BILL REQ. #:  S-0151.1 

Read first time 01/19/2005.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to real estate excise tax fees and electronic processing of affidavits; amending RCW 82.45.180; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) It is the legislature's intent to provide funding for the development and implementation of an automated system for the electronic processing of the real estate excise tax. The legislature finds that due to the numerous users of the real estate excise tax information, and the many entities involved in its workflow, that county systems must be compatible with the automated system developed by the state department of revenue.
     (2) The legislature finds that under current law an electronic real estate excise tax affidavit that is signed with a digital signature under chapter 19.34 RCW is a legally valid document and pursuant to RCW 5.46.010, electronic facsimiles, scanned signatures, and digital and other electronic conversions of written signatures satisfy the signature component of the affidavit requirement under this act.
     (3) If at any time there is a legal dispute related to the transference of any property relating to the filing of a real estate excise tax affidavit, the individual or entity that transmits or delivers the documents to the office of the county treasurer is responsible for producing the original signature of the grantor and grantee.

Sec. 2   RCW 82.45.180 and 1998 c 106 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For taxes collected by the county under this chapter, the county treasurer shall collect a ((two-dollar)) ten-dollar fee on all transactions required by this chapter where the transaction does not require the payment of tax. A total of ((two)) ten dollars shall be collected in the form of a tax and fee, where the calculated tax payment is less than ((two)) five dollars. Five dollars of the ten-dollar fee shall be deposited in the county treasurer's real estate excise tax electronic technology account. The county treasurer shall place one percent of the proceeds of the tax imposed by this chapter and the treasurer's fee in the county current expense fund to defray costs of collection and shall pay over to the state treasurer and account to the department of revenue for the remainder of the proceeds at the same time the county treasurer remits funds to the state under RCW 84.56.280. The state treasurer shall deposit the proceeds in the general fund for the support of the common schools.
     (2) For taxes collected by the department of revenue under this chapter, the department shall remit the tax to the state treasurer who shall deposit the proceeds of any state tax in the general fund for the support of the common schools. The state treasurer shall deposit the proceeds of any local taxes imposed under chapter 82.46 RCW in the local real estate excise tax account hereby created in the state treasury. Moneys in the local real estate excise tax account may be spent only for distribution to counties, cities, and towns imposing a tax under chapter 82.46 RCW. Except as provided in RCW 43.08.190, all earnings of investments of balances in the local real estate excise tax account shall be credited to the local real estate excise tax account and distributed to the counties, cities, and towns monthly. Monthly the state treasurer shall make distribution from the local real estate excise tax account to the counties, cities, and towns the amount of tax collected on behalf of each taxing authority. The state treasurer shall make the distribution under this subsection without appropriation.
     (3)(a) The real estate excise tax electronic technology account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. An appropriation is not required for expenditure and the account is not subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW.
     (b) The county treasurer shall collect an additional five-dollar fee on all taxable transactions required by this chapter. The county treasurer shall remit this fee to the state treasurer at the same time the county treasurer remits funds to the state under RCW 84.56.280. The state treasurer shall place money from this fee in the real estate excise tax electronic technology account. By the twentieth day of the subsequent month, the state treasurer shall distribute to each county treasurer according to the following formula: One-half of the funds available shall be equally distributed among the thirty-nine counties; and the balance will be ratably distributed among the counties in direct proportion to their population as it relates to the total state's population based on most recent statistics by the office of financial management.
     (c) When received by the county treasurer, the funds shall be placed in a special real estate excise tax electronic technology fund held by the county treasurer to be used exclusively for the development, implementation, and maintenance of an electronic processing and reporting system for real estate excise tax affidavits. Funds may be expended to make the system compatible with the automated real estate excise tax system developed by the department of revenue and compatible with the processes used in the offices of the county assessor and county auditor. Any funds held in the account that are not expended by July 1, 2015, revert to the county capital improvements fund.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act takes effect August 1, 2005.