H-4405.1  _______________________________________________

                 SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1514

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1996 Regular Session

By House Committee on Finance (originally sponsored by Representatives Hymes, Dickerson, Costa, D. Schmidt, Hargrove, Romero, Poulsen, B. Thomas, Regala, R. Fisher, Benton, Wolfe, Ogden and Conway)

Read first time 01/30/96.

Directing the department of revenue to prepare legislation to reorganize Titles 82 and 84 RCW.

    AN ACT Relating to reorganization of Titles 82 and 84 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The department of revenue shall prepare a report for submission to the 1997 legislature regarding the reorganization and rewriting of the state tax laws administered by the department.  The purpose of the rewriting and reorganization of the tax laws is to make them easy to read and understand, without making substantive changes to law.  The report shall set out a plan to accomplish the reorganization and rewriting of the state's tax codes, including a proposed schedule, samples of rewritten sections, discussion of the likely judicial effects, and reports on other states that have performed similar services.

    The fiscal committees of the house of representatives and of the senate, and the code reviser's office, shall cooperate with the department in the preparation of the report.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  In preparing the report, the department of revenue shall provide to the chairs of the house finance committee, the senate ways and means committee, representatives of local government, the business community, the attorney general's office, and other affected persons, and make available to the public for comment and review, copies of proposed redrafts and the department's proposed plan.  The department may provide these copies through the internet, mailings, in public meetings, or in any other manner likely to provide people with the ability to review and comment if they so desire.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 1996, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1996.

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