S-3317.3  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6674

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington   57th Legislature        2002 Regular Session

By Senators Hale, Hewitt, Keiser, Costa, McCaslin and Sheahan

Read first time 01/25/2002.  Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

Distributing a portion of sales and use taxes paid on construction of a nuclear waste treatment facility to the county where it is located.

    AN ACT Relating to sales and use tax revenue from the construction of a nuclear waste treatment and immobilization plant; adding a new section to chapter 82.32 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 70.99 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature recognizes the fiscal impact the proposed nuclear waste treatment and immobilization plant at Hanford would have on local government operations from the influx of thousands of temporary workers constructing the plant.  The legislature further recognizes that construction will take place on a federal reservation that is exempt from property taxation.  Therefore, the local governments would recover no tax revenue to offset these increased costs.

    It is the intent of the legislature to create a special impact mitigation assistance program funded by ten percent of the state's portion of the sales and use taxes collected on the construction of the project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 82.32 RCW to read as follows:

    An amount equal to ten percent of the state portion of sales and use taxes paid under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW on the construction of a nuclear waste treatment and immobilization plant shall be deposited into the nuclear waste mitigation account under section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 70.99 RCW to read as follows:

    The nuclear waste mitigation account is created in the custody of the state treasurer.  Receipts from section 2 of this act must be deposited into the account.  The department of revenue will annually distribute ten percent of the state portion of sales and use taxes under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW collected on the construction of a nuclear waste treatment facility to the county or counties where construction takes place.  Money received by a county or counties must be distributed by the county or counties to local governments using a formula devised by the Hanford communities organization, created pursuant to interlocal agreement under chapter 39.34 RCW.  Only the director of the department of revenue or the director's designee may authorize the annual distributions from this account.  The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

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