or property of any kind or nature, taxes, revenue, franchise, or rights, or interest, shall be attached, levied upon, or sold in or under any process whatsoever.

(40) Weighing of fuel: To regulate the sale of coal and wood in such city, and may appoint a measurer of wood and weigher of coal for the city, and define his duties, and may prescribe his term of office, and the fees he shall receive for his services: PROVIDED, That such fees shall in all cases be paid by the parties requiring such service.

(41) Hospitals, etc.: To erect and establish hospitals and pesthouses and to control and regulate the same.

(42) Waterworks: To provide for the erection, purchase, or otherwise acquiring of waterworks within or without the corporate limits of the city to supply such city and its inhabitants with water, and to regulate and control the use and price of the water so supplied.

(43) City lights: To provide for lighting the streets and all public places of the city and for furnishing the inhabitants of the city with gas, electric, or other light, and for the ownership, purchase or acquisition, construction, or maintenance of such works as may be necessary or convenient therefor: PROVIDED, That no purchase of any such water plant or light plant shall be made without first submitting the question of such purchase to the electors of the city.

(44) Parks: To acquire by purchase or otherwise land for public parks, within or without the limits of the city, and to improve the same.

(45) Bridges: To construct and keep in repair bridges, and to regulate the use thereof.

(46) Power of eminent domain: In the name of and for the use and benefit of the city, to exercise the right of eminent domain, and to condemn lands and property for the purposes of streets, alleys, parks, public grounds, waterworks, or for any other municipal purpose and to acquire by purchase or otherwise such lands and property as may be deemed necessary for any of the corporate uses provided for by this title, as the interests of the city may from time to time require.

(47) To provide for the assessment of taxes: To provide for the assessment, levying, and collecting of taxes on real and personal property for the corporate uses and purposes of the city and to provide for the payment of the debts and expenses of the corporation.

(48) Local improvements: To provide for making local improvements, and to levy and collect special assessments on the property benefited thereby and for paying the same or any portion thereof; to determine what work shall be done or improvements made, at the expense, in whole or in part, of the adjoining, contiguous, or proximate property, and to provide for the manner of making and collecting assessments therefor.

(49) Cemeteries: To regulate the burial of the dead and to establish and regulate cemeteries, within or without the corporate limits, and to acquire lands therefor by purchase or otherwise.

(50) Fire limits: To establish fire limits with proper regulations and to make all needful regulations for the erection and maintenance of buildings or other structures within the corporate limits as safety of persons or property may require, and to cause all such buildings and places as may from any cause be in a dangerous state to be put in a safe condition; to regulate the manner in which stone, brick, and other buildings, party walls, and partition fences shall be constructed and maintained.

(51) Safety and sanitary measures: To require the owners of public halls, theaters, hotels, and other buildings to provide suitable means of exit and proper fire escapes; to provide for the cleaning and purification of watercourses and canals and for the draining and filling up of ponds on private property within its limits when the same shall be offensive to the senses or dangerous to the health, and to charge the expense thereof to the property specially benefited, and to regulate and control and provide for the prevention and punishment of the defilement or pollution of all streams running in or through its corporate limits and a distance of five miles beyond its corporate limits, and of any stream or lake from which the water supply of the city is or may be taken and for a distance of five miles beyond its source of supply, and to make all quarantine and other regulations as may be necessary for the preservation of the public health and to remove all persons afflicted with any contagious disease to some suitable place to be provided for that purpose.

(52) To regulate liquor traffic: To regulate the selling or giving away of intoxicating, spirituous, malt, vinous, mixed, or fermented liquors as authorized by the general laws of the state.

(53) To establish streets on tidelands: To project or extend or establish streets over and across any tidelands within the limits of such city.

(54) To provide for the general welfare.

Any tax imposed by this section is a tax for municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from such tax by the municipality for municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.

Sec. 9. RCW 35.24.290 and 1986 c 278 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

The city council of each third class city shall have power:

(1) To pass ordinances not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this state or of the United States;

(2) To prevent and regulate the running at large of any or all domestic animals within the city limits or any part thereof and to cause the impounding and sale of any such animals;

(3) To establish, build and repair bridges, to establish, lay out, alter, keep open, open, widen, vacate, improve and repair streets, sidewalks, alleys, squares and other public highways and places within the city, and to drain, sprinkle and light the same; to remove all obstructions therefrom; to establish and reestablish the grades thereof; to grade, plank, pave, macadamize, gravel and curb the same, in whole or in part; to construct gutters, culverts, sidewalks and crosswalks therein or upon any part thereof; to cultivate and maintain parking strips therein, and generally to manage and control all such highways and places; to provide by local assessment for the leveling up and surfacing and oiling or otherwise treating for the laying of dust, all streets within the city limits;

(4) To establish, construct and maintain drains and sewers, and shall have power to compel all property owners on streets and alleys or within two hundred feet thereof along which sewers shall have been constructed to make proper connections therewith and to use the same for proper purposes, and in case the owners of the property on such streets and alleys or within two hundred feet thereof fail to make such connections within the time fixed by such council, it may cause such connections to be made and assess against the property served thereby the costs and expenses thereof;

(5) To provide fire engines and all other necessary or proper apparatus for the prevention and extinguishment of fires;

(6) To impose and collect an annual license on every dog within the limits of the city, to prohibit dogs running at large and to provide for the killing of all dogs not duly licensed found at large;

(7) To license, for the purposes of regulation and revenue, all and every kind of business authorized by law, and transacted and carried on in such city, and all shows, exhibitions and lawful games carried on therein and within one mile of the corporate limits thereof, to fix the rate of license tax upon the same, and to provide for the collection of the same by suit or otherwise. The tax imposed by this section is a tax for municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the municipality for municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency;

(8) To improve rivers and streams flowing through such city, or adjoining the same; to widen, straighten and deepen the channel thereof, and remove obstructions therefrom; to improve the water-front of the city, and to construct and maintain embankments and other works to protect such city from overflow; to prevent the filling of the water of any bay, except such filling over tide or shorelands as may be provided for by order of the city council; to purify and prevent the pollution of streams of water, lakes or other sources of supply, and for this purpose shall have jurisdiction over all streams, lakes or other sources of supply, both within and without the city limits. Such city shall have power to provide by ordinance and to enforce such punishment or penalty as the city council may deem proper for the offense of polluting or in any manner obstructing or interfering with the water supply of such city or source thereof;

(9) To erect and maintain buildings for municipal purposes;

(10) To permit, under such restrictions as it may deem proper, and to grant franchises for, the laying of railroad tracks, and the running of cars propelled by electric, steam or other power thereon, and the laying of gas and water pipes and steam mains and conduits for underground wires, and to permit the construction of tunnels or subways in the public streets, and to construct and maintain and to permit the construction and maintenance of telegraph, telephone and electric lines therein;

(11) In its discretion to divide the city by ordinance, into a convenient number of wards, not exceeding six, to fix the boundaries thereof, and to change the same from time to time: PROVIDED, That no change in the boundaries of any ward shall be made within sixty days next before the date of a general municipal election, nor within twenty months after the wards have been established or altered. Whenever such city is so divided into wards, the city council shall designate by ordinance the number of councilmen to be elected from each ward, apportioning the same in proportion to the population of the wards. Thereafter the councilmen so designated shall be elected by the qualified electors resident in such ward, or by general vote of the whole city as may be designated in such ordinance. When additional territory is added to the city it may by act of the council, be annexed to contiguous wards without affecting the right to redistrict at the expiration of twenty months after last previous division. The removal of a councilman from the ward for which he was elected shall create a vacancy in such office;

(12) To impose fines, penalties and forfeitures for any and all violations of ordinances, and for any breach or violation of any ordinance to fix the penalty by fine or imprisonment, or both, but no such fine shall exceed five thousand dollars nor the term of such imprisonment exceed the term of one year; or to provide that violations of ordinances constitute a civil violation subject to monetary penalty;

(13) To establish fire limits, with proper regulations;

(14) To establish and maintain a free public library;

(15) To establish and regulate public markets and market places;

(16) To punish the keepers and inmates and lessors of houses of ill fame, gamblers and keepers of gambling tables, patrons thereof or those found loitering about such houses and places;

(17) To make all such ordinances, bylaws, rules, regulations and resolutions, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington, as may be deemed expedient to maintain the peace, good government and welfare of the corporation and its trade, commerce and manufactures, and to do and perform any and all other acts and things necessary or proper to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and to enact and enforce within the limits of such city all other local, police, sanitary and other regulations as do not conflict with general laws;

(18) To license steamers, boats and vessels used in any bay or other watercourse in the city and to fix and collect such license; to provide for the regulation of berths, landings, and stations, and for the removing of steamboats, sail boats, sail vessels, rafts, barges and other watercraft; to provide for the removal of obstructions to navigation and of structures dangerous to navigation or to other property, in or adjoining the waterfront, except in municipalities in counties in which there is a city of the first class.

Sec. 10. RCW 35.27.370 and 1986 c 278 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

The council of said town shall have power:

(1) To pass ordinances not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this state, or of the United States;

(2) To purchase, lease or receive such real estate and personal property as may be necessary or proper for municipal purposes, and to control, dispose of and convey the same for the benefit of the town; to acquire, own, and hold real estate for cemetery purposes either within or without the corporate limits, to sell and dispose of such real estate, to plat or replat such real estate into cemetery lots and to sell and dispose of any and all lots therein, and to operate, improve and maintain the same as a cemetery;

(3) To contract for supplying the town with water for municipal purposes, or to acquire, construct, repair and manage pumps, aqueducts, reservoirs, or other works necessary or proper for supplying water for use of such town or its inhabitants, or for irrigating purposes therein;

(4) To establish, build and repair bridges, to establish, lay out, alter, widen, extend, keep open, improve, and repair streets, sidewalks, alleys, squares and other public highways and places within the town, and to drain, sprinkle and light the same; to remove all obstructions therefrom; to establish the grades thereof; to grade, pave, plank, macadamize, gravel and curb the same, in whole or in part, and to construct gutters, culverts, sidewalks and crosswalks therein, or on any part thereof; to cause to be planted, set out and cultivated trees therein, and generally to manage and control all such highways and places;

(5) To establish, construct and maintain drains and sewers, and shall have power to compel all property owners on streets along which sewers are constructed to make proper connections therewith, and to use the same for proper purposes when such property is improved by the erection thereon of a building or buildings; and in case the owners of such improved property on such streets shall fail to make such connections within the time fixed by such council, they may cause such connections to be made, and to assess against the property in front of which such connections are made the costs and expenses thereof;

(6) To provide fire engines and all other necessary or proper apparatus for the prevention and extinguishment of fires;

(7) To impose and collect an annual license on every dog within the limits of the town, to prohibit dogs running at large, and to provide for the killing of all dogs found at large and not duly licensed;

(8) To levy and collect annually a property tax, for the payment of current expenses and for the payment of indebtedness (if any indebtedness exists) within the limits authorized by law;

(9) To license, for purposes of regulation and revenue, all and every kind of business, authorized by law and transacted and carried on in such town; and all shows, exhibitions and lawful games carried on therein and within one mile of the corporate limits thereof; to fix the rate of license tax upon the same, and to provide for the collection of the same, by suit or otherwise; to regulate, restrain, or prohibit the running at large of any and all domestic animals within the city limits, or any part or parts thereof, and to regulate the keeping of such animals within any part of the city; to establish, maintain and regulate a common pound for estrays, and to appoint a poundkeeper, who shall be paid out of the fines and fees imposed on, and collected from, the owners of any impounded stock;

(10) To improve the rivers and streams flowing through such town or adjoining the same; to widen, straighten and deepen the channels thereof, and to remove obstructions therefrom; to prevent the pollution of streams or water running through such town, and for this purpose shall have jurisdiction for two miles in either direction; to improve the waterfront of the town, and to construct and maintain embankments and other works to protect such town from overflow;

(11) To erect and maintain buildings for municipal purposes;

(12) To grant franchises or permits to use and occupy the surface, the overhead and the underground of streets, alleys and other public ways, under such terms and conditions as it shall deem fit, for any and all purposes, including but not being limited to the construction, maintenance and operation of railroads, street railways, transportation systems, water, gas and steam systems, telephone and telegraph systems, electric lines, signal systems, surface, aerial and underground tramways;

(13) To punish the keepers and inmates and lessors of houses of ill fame, and keepers and lessors of gambling houses and rooms and other places where gambling is carried on or permitted, gamblers and keepers of gambling tables;

(14) To impose fines, penalties and forfeitures for any and all violations of ordinances, and for any breach or violation of any ordinance, to fix the penalty by fine or imprisonment, or both; but no such fine shall exceed five thousand dollars, nor the term of imprisonment exceed one year; or to provide that violations of ordinances constitute a civil violation subject to a monetary penalty;

(15) To operate ambulance service which may serve the town and surrounding rural areas and, in the discretion of the council, to make a charge for such service;

(16) To make all such ordinances, bylaws, rules, regulations and resolutions not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington, as may be deemed expedient to maintain the peace, good government and welfare of the town and its trade, commerce and manufacturers, and to do and perform any and all other acts and things necessary or proper to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

Sec. 11. RCW 35A.82.020 and 1967 ex.s. c 119 s 35A.82.020 are each amended to read as follows:

A code city may exercise the authority authorized by general law for any class of city to license and revoke the same for cause, to regulate, make inspections and to impose excises for regulation or revenue in regard to all places and kinds of business, production, commerce, entertainment, exhibition, and upon all occupations, trades and professions and any other lawful activity: PROVIDED, That no license or permit to engage in any such activity or place shall be granted to any who shall not first comply with the general laws of the state.

No such license shall be granted to continue for longer than a period of one year from the date thereof and no license or excise shall be required where the same shall have been preempted by the state, nor where exempted by the state, including, but not limited to, the provisions of RCW 36.71.090 and chapter 73.04 RCW relating to veterans.

The tax imposed by this section is a tax for municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the municipality for municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.

Sec. 12. RCW 36.38.010 and 1963 c 4 s 36.38.010 are each amended to read as follows:

Any county may by ordinance enacted by its board of county commissioners, levy and fix a tax of not more than one cent on twenty cents or fraction thereof to be paid for county purposes by persons who pay an admission charge to any place, including a tax on persons who are admitted free of charge or at reduced rates to any place for which other persons pay a charge or a regular higher charge for the same or similar privileges or accommodations; and require that one who receives any admission charge to any place shall collect and remit the tax to the county treasurer of the county: PROVIDED, no county shall impose such tax on persons paying an admission to any activity of any elementary or secondary school.

As used in this chapter, the term "admission charge" includes a charge made for season tickets or subscriptions, a cover charge, or a charge made for use of seats and tables, reserved or otherwise, and other similar accommodations; a charge made for food and refreshments in any place where any free entertainment, recreation, or amusement is provided; a charge made for rental or use of equipment or facilities for purpose of recreation or amusement, and where the rental of the equipment or facilities is necessary to the enjoyment of a privilege for which a general admission is charged, the combined charges shall be considered as the admission charge. It shall also include any automobile parking charge where the amount of such charge is determined according to the number of passengers in any automobile.

The tax herein authorized shall not be exclusive and shall not prevent any city or town within the taxing county, when authorized by law, from imposing within its corporate limits a tax of the same or similar kind: PROVIDED, That whenever the same or similar kind of tax is imposed by any such city or town, no such tax shall be levied within the corporate limits of such city or town by the board of county commissioners.

The tax imposed by this section is a tax for county purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the county for county purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.

Sec. 13. RCW 82.14.030 and 1989 c 384 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The governing body of any county or city while not required by legislative mandate to do so, may, by resolution or ordinance for the purposes authorized by this chapter, fix and impose a sales and use tax in accordance with the terms of this chapter. Such tax shall be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state pursuant to chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW, upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the county or city as the case may be: PROVIDED, That except as provided in RCW 82.14.230, this sales and use tax shall not apply to natural or manufactured gas. The rate of such tax imposed by a county shall be five-tenths of one percent of the selling price (in the case of a sales tax) or value of the article used (in the case of a use tax). The rate of such tax imposed by a city shall not exceed five-tenths of one percent of the selling price (in the case of a sales tax) or value of the article used (in the case of a use tax): PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That in the event a county shall impose a sales and use tax under this subsection, the rate of such tax imposed under this subsection by any city therein shall not exceed four hundred and twenty-five one-thousandths of one percent.

(2) Subject to the enactment into law of the 1982 amendment to RCW 82.02.020 by section 5, chapter 49, Laws of 1982 1st ex. sess., in addition to the tax authorized in subsection (1) of this section, the governing body of any county or city may by resolution or ordinance impose an additional sales and use tax in accordance with the terms of this chapter. Such additional tax shall be collected upon the same taxable events upon which the tax imposed under subsection (1) of this section is levied. The rate of such additional tax imposed by a county shall be up to five-tenths of one percent of the selling price (in the case of a sales tax) or value of the article used (in the case of a use tax). The rate of such additional tax imposed by a city shall be up to five-tenths of one percent of the selling price (in the case of a sales tax) or value of the article used (in the case of a use tax): PROVIDED HOWEVER, That in the event a county shall impose a sales and use tax under this subsection at a rate equal to or greater than the rate imposed under this subsection by a city within the county, the county shall receive fifteen percent of the city tax: PROVIDED FURTHER, That in the event that the county shall impose a sales and use tax under this subsection at a rate which is less than the rate imposed under this subsection by a city within the county, the county shall receive that amount of revenues from the city tax equal to fifteen percent of the rate of tax imposed by the county under this subsection. The authority to impose a tax under this subsection is intended in part to compensate local government for any losses from the phase-out of the property tax on business inventories.

(3) The tax imposed by this section is a tax for county or municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the county or municipality for county or municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.

Sec. 14. RCW 82.29A.080 and 1985 c 57 s 84 are each amended to read as follows:

The counties and cities shall contract, prior to the effective date of an ordinance imposing a leasehold excise tax, with the department of revenue for administration and collection. The department of revenue shall deduct a percentage amount, as provided by such contract, not to exceed two percent of the taxes collected, for administration and collection expenses incurred by the department. The remainder of any portion of any tax authorized by RCW 82.29A.040 which is collected by the department of revenue shall be deposited by the state department of revenue in the local leasehold excise tax account hereby created in the state treasury. Moneys in the local leasehold excise tax account may be spent only for distribution to counties and cities imposing a leasehold excise tax.

The tax imposed by this section is a tax for county or municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the county or municipality for county or municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.

Sec. 15. RCW 82.46.030 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 17 s 37 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The county treasurer shall place one percent of the proceeds of the taxes imposed under RCW 82.46.010 in the county current expense fund to defray costs of collection.

(2) The remaining proceeds from the county tax under RCW 82.46.010(1) shall be placed in a county capital improvements fund. The remaining proceeds from city or town taxes under RCW 82.46.010(1) shall be distributed to the respective cities and towns monthly and placed by the city treasurer in a municipal capital improvements fund.

(3) This section does not limit the existing authority of any city, town, or county to impose special assessments on property specially benefited thereby in the manner prescribed by law.

Sec. 16. RCW 84.33.081 and 1985 c 184 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) On the last business day of the second month of each calendar quarter, the state treasurer shall distribute from the timber tax distribution account to each county the amount of tax collected on behalf of each county under RCW 84.33.051, less each county's proportionate share of appropriations for collection and administration activities under RCW 84.33.051, and shall transfer to the state general fund the amount of tax collected on behalf of the state under RCW 84.33.041, less the state's proportionate share of appropriations for collection and administration activities under RCW 84.33.041. The county treasurer shall deposit moneys received under this section in a county timber tax account which shall be established by each county. Following receipt of moneys under this section, the county treasurer shall make distributions from any moneys available in the county timber tax account to taxing districts in the county, except the state, under subsections (2) through (4) of this section.

(2) From moneys available, there first shall be a distribution to each taxing district having debt service payments due during the calendar year, based upon bonds issued under authority of a vote of the people conducted pursuant to RCW 84.52.056 and based upon excess levies for a capital project fund authorized pursuant to RCW 84.52.053, of an amount equal to the timber assessed value of the district multiplied by the tax rate levied for payment of the debt service and capital projects: PROVIDED, That in respect to levies for a debt service or capital project fund authorized before July 1, 1984, the amount allocated shall not be less than an amount equal to the same percentage of such debt service or capital project fund represented by timber tax allocations to such payments in calendar year 1984. Distribution under this subsection (2) shall be used only for debt service and capital projects payments. The distribution under this subsection shall be made as follows: One-half of such amount shall be distributed in the first quarter of the year and one-half shall be distributed in the third quarter of the year.

(3) From the moneys remaining after the distributions under subsection (2) of this section, the county treasurer shall distribute to each school district an amount equal to one-half of the timber assessed value of the district or eighty percent of the timber roll of such district in calendar year 1983 as determined under this chapter, whichever is greater, multiplied by the tax rate, if any, levied by the district under RCW 84.52.052 or 84.52.053 for purposes other than debt service payments and capital projects supported under subsection (2) of this section. The distribution under this subsection shall be made as follows: One-half of such amount shall be distributed in the first quarter of the year and one-half shall be distributed in the third quarter of the year.

(4) After the distributions directed under subsections (2) and (3) of this section, if any, each taxing district shall receive an amount equal to the timber assessed value of the district multiplied by the tax rate, if any, levied as a regular levy of the district or as a special levy not included in subsection (2) or (3) of this section.

(5) If there are insufficient moneys in the county timber tax account to make full distribution under subsection (4) of this section, the county treasurer shall multiply the amount to be distributed to each taxing district under that subsection by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the county timber tax account balance before making the distribution under that subsection. The denominator of the fraction is the account balance which would be required to make full distribution under that subsection.

(6) After making the distributions under subsections (2) through (4) of this section in the full amount indicated for the calendar year, the county treasurer shall place any excess revenue up to twenty percent of the total distributions made for the year under subsections (2) through (4) of this section in a reserve status until the beginning of the next calendar year. Any moneys remaining in the county timber tax account after this amount is placed in reserve shall be distributed to each taxing district in the county in the same proportions as the distributions made under subsection (4) of this section.

(7) The tax imposed by this section is a tax for county or municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the county or municipality for county or municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 84.52 RCW to read as follows:

Taxes imposed on behalf of counties, cities, towns, and other municipal corporations under this title are taxes for county, city, town, or municipal purposes under Article XI, section 12 of the state Constitution, and the lawful expenditure of the receipts from this tax by the county, city, town, or municipality for county, city, town, or municipal purposes may not be limited, nor may specific expenditure levels of such receipts be mandated, by the legislature or any state agency.