AN ACT Relating to
authorizing sales and use tax equalization payments for transit systems;
amending RCW 82.44.150; and adding a new section to chapter 82.14 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 82.44.150 and 1993 c
491 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The director of
licensing shall, on the twenty-fifth day of February, May, August, and November
of each year, advise the state treasurer of the total amount of motor vehicle
excise taxes imposed by RCW 82.44.020 (1) and (2) remitted to the department
during the preceding calendar quarter ending on the last day of March, June,
September, and December, respectively, except for those payable under RCW 82.44.030,
from motor vehicle owners residing within each municipality which has levied a
tax under RCW 35.58.273, which amount of excise taxes shall be determined by
the director as follows:
The total amount of
motor vehicle excise taxes remitted to the department, except those payable
under RCW 82.44.020(3) and 82.44.030, from each county shall be multiplied by a
fraction, the numerator of which is the population of the municipality residing
in such county, and the denominator of which is the total population of the
county in which such municipality or portion thereof is located. The product
of this computation shall be the amount of excise taxes from motor vehicle
owners residing within such municipality or portion thereof. Where the
municipality levying a tax under RCW 35.58.273 is located in more than one
county, the above computation shall be made by county, and the combined
products shall provide the total amount of motor vehicle excise taxes from
motor vehicle owners residing in the municipality as a whole. Population
figures required for these computations shall be supplied to the director by
the office of financial management, who shall adjust the fraction annually.
(2) On the first day of
the months of January, April, July, and October of each year, the state
treasurer based upon information provided by the department shall, from motor
vehicle excise taxes deposited in the general fund, under RCW 82.44.110(1)(g),
make the following deposits:
(a) To the high
capacity transportation account created in RCW 47.78.010, a sum equal to four
and five-tenths percent of the special excise tax levied under RCW 35.58.273 by
those municipalities authorized to levy a special excise tax within (i) each
county with a population of two hundred ten thousand or more and (ii) each
county with a population of from one hundred twenty-five thousand to less than
two hundred ten thousand except for those counties that do not border a county
with a population as described in subsection (i) of this subsection;
(b) To the central
Puget Sound public transportation account created in RCW 82.44.180, for
revenues distributed after December 31, 1992, within a county with a population
of one million or more and a county with a population of from two hundred
thousand to less than one million bordering a county with a population of one
million or more, a sum equal to the difference between (i) the special excise
tax levied and collected under RCW 35.58.273 by those municipalities authorized
to levy and collect a special excise tax subject to the requirements of
subsections (3) and (4) of this section and (ii) the special excise tax that
the municipality would otherwise have been eligible to levy and collect at a
tax rate of .815 percent and been able to match with locally generated tax revenues,
other than the excise tax imposed under RCW 35.58.273, budgeted for any public
transportation purpose. Before this deposit, the sum shall be reduced by an
amount equal to the amount distributed under (a) of this subsection for each of
the municipalities within the counties to which this subsection (2)(b) applies;
however, any transfer under this subsection (2)(b) must be greater than zero;
(c) To the public
transportation systems account created in RCW 82.44.180, for revenues
distributed after December 31, 1992, within counties not described in (b) of
this subsection, a sum equal to the difference between (i) the special excise
tax levied and collected under RCW 35.58.273 by those municipalities authorized
to levy and collect a special excise tax subject to the requirements of
subsections (3) and (4) of this section and (ii) the special excise tax that
the municipality would otherwise have been eligible to levy and collect at a
tax rate of .815 percent and been able to match with locally generated tax
revenues, other than the excise tax imposed under RCW 35.58.273, budgeted for
any public transportation purpose. Before this deposit, the sum shall be
reduced by an amount equal to the amount distributed under (a) of this
subsection for each of the municipalities within the counties to which this
subsection (2)(c) applies; however, any transfer under this subsection (2)(c)
must be greater than zero; and
(d) To the general
fund, for revenues distributed after June 30, 1993, and to the transportation
fund, for revenues distributed after June 30, 1995, a sum equal to the
difference between (i) the special excise tax levied and collected under RCW
35.58.273 by those municipalities authorized to levy and collect a special
excise tax subject to the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this
section and (ii) the special excise tax that the municipality would otherwise
have been eligible to levy and collect at a tax rate of .815 percent
notwithstanding the requirements set forth in subsections (3) through (6) of
this section, reduced by an amount equal to distributions made under (a), (b),
and (c) of this subsection and section 2 of this act.
(3) On the first day of
the months of January, April, July, and October of each year, the state
treasurer, based upon information provided by the department, shall remit motor
vehicle excise tax revenues imposed and collected under RCW 35.58.273 as
follows:
(a) The amount required
to be remitted by the state treasurer to the treasurer of any municipality
levying the tax shall not exceed in any calendar year the amount of
locally-generated tax revenues, excluding (i) the excise tax imposed
under RCW 35.58.273 for the purposes of this section, which shall have been
budgeted by the municipality to be collected in such calendar year for any
public transportation purposes including but not limited to operating costs,
capital costs, and debt service on general obligation or revenue bonds issued
for these purposes; and (ii) the sales and use tax equalization
distributions provided under section 2 of this act; and
(b) In no event may the
amount remitted in a single calendar quarter exceed the amount collected on
behalf of the municipality under RCW 35.58.273 during the calendar quarter next
preceding the immediately preceding quarter, excluding the sales and use tax
equalization distributions provided under section 2 of this act.
(4) At the close of
each calendar year accounting period, but not later than April 1, each
municipality that has received motor vehicle excise taxes under subsection (3)
of this section shall transmit to the director of licensing and the state
auditor a written report showing by source the previous year's budgeted tax
revenues for public transportation purposes as compared to actual collections.
Any municipality that has not submitted the report by April 1 shall cease to be
eligible to receive motor vehicle excise taxes under subsection (3) of this
section until the report is received by the director of licensing. If a
municipality has received more or less money under subsection (3) of this
section for the period covered by the report than it is entitled to receive by
reason of its locally-generated collected tax revenues, the director of
licensing shall, during the next ensuing quarter that the municipality is
eligible to receive motor vehicle excise tax funds, increase or decrease the
amount to be remitted in an amount equal to the difference between the
locally-generated budgeted tax revenues and the locally-generated collected tax
revenues. In no event may the amount remitted for a calendar year exceed the
amount collected on behalf of the municipality under RCW 35.58.273 during that
same calendar year excluding the sales and use tax equalization
distributions provided under section 2 of this act. At the time of the
next fiscal audit of each municipality, the state auditor shall verify the
accuracy of the report submitted and notify the director of licensing of any
discrepancies.
(5) The motor vehicle
excise taxes imposed under RCW 35.58.273 and required to be remitted under this
section and section 2 of this act shall be remitted without legislative
appropriation.
(6) Any municipality
levying and collecting a tax under RCW 35.58.273 which does not have an
operating, public transit system or a contract for public transportation
services in effect within one year from the initial effective date of the tax
shall return to the state treasurer all motor vehicle excise taxes received
under subsection (3) of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. A new section is added
to chapter 82.14 RCW to read as follows:
Beginning with distributions
made to municipalities under RCW 82.44.150 on January 1, 1996, municipalities
as defined in RCW 35.58.272 imposing the sales and use tax under RCW 82.14.045
shall be eligible for equalization payments from motor vehicle excise taxes
distributed under RCW 82.44.150 as follows:
(1) Prior to January
1st of each year the department of revenue shall determine the total and the
per capita levels of revenues for each municipality imposing the sales and use
tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 and the state-wide weighted average per
capita level of sales and use tax revenues imposed under chapters 82.08 and
82.12 RCW for the previous calendar year calculated for a tax rate of one-tenth
percent.
(2) For each tenth of
one percent of sales and use tax imposed under RCW 82.14.045, the state
treasurer shall apportion to each municipality receiving less than eighty
percent of the state-wide weighted average per capita level of sales and use
tax revenues imposed under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW as determined by the
department of revenue under subsection (1) of this section, an amount when
added to the per capita level of revenues received the previous calendar year
by the municipality, to equal eighty percent of the state-wide weighted average
per capita level of revenues determined under subsection (1) of this section.
In no event may the sales and use tax equalization distribution to a
municipality in a single calendar year exceed fifty percent of the amount of
sales and use tax collected under RCW 82.14.045 during the prior calendar year.
(3) For a municipality
established after January 1, 1995, sales and use tax equalization distributions
shall be made according to the procedures in this subsection. Sales and use
tax equalization distributions to eligible new municipalities shall be made at
the same time as distributions are made under subsection (2) of this section.
The department of revenue shall follow the estimating procedures outlined in
this subsection until the new municipality has received a full year's worth of
revenues under RCW 82.14.045 as of the January sales and use tax equalization
distribution.
(a) Whether a newly
established municipality determined to receive funds under this subsection
receives its first equalization payment at the January, April, July, or October
sales and use tax equalization distribution shall depend on the date the system
first imposes the tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045.
(i) A newly established
municipality imposing the tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 taking effect during
the first calendar quarter shall be eligible to receive funds under this
subsection beginning with the July sales and use tax equalization distribution
of that year.
(ii) A newly
established municipality imposing the tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 taking
effect during the second calendar quarter shall be eligible to receive funds
under this subsection beginning with the October sales and use tax equalization
distribution of that year.
(iii) A newly
established municipality imposing the tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 taking
effect during the third calendar quarter shall be eligible to receive funds
under this subsection beginning with the January sales and use tax equalization
distribution of the next year.
(iv) A newly
established municipality imposing the tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 taking
effect during the fourth calendar quarter shall be eligible to receive funds
under this subsection beginning with the April sales and use tax equalization
distribution of the next year.
(b) For purposes of
calculating the amount of funds the new municipality should receive under this
subsection, the department of revenue shall:
(i) Estimate the per
capita amount of revenues from the tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 that the
new municipality would have received had the municipality received revenues
from the tax the entire calendar year;
(ii) Calculate the
amount provided under subsection (2) of this section based on the per capita
revenues determined under (b)(i) of this subsection;
(iii) Prorate the
amount determined under (b)(ii) of this subsection by the number of months the
tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 is imposed.
(c) The department of
revenue shall advise the state treasurer of the amounts calculated under (b) of
this subsection and the state treasurer shall distribute these amounts to the
new municipality from the motor vehicle excise tax distributed under RCW
82.44.150(2)(d).
(d) Revenues estimated
under this subsection shall not affect the calculation of the state-wide
weighted average per capita level of revenues for all municipalities made under
subsection (1) of this section.
(4) For an existing
municipality imposing the sales and use tax authorized under RCW 82.14.045 to
take effect after January 1, 1995, sales and use tax equalization payments
shall be made according to the procedures for newly established municipalities
in subsection (3) of the section.
(5) A
municipality that reduces its sales and use tax rate under RCW 82.14.045 after
January 1, 1994, may not receive distributions under this section.
