AN
ACT Relating to county treasury management; amending RCW 35.50.030, 35.50.040,
35.50.260, 36.29.020, 36.34.090, 36.36.045, 36.88.220, 36.88.230, 36.94.150,
53.36.050, 58.08.040, 84.38.020, 84.38.020, 84.56.240, 84.56.300, 84.56.340, 84.69.020,
36.29.190, and 84.55.005; adding a new section to chapter 84.40 RCW; repealing
RCW 36.29.150 and 36.33.180; providing effective dates; providing an expiration
date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
35.50.030 and 1983 c 303 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
If
on the first day of January in any year, two installments of any local
improvement assessment are delinquent, or if the final installment thereof has
been delinquent for more than one year, the city or town shall proceed with the
foreclosure of the delinquent assessment or delinquent installments thereof by
proceedings brought in its own name in the superior court of the county in
which the city or town is situate.
The
proceedings shall be commenced on or before March 1st of that year or on or
before such other date in such year as may be fixed by general ordinance, but
not before the city or town treasurer has notified by certified mail the
persons whose names appear on the assessment roll as owners of the property
charged with the assessments or installments which are delinquent, at the
address last known to the treasurer, a notice thirty days before the
commencement of the proceedings. If the person whose name appears on the tax
rolls of the county assessor as owner of the property, or the address shown for
the owner, differs from that appearing on the city or town assessment roll, then
the treasurer shall also mail a copy of the notice to that person or that
address.
The
notice shall state the amount due, including foreclosure costs, upon
each separate lot, tract, or parcel of land and the date after which the
proceedings will be commenced. The city or town treasurer shall file with the
clerk of the superior court at the time of commencement of the foreclosure
proceeding the affidavit of the person who mailed the notices. This affidavit
shall be conclusive proof of compliance with the requirements of this section.
Sec.
2. RCW
35.50.040 and 1965 c 7 s 35.50.040 are each amended to read as follows:
When
the local improvement assessment is payable in installments, the enforcement of
the lien of any installment shall not prevent the enforcement of the lien of
any subsequent installment.
A
city or town may by general ordinance provide that upon failure to pay any
installment due the entire assessment shall become due and payable and the
collection thereof enforced by foreclosure: PROVIDED, That the payment of all
delinquent installments together with interest, penalty, and administrative
costs at any time before entry of judgment in foreclosure shall extend the time
of payment on the remainder of the assessments as if there had been no
delinquency or foreclosure. Where foreclosure of two installments of the same
assessment on any lot, tract, or parcel is sought, the city or town treasurer
shall cause such lot, tract, or parcel to be dismissed from the action, if the
installment first delinquent together with interest, penalty, administrative
costs, and charges is paid at any time before sale.
Sec.
3. RCW
35.50.260 and 1983 c 303 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:
In
foreclosing local improvement assessments the action shall be tried to the
court without a jury. If the parties interested in any particular lot, tract,
or parcel default, the court may enter judgment of foreclosure and sale as to
such parties and lots, tracts, or parcels and the action may proceed as to the
remaining defendants and lots, tracts, or parcels. Judgment and order of sale
may be entered as to any one or more separate lots, tracts, or parcels involved
in the action and the court shall retain jurisdiction to others.
The
judgment shall specify separately the amount of the installments with interest,
penalty, and all reasonable administrative costs, including, but not
limited to, the title searches, chargeable to each lot, tract, or parcel.
The judgment shall have the effect of a separate judgment as to each lot,
tract, or parcel described in the judgment, and any appeal shall not invalidate
or delay the judgment except as to the property concerning which the appeal is
taken. In the judgment the court shall order the lots, tracts, or parcels
therein described sold by the city or town treasurer or by the county sheriff
and an order of sale shall issue pursuant thereto for the enforcement of the
judgment.
In
all other respects, the trial, judgment, and appeals to the supreme court or
the court of appeals shall be governed by the statutes governing the
foreclosure of mortgages on real property.
Prior
to the sale of the property, if the property is shown on the property tax rolls
under unknown owner or if the property contains a residential structure having
an assessed value of two thousand dollars or more, the treasurer shall order or
conduct a title search of the property to determine the record title holders
and all persons claiming a mortgage, deed of trust, or mechanic's, laborer's,
materialmen's, or vendor's lien on the property.
At
least thirty days prior to the sale of the property, a copy of the notice of
sale shall be mailed by certified and regular mail to all defendants in the
foreclosure action as to that parcel, lot, or tract and, if the owner is
unknown or the property contains a residential structure having an assessed
value of two thousand dollars or more, a copy of the notice of sale shall be
mailed by regular and certified mail to any additional record title holders and
persons claiming a mortgage, deed of trust, or mechanic's, laborer's,
materialmen's, or vendor's lien on the property.
In
all other respects the procedure for sale shall be conducted in the same manner
as property tax sales described in RCW 84.64.080.
Sec.
4. RCW
36.29.020 and 1991 c 245 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
The
county treasurer shall keep all moneys belonging to the state, or to any
county, in his or her own possession until disbursed according to law. The
county treasurer shall not place the same in the possession of any person to be
used for any purpose; nor shall he or she loan or in any manner use or permit
any person to use the same; but it shall be lawful for a county treasurer to
deposit any such moneys in any regularly designated qualified public
depositary. Any municipal corporation may by action of its governing body
authorize any of its funds which are not required for immediate expenditure,
and which are in the custody of the county treasurer or other municipal
corporation treasurer, to be invested by such treasurer. The county treasurer
may invest in savings or time accounts in designated qualified public
depositaries or in certificates, notes, or bonds of the United States, or other
obligations of the United States or its agencies, or of any corporation wholly
owned by the government of the United States; in bankers' acceptances purchased
on the secondary market, in federal home loan bank notes and bonds, federal
land bank bonds and federal national mortgage association notes, debentures and
guaranteed certificates of participation, or the obligations of any other
government sponsored corporation whose obligations are or may become eligible
as collateral for advances to member banks as determined by the board of
governors of the federal reserve system or deposit such funds or any portion
thereof in investment deposits as defined in RCW 39.58.010 secured by
collateral in accordance with the provisions of chapters 39.58 and 39.59 RCW:
PROVIDED, Five percent of the earnings, with an annual maximum of fifty
dollars, on each transaction authorized by the governing body shall be paid as
an investment service fee to the office of the county treasurer or other municipal
corporation treasurer when the earnings become available to the governing
body: PROVIDED FURTHER, That if such investment service fee amounts to five
dollars or less the county treasurer or other municipal corporation treasurer
may waive such fee.
Whenever
the funds of any municipal corporation which are not required for immediate
expenditure are in the custody or control of the county treasurer, and the
governing body of such municipal corporation has not taken any action
pertaining to the investment of any such funds, the county finance committee
shall direct the county treasurer, under the investment policy of the county
finance committee, to invest, to the maximum prudent extent, such funds or
any portion thereof in savings or time accounts in designated qualified public
depositaries or in certificates, notes, or bonds of the United States, or other
obligations of the United States or its agencies, or of any corporation wholly
owned by the government of the United States, in bankers' acceptances purchased
on the secondary market, in federal home loan bank notes and bonds, federal
land bank bonds and federal national mortgage association notes, debentures and
guaranteed certificates of participation, or the obligations of any other
government sponsored corporation whose obligations are or may become eligible
as collateral for advances to member banks as determined by the board of
governors of the federal reserve system or deposit such funds or any portion
thereof in investment deposits as defined in RCW 39.58.010 secured by
collateral in accordance with the provisions of chapters 39.58 and 39.59 RCW:
PROVIDED, That the county treasurer shall have the power to select the specific
qualified financial institution in which the funds may be invested. The interest
or other earnings from such investments or deposits shall be deposited in the
current expense fund of the county and may be used for general county
purposes. The investment or deposit and disposition of the interest or other
earnings therefrom authorized by this paragraph shall not apply to such funds
as may be prohibited by the state Constitution from being so invested or
deposited.
Sec.
5. RCW
36.34.090 and 1991 c 363 s 69 are each amended to read as follows:
Whenever
county property is to be sold at public auction, consignment auction, or sealed
bid, the county ((auditor)) treasurer or the county treasurer's
designee shall publish notice thereof once during each of two successive
calendar weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Notice
thereof must also be posted in a conspicuous place in the courthouse. The
posting and date of first publication must be at least ten days before the day
fixed for the sale.
Sec.
6. RCW
36.36.045 and 1987 c 381 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
The
county shall have a lien for any delinquent fees imposed for the withdrawal of
subterranean water or on-site sewage disposal, which shall attach to the
property to which the fees were imposed, if the following conditions are met:
(1)
At least eighteen months have passed since the first billing for a delinquent
fee installment; and
(2)
At least three billing notices and a letter have been mailed to the property
owner, within the period specified in subsection (1) of this section,
explaining that a lien may be imposed for any delinquent fee installment that
has not been paid in that period.
The
lien shall otherwise be subject to the provisions of chapter 36.94 RCW related
to liens for delinquent charges. The county shall record liens for any
delinquent fees in the office of the county auditor. Failure on the part of
the county to record the lien does not affect the validity of the lien.
Sec.
7. RCW
36.88.220 and 1967 ex.s. c 145 s 63 are each amended to read as follows:
All counties may establish a fund for the purpose of guaranteeing
to the extent of such fund and in the manner hereinafter provided, the payment
of its road improvement district bonds and warrants issued to pay for any road
improvement ordered under this chapter. If the ((board of county
commissioners)) county legislative authority shall determine to
establish such fund it shall be designated
". . . . . . county road improvement guaranty
fund" and from moneys available for road purposes such county shall
deposit annually in said guaranty fund such sums as may be necessary to
establish and maintain a balance therein equal to at least five percent of the
outstanding obligations guaranteed thereby and to make necessary provision in
its annual budget therefor. The moneys held in the guaranty fund may be
invested in ((obligations of the government of the United States or of this
state)) accordance with the laws relating to county investments.
Sec.
8. RCW
36.88.230 and 1983 c 167 s 96 are each amended to read as follows:
Whenever
there shall be paid out of a guaranty fund any sum on account of principal or
interest of a road improvement district bond or warrant, the county, as trustee
for the fund, shall be subrogated to all the rights of the owner of the bond or
any interest coupon or warrant so paid, and the proceeds thereof, or of the
assessment underlying the same, shall become part of the guaranty fund. There
shall also be paid into each guaranty fund the interest received from ((bank
deposits or government securities)) investment of the fund, as well
as any surplus remaining in any local improvement fund guaranteed hereunder
after the payment of all outstanding bonds or warrants payable primarily out of
such road improvement fund. Warrants drawing interest at a rate or rates not
to exceed the rate determined by the county legislative authority shall be
issued, as other warrants are issued by the county, against a guaranty fund to
meet any liability accruing against it, and at the time of making its annual
budget and tax levy the county shall provide from funds available for road
purposes for the deposit in the guaranty fund of a sum sufficient with other resources
of such fund to pay warrants so issued during the preceding fiscal year. As
among the several issues of bonds or warrants guaranteed by the fund no
preference shall exist, but defaulted bonds, interest payments, and warrants
shall be purchased out of the fund in the order of their presentation.
Every
county establishing a guaranty fund for road improvement district bonds or
warrants shall prescribe by resolution appropriate rules and regulations for
the maintenance and operation of the guaranty fund not inconsistent herewith.
So much of the money of a guaranty fund as is necessary may be used to purchase
underlying bonds or warrants guaranteed by the fund, or to purchase
certificates of delinquency for general taxes on property subject to local improvement
assessments, or to purchase such property at tax foreclosures, for the purpose
of protecting the guaranty fund. Said fund shall be subrogated to the rights
of the county, and the county, acting on behalf of said fund, may foreclose the
lien of general tax certificates of delinquency and purchase the property at
the foreclosure sale for the account of said fund. Whenever the legislative
authority of any county shall so cause a lien of general tax certificates of
delinquency to be foreclosed and the property to be so purchased at a
foreclosure sale, the court costs and costs of publication and expenses for
clerical work and/or other expense incidental thereto, shall be chargeable to
and payable from the guaranty fund. After so acquiring title to real property,
a county may lease or sell and convey the same at public or private sale for
such price and on such terms as may be determined by resolution of the county
legislative body, and all proceeds resulting from such sales shall belong to
and be paid into the guaranty fund.
Sec.
9. RCW
36.94.150 and 1975 1st ex.s. c 188 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
All
counties operating a system of sewerage and/or water shall have a lien for
delinquent connection charges and charges for the availability of sewerage
and/or water service, together with interest fixed by resolution at eight
percent per annum from the date due until paid. Penalties of not more than ten
percent of the amount due may be imposed in case of failure to pay the charges
at times fixed by resolution. The lien shall be for all charges, interest, and
penalties and shall attach to the premises to which the services were
available. The lien shall be superior to all other liens and encumbrances,
except general taxes and local and special assessments of the county.
The
county department established in RCW 36.94.120 shall certify periodically the
delinquencies to the ((treasurer)) auditor of the county at which
time the lien shall attach.
Upon
the expiration of sixty days after the attachment of the lien, the county may
bring suit in foreclosure by civil action in the superior court of the county
where the property is located. Costs associated with the foreclosure of the
lien, including but not limited to advertising, title report, and personnel
costs, shall be added to the lien upon filing of the foreclosure action.
In addition to the costs and disbursements provided by statute, the court may
allow the county a reasonable attorney's fee. The lien shall be foreclosed in
the same manner as the foreclosure of real property tax liens.
Sec.
10. RCW
53.36.050 and 1959 c 52 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
The county treasurer acting as port treasurer shall create a fund
to be known as the "Port of . . . . . .
Fund," into which shall be paid all money received by him from the
collection of taxes in behalf of such port district, and shall also maintain
such other special funds as may be created by the port commission into which
shall be placed such moneys as the port commission may by its resolution
direct. All such port funds shall be deposited with the county depositories
under the same restrictions, contracts and security as is provided by statute
for county depositories and all interest collected on such port funds shall
belong to such port district and shall be deposited to its credit in the proper
port funds: PROVIDED, That any portion of such port moneys determined by the
port commission to be in excess of the current needs of the port district may
be invested ((in certificates, notes, bonds, or other obligations of the
United States of America, or any agency or instrumentality thereof)) by
the county treasurer in accordance with RCW 36.29.020, RCW 36.29.022, and
chapter 39.59 RCW, and all interest collected thereon shall likewise belong
to such port district and shall be deposited to its credit in the proper port
funds.
Sec.
11. RCW
58.08.040 and 1994 c 301 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
Prior
to any person ((filing)) recording a plat, replat, altered
plat, or binding site plan subsequent to May 31st in any year and prior to the
date of the collection of taxes in the ensuing year, the person shall
deposit with the county treasurer a sum equal to the product of the county
assessor's latest valuation on the property less improvements in such
subdivision multiplied by the current year's dollar rate increased by
twenty-five percent on the property platted. The treasurer's receipt shall be
evidence of the payment. The treasurer shall appropriate so much of the
deposit as will pay the taxes and assessments on the property when the
levy rates are certified by the assessor using the value of the property at the
time of filing a plat, replat, altered plat, or binding site plan, and in case
the sum deposited is in excess of the amount necessary for the payment of the
taxes and assessments, the treasurer shall return, to the party
depositing, the amount of excess.
Sec.
12. RCW
84.38.020 and 1995 c 329 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless
a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and
phrases as hereinafter used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
(1)
"Claimant" means a person who either elects or is required under RCW
84.64.050 to defer payment of the special assessments and/or real property taxes
accrued on the claimant's residence by filing a declaration to defer as
provided by this chapter.
When
two or more individuals of a household file or seek to file a declaration to
defer, they may determine between them as to who the claimant shall be.
(2)
"Department" means the state department of revenue.
(3)
"Equity value" means the amount by which the fair market value of a
residence as determined from the records of the county assessor exceeds the
total amount of any liens or other obligations against the property.
(4)
"Local government" means any city, town, county, water-sewer
district, public utility district, port district, irrigation district, flood
control district, or any other municipal corporation, quasi municipal
corporation, or other political subdivision authorized to levy special
assessments.
(5)
"Real property taxes" means ad valorem property taxes levied on a
residence in this state in the preceding calendar year.
(((5)))
(6) "Residence" has the meaning given in RCW 84.36.383, except
that a residence includes any additional property up to a total of five acres
that comprises the residential parcel if this larger parcel size is required
under land use regulations.
(((6)))
(7) "Special assessment" means the charge or obligation
imposed by a ((city, town, county, or other municipal corporation)) local
government upon property specially benefited ((by a local improvement,
including assessments under chapters 35.44, 36.88, 36.94, 53.08, 54.16, 56.20,
57.16, 86.09, and 87.03 RCW and any other relevant chapter)).
Sec.
13. RCW
84.38.020 and 1996 c 230 s 1614 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless
a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and
phrases as hereinafter used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
(1)
"Claimant" means a person who either elects or is required under RCW
84.64.050 to defer payment of the special assessments and/or real property
taxes accrued on the claimant's residence by filing a declaration to defer as
provided by this chapter.
When
two or more individuals of a household file or seek to file a declaration to
defer, they may determine between them as to who the claimant shall be.
(2)
"Department" means the state department of revenue.
(3)
"Equity value" means the amount by which the fair market value of a
residence as determined from the records of the county assessor exceeds the
total amount of any liens or other obligations against the property.
(4)
"Local government" means any city, town, county, water-sewer
district, public utility district, port district, irrigation district, flood
control district, or any other municipal corporation, quasi municipal
corporation, or other political subdivision authorized to levy special
assessments.
(5)
"Real property taxes" means ad valorem property taxes levied on a
residence in this state in the preceding calendar year.
(((5)))
(6) "Residence" has the meaning given in RCW 84.36.383, except
that a residence includes any additional property up to a total of five acres
that comprises the residential parcel if this larger parcel size is required
under land use regulations.
(((6)))
(7) "Special assessment" means the charge or obligation imposed
by a ((city, town, county, or other municipal corporation)) local
government upon property specially benefited ((by a local improvement,
including assessments under chapters 35.44, 36.88, 36.94, 53.08, 54.16, 57.16,
86.09, and 87.03 RCW and any other relevant chapter)).
Sec.
14. RCW
84.56.240 and 1961 c 15 s 84.56.240 are each amended to read as follows:
If
the county treasurer is unable, for the want of goods or chattels whereupon to
levy, to collect by distress or otherwise, the taxes, or any part thereof,
which may have been assessed upon the personal property of any person or
corporation, or an executor or administrator, guardian, receiver, accounting
officer, agent or factor, ((such)) the treasurer shall file with the
county ((auditor)) legislative authority, on the first day of ((January))
February following, a list of such taxes, with an affidavit of ((himself))
the treasurer or of the deputy treasurer entrusted with the collection
of ((said)) the taxes, stating that ((he)) the
treasurer had made diligent search and inquiry for goods and chattels
wherewith to make such taxes, and was unable to make or collect the same. The
county ((auditor shall deliver such list and affidavit to the board of
county commissioners at their first session thereafter, and they)) legislative
authority shall cancel such taxes as ((they are)) the county
legislative authority is satisfied cannot be collected.
Sec.
15. RCW
84.56.300 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 45 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
On
the first Monday of ((January)) February of each year the county
treasurer shall balance up the tax rolls as of December 31 of the prior year
in ((his)) the treasurer's hands and with which ((he)) the
treasurer stands charged on the roll accounts of the county auditor. ((He))
The treasurer shall then report to the county auditor in full the amount
of taxes ((he has)) collected and specify the amount collected on each
fund. ((He)) The treasurer shall also report the amount of taxes
that remain uncollected and delinquent upon the tax rolls, which, with ((his))
collections and credits on account of errors and double assessments,
should balance ((his)) the tax rolls ((accounts))
as ((he)) the treasurer stands charged. ((He)) The
treasurer shall then report the amount of collections on account of
interest since the taxes became delinquent, and as added ((by him)) to
the original amounts when making such collections, and with which ((he))
the treasurer is now to be charged by the auditor, such reports to be
duly verified by affidavit.
Sec.
16. RCW
84.56.340 and 1996 c 153 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Any
person desiring to pay taxes upon any part or parts of real property heretofore
or hereafter assessed as one parcel, or tract, or upon such person's undivided
fractional interest in such a property, may do so by applying to the county
assessor, who must carefully investigate and ascertain the relative or
proportionate value said part or part interest bears to the whole tract
assessed, on which basis the assessment must be divided, and the assessor shall
forthwith certify such proportionate value to the county treasurer: PROVIDED,
That excepting when property is being acquired for public use, or where a
person or financial institution desires to pay the taxes and any penalties and
interest on a mobile home upon which they have a lien by mortgage or otherwise,
no segregation of property for tax purposes shall be made under this section
unless all ((current year and)) delinquent taxes and assessments on the
entire tract have been paid in full. ((The county assessor shall duly
certify the proportionate value to the county treasurer.)) The county
treasurer, upon receipt of certification, shall duly accept payment and issue
receipt on the apportionment certified by the county assessor. In cases where
protest is filed to said division appeal shall be made to the county
legislative authority at its next regular session for final division, and the
county treasurer shall accept and receipt for said taxes as determined and
ordered by the county legislative authority. Any person desiring to pay on an
undivided interest in any real property may do so by paying to the county
treasurer a sum equal to such proportion of the entire taxes charged on the
entire tract as interest paid on bears to the whole.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 17. A
new section is added to chapter 84.40 RCW to read as follows:
(1)
When real property is divided in accordance with chapter 58.17 RCW, the
assessor shall carefully investigate and ascertain the true and fair value of
each lot and assess each lot on that same basis, unless specifically provided
otherwise by law. For purposes of this section, "lot" has the same
definition as in RCW 58.17.020.
(a)
For each lot on which an advance tax deposit has been paid in accordance with
RCW 58.08.040, the assessor shall establish the true and fair value by October
30 of the year following the recording of the plat, replat, altered plat, or
binding site plan. The value established shall be the value of the lot as of
January 1 of the year the original parcel of real property was last revalued.
An additional property tax shall not be due on the land until the calendar year
following the year for which the advance tax deposit was paid if the deposit
was sufficient to pay the full amount of the taxes due on the property.
(b)
For each lot on which an advance tax deposit has not been paid, the assessor
shall establish the true and fair value not later than the calendar year
following the recording of the plat, map, subdivision, or replat. For purposes
of this section, "subdivision" means a division of land into two or
more lots.
(c)
For each subdivision, all current year and delinquent taxes and assessments on
the entire tract must be paid in full in accordance with RCW 58.17.160 and
58.08.030. For purposes of this section, "current year taxes" means
taxes that are collectable under RCW 84.56.010 subsequent to February 14.
(2)
When the assessor is required by law to segregate any part or parts of real
property, assessed before or after the effective date of this section as one
parcel or when the assessor is required by law to combine parcels of real
property assessed before or after the effective date of this section as two or
more parcels, the assessor shall carefully investigate and ascertain the true
and fair value of each part or parts of the real property and each combined
parcel and assess each part or parts or each combined parcel on that same
basis.
Sec.
18. RCW
84.69.020 and 1996 c 296 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
On
the order of the county treasurer, ad valorem taxes paid before or after
delinquency shall be refunded if they were:
(1)
Paid more than once; or
(2)
Paid as a result of manifest error in description; or
(3)
Paid as a result of a clerical error in extending the tax rolls; or
(4)
Paid as a result of other clerical errors in listing property; or
(5)
Paid with respect to improvements which did not exist on assessment date; or
(6)
Paid under levies or statutes adjudicated to be illegal or unconstitutional; or
(7)
Paid as a result of mistake, inadvertence, or lack of knowledge by any person
exempted from paying real property taxes or a portion thereof pursuant to RCW
84.36.381 through 84.36.389, as now or hereafter amended; or
(8)
Paid as a result of mistake, inadvertence, or lack of knowledge by either a
public official or employee or by any person with respect to real property in
which the person paying the same has no legal interest; or
(9)
Paid on the basis of an assessed valuation which was appealed to the county
board of equalization and ordered reduced by the board; or
(10)
Paid on the basis of an assessed valuation which was appealed to the state
board of tax appeals and ordered reduced by the board: PROVIDED, That the
amount refunded under subsections (9) and (10) of this section shall only be
for the difference between the tax paid on the basis of the appealed valuation
and the tax payable on the valuation adjusted in accordance with the board's
order; or
(11)
Paid as a state property tax levied upon property, the assessed value of which
has been established by the state board of tax appeals for the year of such
levy: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the amount refunded shall only be for the
difference between the state property tax paid and the amount of state property
tax which would, when added to all other property taxes within the one percent
limitation of Article VII, section 2 of the state Constitution equal one
percent of the assessed value established by the board;
(12)
Paid on the basis of an assessed valuation which was adjudicated to be unlawful
or excessive: PROVIDED, That the amount refunded shall be for the difference
between the amount of tax which was paid on the basis of the valuation adjudged
unlawful or excessive and the amount of tax payable on the basis of the
assessed valuation determined as a result of the proceeding; or
(13)
Paid on property acquired under RCW 84.60.050, and canceled under RCW
84.60.050(2); or
(14)
Paid on the basis of an assessed valuation that was reduced under RCW
84.48.065.
No
refunds under the provisions of this section shall be made because of any error
in determining the valuation of property, except as authorized in subsections
(9), (10), (11), and (12) of this section nor may any refunds be made if a bona
fide purchaser has acquired rights that would preclude the assessment and
collection of the refunded tax from the property that should properly have been
charged with the tax. Any refunds made on delinquent taxes shall include the
proportionate amount of interest and penalties paid. The county treasurer may
deduct from moneys collected for the benefit of the state's levy, refunds of
the state levy including interest on the levy as provided by this section and
chapter 84.68 RCW.
The
county treasurer of each county shall make all refunds determined to be
authorized by this section, and by the first Monday in ((January)) February
of each year, report to the county legislative authority a list of all refunds
made under this section during the previous year. The list is to include the
name of the person receiving the refund, the amount of the refund, and the
reason for the refund.
Sec.
19. RCW
36.29.190 and 1996 c 153 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
County
treasurers are authorized to accept credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, smart
cards, stored value cards, federal wire, and automatic clearinghouse system
transactions, or other electronic communication, for any payment of any kind
including, but not limited to, taxes, fines, interest, penalties, special
assessments, fees, rates, charges, or moneys due counties. A payer desiring to
pay by a credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, stored value
card, federal wire, automatic clearinghouse system, or other electronic
communication shall bear the cost of processing the transaction in an amount
determined by the treasurer, unless the county legislative authority finds
that it is in the best interests of the county to not charge transaction
processing costs for all payment transactions made for a specific category of
nontax payments due the county, including, but not limited to, fines, interest
not associated with taxes, penalties not associated with taxes, special
assessments, fees, rates, and charges. ((Such)) The treasurer's
cost determination shall be based upon costs incurred by the treasurer ((including
handling, collecting, discount, disbursing, and accounting for the transaction))
and may not, in any event, exceed the additional direct costs incurred by
the county to accept the specific form of payment utilized by the payer.
Sec.
20. RCW
84.55.005 and 1994 c 301 s 49 are each amended to read as follows:
As
used in this chapter, the term "regular property taxes" has the
meaning given it in RCW 84.04.140((, and also includes amounts received in
lieu of regular property taxes)).
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 21. The
following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
(1) RCW
36.29.150 and 1963 c 4 s 36.29.150; and
(2) RCW
36.33.180 and 1963 c 4 s 36.33.180.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 22. (1)
Section 12 of 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 immediately.
(2)
Section 13 of 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.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 23.
Section 12 of this act expires July 1, 1997.
