HOUSE BILL REPORT
SHB 1341
As Reported By House Committee On:
Natural Resources
Title: An act relating to watercraft excise tax.
Brief Description: Changing watercraft excise tax provisions.
Sponsors: House Committee on Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Representatives Fuhrman, Buck, Sehlin, Carrell, Romero, Ogden, Regala, Jacobsen and Basich; by request of Parks and Recreation Commission).
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Natural Resources: 1/23/96, 1/30/96 [DP2S].
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Majority Report: The second substitute bill be substituted therefor and the second substitute bill do pass. Signed by 15 members: Representatives Fuhrman, Chairman; Buck, Vice Chairman; Pennington, Vice Chairman; Basich, Ranking Minority Member; Regala, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Beeksma; Elliot; Hatfield; Jacobsen; Keiser; Sheldon; Stevens; B. Thomas; L. Thomas and Thompson.
Staff: Linda Byers (786-7129).
Background: A watercraft excise tax is imposed on many vessels operating in the state's waters. The excise tax assessment is 0.5 percent of fair market value of the vessel or $5, whichever is greater. The tax revenues are deposited in the state general fund.
From 1989 through 1995, the Legislature provided that up to $1 million per year of watercraft excise tax revenues could go to support boating programs. A specific appropriation was necessary in order to direct revenues to boating programs, and the Legislature provided that any funds so directed would be distributed as follows:
!30 percent to state and local governments for public recreational boater access and boater destination sites, allocated via a competitive grants program administered by the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation;
!30 percent to the State Parks and Recreation Commission for sewage pumpout or dump units at publicly and privately owned marinas;
!25 percent for grants to state agencies and other public entities to enforce boating safety laws and carry out boating safety programs, with State Parks administering the grant program; and
!15 percent to a variety of entities for boater education efforts, a program also administered by State Parks.
Since 1989, the Legislature has appropriated watercraft excise tax funds to boating programs as follows: $1.1 million in the 1989-91 biennium; $278,000 in the 1991-93 biennium, and zero in the 1993-95 biennium.
The State Parks and Recreation Commission designates marinas as appropriate for installation of a sewage pumpout or dump unit. The commission may designate boat launches and boater destinations as well. Once a marina or boat launch has been designated by the commission as appropriate for installation of a sewage pumpout or dump unit, the owner or operator may apply for the portion of the watercraft excise tax monies dedicated for these sewage disposal facilities. Arrangements for the funds are handled through contracts, with the contracts subject to a set of statutory conditions.
Summary of Second Substitute Bill: The Clean and Safe Boating Account is created. Up to $1 million per year of watercraft excise tax revenues will go into the account. Expenditures from the account are subject to appropriation, and any funds appropriated have to be distributed as follows:
!10 percent to the State Parks and Recreation Commission for navigational aids, buoys, and signs, and to support a statewide program of uniform waterway marking;
!30 percent to State Parks for sewage pumpout or dump units at publicly and privately owned marinas;
!30 percent for grants to state agencies and other public entities to enforce boating safety laws and carry out boating safety programs, with State Parks administering the grant program; and
!30 percent for boater education efforts, with a significant portion of these monies allocated for boating safety education in the public schools. State Parks also administers this program.
The allocation to the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation is eliminated.
Additionally, some changes are made in the contract provisions for owners and operators of marinas and boat launches deemed eligible by the commission for sewage pumpouts or dump units. A provision specifying ownership of the sewage pumpout or dump unit is removed, as is a requirement for the owner or operator to grant an irrevocable, 10-year license to use the facilities. The commission may require an applicant to provide matching funds in order to be eligible for funding. The owner or operator may charge a fee, approved by the commission, for the use of the sewage pumpout or dump unit, with the fee proceeds used to defray operation and maintenance costs of the sewage disposal facilities.
Second Substitute Bill Compared to Substitute Bill: The second substitute bill alters the upper and lower bounds determining when watercraft excise tax revenues begin to flow into the Clean and Safe Boating Account, and it corrects the effective date to reflect the second year of the biennium. The second substitute also adds the changes to the contract provisions regarding the sewage pumpout and dump units. It expands the entities eligible for the boater education grant program.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available on substitute. New fiscal note requested on second substitute on January 31, 1996.
Effective Date of Second Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect on July 1, 1996.
Testimony For: The essence of the bill is a money question: should some of the money that boaters pay be directed to boating programs? This is not taking money out of the general fund; it only captures a piece of the growth in the watercraft excise tax revenues. It is important to keep safety officers out on the water and to work in the schools on safety issues. We support this source of funding for law enforcement. Recreational boaters have already lost some of their money because of the gas tax allocation. This will help fund pumpouts, which boaters need. Washington expends one-third to one-fourth of the national average on boating programs and has one of the highest accident rates. It is critical to have a stable funding source for boating programs.
Testimony Against: None.
Testified: Cleve Pinnix, State Parks and Recreation Commission; Sheriff Bill Wiester, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and Boating Safety Council; Dave Williams, Recreational Boaters Association of Washington; and Captain Chet Motekaitis, U.S. Coast Guard (all in favor).