BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to sales and use tax exemptions; adding a new section to chapter 82.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.12 RCW; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 82.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 shall not apply to the construction of new structures and expansion or renovation of existing structures for the purpose of increasing floor space or production capacity used in a professional laundry operation, including plant offices and warehouses or other on-site facilities that are essential or an integral part of the professional laundry operation, but only if the user provides the department with an exemption certificate in a form and manner prescribed by the department prior to the start of construction, expansion, or renovation of the structure.

(2) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 shall not apply to sales of machinery and equipment that is used directly in a professional laundry operation, or to sales of or charges made for labor and services rendered in respect to installing the machinery and equipment, but only when the purchaser provides the seller with an exemption certificate in a form and manner prescribed by the department by rule, and the purchaser provides the department with a duplicate of the certificate or a summary of exempt sales as the department may require. The seller shall retain a copy of the certificate for the seller's files.

(3) For purposes of this section and section 2 of this act:

(a) "Machinery and equipment" means industrial fixtures, devices, and support facilities, and tangible personal property that becomes an ingredient or component thereof. "Machinery and equipment" includes pollution control equipment installed and used in a professional laundry operation to prevent air pollution, water pollution, or contamination that might otherwise result from the processing operation;

(b) "Machinery and equipment" does not include:

(i) Hand tools;

(ii) Property with a useful life of less than one year;

(iii) Buildings, other than machinery and equipment that is permanently affixed to or becomes a physical part of a building; and

(iv) Building fixtures that are not integral to the processing operation that are permanently affixed to and become a physical part of a building, such as utility systems for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, communications, plumbing, or electrical;

(c) "Professional laundry operation" means the washing and finishing of articles that are packaged for shipment by a commercial or industrial laundry. The term does not include coin-operated facilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 82.12 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply in respect to the construction of new structures and expansion or renovation of existing structures for the purpose of increasing floor space or production capacity used in a professional laundry operation, including plant offices and warehouses or other on-site facilities that are essential or an integral part of the professional laundry operation. To qualify for the exemption under this subsection, the user must provide the department with an exemption certificate in a form and manner prescribed by the department prior to the start of construction, expansion, or renovation of the structure.

(2) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply in respect to the use by a processor for hire of machinery and equipment used directly in a professional laundry operation, but only when the user provides the department with an exemption certificate in a form and manner prescribed by the department within sixty days of the first use of the machinery and equipment or an annual summary listing the machinery and equipment by January 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the machinery and equipment is first used in this state.

(3) The definitions in section 1 of this act apply to this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 1997.