BILL REQ. #:  H-1416.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/17/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to providing affordable housing for all; amending RCW 43.185B.040, 36.22.178, 43.185A.100, 43.185C.010, 43.185C.040, 43.185C.050, 36.22.179, 36.22.1791, and 43.185C.150; reenacting and amending RCW 43.185.070; adding a new section to chapter 43.185C RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; creating a new section; and recodifying RCW 36.22.178, 43.185A.100, and 43.185B.040.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that there is a large, unmet need for affordable housing and affordable housing assistance in the state of Washington, causing many low-income individuals and families to be at risk of homelessness. The legislature declares that a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for all economic segments in the state by 2020 should be a state goal. Furthermore, this goal includes increasing the percentage of low-income households who are ultimately able to obtain and retain housing without government subsidies or other public support.
     (2) The legislature finds that the state should provide financial resources as well as case management to help individuals and families at risk of homelessness obtain and retain housing and work towards a goal of self-sufficiency where possible.
     (3) The legislature finds that there are many root causes of the affordable housing shortage and declares that it is critical that such causes be analyzed, effective solutions be developed, implemented, monitored, and evaluated, and that these causal factors be eliminated. The legislature also finds that there is a taxpayer and societal cost associated with a lack of jobs that pay self-sufficiency standard wages and a shortage of affordable housing, and that the state must identify and quantify that cost.
     (4) The legislature finds that the support and commitment of all sectors of the statewide community is critical to accomplishing the state's affordable housing for all goal. The legislature finds that the provision of housing and housing-related services should be administered both at the state level and at the local level. However, the state should play a primary role in: Providing financial resources to achieve the goal at all levels of government; researching, evaluating, benchmarking, and implementing best practices; continually updating and evaluating statewide housing data; developing a state plan that integrates the strategies, goals, objectives, and performance measures of all other state housing plans and programs; coordinating and supporting county government plans and activities; and directing quality management practices by monitoring both state and county government performance towards achieving interim and ultimate goals.
     (5) The legislature declares that the systematic and comprehensive performance measurement and evaluation of progress toward interim goals and the immediate state affordable housing goal of a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for all economic segments in the state by 2020 is a necessary component of the statewide effort to end the affordable housing crisis.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   This chapter may be known and cited as the Washington affordable housing for all act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   There is created within the department the state affordable housing for all program. The goal of the program is a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for all economic segments in the state by 2020. Additional goals include: Increasing the percentage of households of all economic segments in the state who are self-sufficient as defined by the department according to the self-sufficiency income standard determined under section 19 of this act; and keeping the rising price of housing for all economic segments to a rate less than that of the growth in wages for each economic segment. The department shall develop appropriate performance measures for all goals. The department shall develop, by county for each economic segment, the quantity and dollar price of housing needed and administer the affordable housing for all program. Each county shall participate in the affordable housing for all program except as provided in section 8 of this act; however, in the development and implementation of the program scope and requirements at the county level, the department shall consider: The funding level to counties, number of county staff available to implement the program, and competency of each county to meet the goals of the program; and establish program guidelines, performance measures, and reporting requirements appropriate to the existing capacity of the participating counties.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Affordable housing" means housing that has a sales price or rental amount that is within the means of households of all economic segments. The department shall adopt policies for residential rental and homeownership housing occupied by extremely low, very low, and low-income households, and for each wage decile by county, that specify the percentage of household income that may be spent on monthly housing costs, including utilities other than telephone, to qualify as affordable housing.
     (2) "Affordable housing for all program" means the program authorized under this chapter, as administered by the department at the state level and by each county at the local level.
     (3) "At risk of homelessness" means any extremely low-income or very low-income individual or family residing in substandard or overcrowded housing or who is severely cost burdened, spending more than fifty percent of their income for their housing, including utilities other than telephone.
     (4) "County" means a county government in the state of Washington or, except under RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), a city government or collaborative of city governments within that county if (a) the county government declines to participate in the affordable housing program and (b) as described under section 8 of this act, a city or collaborative of city governments elects to participate in the program.
     (5) "County affordable housing for all plan" or "county plan" means the plan developed by each county with the goal of ensuring that households of all economic segments in the county have a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment by 2020.
     (6) "County affordable housing task force" means a county committee, as described in section 6 of this act, created to prepare and recommend to its county legislative authority a county affordable housing for all plan, and also to recommend expenditures of the funds from the affordable housing for all program surcharge in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and all other sources directed to the county's affordable housing for all program.
     (7) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (8) "Director" means the director of the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (9) "Economic segments" means segments of the population divided by wage deciles.
     (10) "Eligible organizations" means eligible organizations as described in RCW 43.185.060.
     (11) "Extremely low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is less than thirty percent of the median family income, adjusted for household size for the county where the project is located.
     (12) "Household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together.
     (13) "Housing authority" means any of the public corporations created in RCW 35.82.030.
     (14) "Local government" means a county or city government in the state of Washington or, except under RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), a city government or collaborative of city governments within that county if (a) the county government declines to participate in the affordable housing program and (b) as described under section 8 of this act, a city or collaborative of city governments elects to participate in the program.
     (15) "Low-income household," for the purposes of the affordable housing for all program, means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is less than eighty percent of the median household income, adjusted for household size for the county where the project is located.
     (16) "Nonprofit organization" means any public or private nonprofit organization that: (a) Is organized under federal, state, or local laws; (b) has no part of its net earnings inuring to the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or individual; and (c) has among its purposes, significant activities related to the provision of decent housing that is affordable to extremely low-income, very low-income, low-income, or moderate-income households and special needs populations.
     (17) "Performance evaluation" means the process of evaluating performance by established objective, measurable criteria according to the achievement of outlined goals, measures, targets, standards, or other outcomes using a ranked scorecard from highest to lowest performance that employs a scale of one to one hundred, one hundred being the optimal score.
     (18) "Performance measurement" means the process of comparing specific measures of success with ultimate and interim goals.
     (19) "Quality management program" means a nationally recognized program using criteria similar or equivalent to the Baldridge criteria. All local governments receiving over five hundred thousand dollars a year during the previous calendar year from: State housing-related funding sources, including the Washington housing trust fund; the ending homelessness program surcharges in RCW 36.22.179 and 36.22.1791 (as recodified by this act); and any surcharges in chapter 43.185C RCW and the surcharges in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), shall apply to the Washington state quality award program for an independent assessment of its quality management, accountability, and performance system, once every three years beginning by January 1, 2011.
     (20) "State affordable housing for all plan" or "state plan" means the plan developed by the department in collaboration with the affordable housing advisory board with the goal of ensuring that all economic segments in Washington have a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment by 2020.
     (21) "Very low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is less than fifty percent of the median family income, adjusted for household size for the county where the project is located.

Sec. 5   RCW 43.185B.040 and 1993 c 478 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall, in consultation with the affordable housing advisory board created in RCW 43.185B.020, prepare and ((from time to time amend a five-year)) biannually update a state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all plan with an ultimate goal of achieving a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for all economic segments by decile by county in the state by 2020. The state plan must also incorporate the strategies, objectives, goals, and performance measures of all other housing-related state plans, including the state homeless housing strategic plan required under RCW 43.185C.040 and all state housing programs. The state affordable housing for all plan may be combined with the state homeless housing strategic plan required under RCW 43.185C.040 or any other existing state housing plan as long as the requirements of all of the plans to be merged are met.
     (2) The purpose of the state affordable housing for all plan is to:
     (a) Document biannually the quantity and price per month need for affordable housing for each local jurisdiction by economic segment in the state and the extent to which that need is being met through public and private sector ((programs, to)) housing efforts;
     (b) Outline the development of sound strategies and programs to provide affordable housing to all economic segments in the state by 2020;
     (c) Measure the success of moving people in state government supported housing programs to self-sufficiency;
     (d) Measure the cost-efficiency of government supported housing programs, including the documentation of the state and local cost per unit of housing with a goal of reducing the state subsidized portion to the greatest extent possible;
     (e) Establish, evaluate, and report upon performance measures, goals, and timelines that are determined by the department for the affordable housing for all program and the state and local affordable housing for all plans, as well as for all federal, state, and local housing programs and plans operated or coordinated by the department, including: (i) Federal block grant programs; (ii) the Washington housing trust fund; and (iii) all local surcharge funds collected with the purpose of addressing homelessness and affordable housing; and
     (f) Facilitate state and county government planning to meet the state affordable housing ((needs of the state, and to enable the development of sound strategies and programs for affordable housing)) for all goal.
     ((The information in the five-year housing advisory plan must include:
     (a) An assessment of the state's housing market trends;
     (b) An assessment of the housing needs for all economic segments of the state and special needs populations;
     (c) An inventory of the supply and geographic distribution of affordable housing units made available through public and private sector programs;
     (d) A status report on the degree of progress made by the public and private sector toward meeting the housing needs of the state;
     (e) An identification of state and local regulatory barriers to affordable housing and proposed regulatory and administrative techniques designed to remove barriers to the development and placement of affordable housing; and
     (f) Specific recommendations, policies, or proposals for meeting the affordable housing needs of the state.
     (2))) (3)(a) The department, in consultation with the affordable housing advisory board, shall develop recommendations for affordable housing for all program performance measures, short-term and long-term goals, and timelines, as well as information to be collected, analyzed, and reported upon in the state and local affordable housing for all plans. One performance measure must address the program's effectiveness in achieving the ultimate goal of a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for all economic segments in the state by 2020. A second specific performance measure must be to ensure that the rate of growth in the overall price of housing for each economic segment is less than that of the overall growth in wages for each economic segment. The department shall present its recommendations for additional performance measures to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 31, 2009.
     (b) The department may determine a timeline to implement and measure each performance measure for the state and county affordable housing for all programs, except that the state and all counties participating in the affordable housing for all program must implement and respond to all performance measures by January 1, 2012, unless the department determines that a performance measure is not applicable to a specific county based on parameters and thresholds established by the department.
     (4) The ((five-year)) state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all plan required under ((subsection (1) of)) this section must be submitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature on or before ((February 1, 1994)) January 15, 2011, and subsequent updated plans must be submitted ((every five years)) by January 15th each year thereafter.
     (((b) Each February 1st, beginning February 1, 1995, the department shall submit an annual progress report, to the legislature, detailing the extent to which the state's affordable housing needs were met during the preceding year and recommendations for meeting those needs))
     (5) To guide counties in preparation of their county affordable housing for all plans required under section 7 of this act, the department shall issue, by December 31, 2010, guidelines for preparing county plans consistent with this chapter. County plans must include, at a minimum, the same information reporting and analysis on a local level and the same performance measures as the state plan.
     (6) Biannually, beginning in 2011, the department shall summarize key information from county plans, including a summary of local city and county housing program activities and a summary of legislative recommendations.
     (7) Based on changes to the general population and in the housing market, the department may revise the performance measures and goals of the state affordable housing for all plan and set goals for years following December 31, 2020.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Each county shall convene a county affordable housing task force. The task force must be a committee, made up of volunteers, created to prepare and recommend to the county legislative authority a county affordable housing for all plan and also to recommend appropriate expenditures of the affordable housing for all program funds provided for in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and any other sources directed to the county program. The county affordable housing task force must include a representative of the county, a representative from the city with the highest population in the county, a representative from all other cities in the county with a population greater than fifty thousand, a member representing beneficiaries of affordable housing programs, other members as may be required to maintain eligibility for federal funding related to housing programs and services, and a representative from both a private nonprofit organization and a private for-profit organization with experience in very low-income housing. The task force may be the same as the homeless housing task force created in RCW 43.185C.160 or the same as another existing task force or other formal committee that meets the requirements of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   (1) Except as provided in section 8 of this act, each county shall direct its affordable housing task force to prepare and recommend to its county legislative authority a county affordable housing for all plan for its jurisdictional area. Each county shall adopt a county plan by June 30, 2011, and update the plan annually by June 30th thereafter. All county plans must be forwarded to the department by the date of adoption. County affordable housing for all plans may be combined with the local homeless housing plans required under RCW 43.185C.040, county comprehensive plans required under RCW 36.70A.040, or any other existing plan addressing housing within a county as long as the requirements of all of the plans to be merged are met. For counties required or choosing to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, county affordable housing for all plans must be consistent with the housing elements of comprehensive plans described in RCW 36.70A.070(2). County plans must also be consistent with any existing local homeless housing plan required in RCW 43.185C.050. County plans must include a discussion of the effectiveness of linkages and coordination with county or regional community services and economic development plans.
     (2) County affordable housing for all plans must be primarily focused on (a) ensuring that households of all economic segments, including those households at risk of homelessness, in the county jurisdictional area have a decent and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment by 2020 with a priority placed on achieving this goal for low-income households and (b) increasing the percentage of households who ultimately are able to access affordable housing without government assistance. County affordable housing for all plans must include:
     (i) At a minimum, the same information, analysis, and performance measures as the state affordable housing for all plan, including information and performance measurement data, where available, on state supported housing programs and all city and county housing programs, including local housing-related levy initiatives, housing-related tax exemption programs, and federally funded programs operated or coordinated by local governments;
     (ii) Timelines for the accomplishment of interim goals and targets, and for the acquisition of projected financing that is appropriate for outlined goals and targets;
     (iii) An identification of challenges to reaching the affordable housing for all goal;
     (iv) A total estimated amount of funds needed to reach the local affordable housing for all goal and an identification of potential funding sources; and
     (v) State legislative recommendations to enable the county to achieve its affordable housing for all goals. Legislative recommendations must be specific and, if necessary, include an estimated amount of funding required and suggestions of an appropriate funding source.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   (1) Any county may decline to participate in the affordable housing for all program authorized in this chapter by forwarding to the department a resolution adopted by the county legislative authority stating the intention not to participate. A copy of the resolution must also be transmitted to the county auditor and treasurer. Counties that decline to participate shall not be required to establish an affordable housing task force or to create a county affordable housing for all plan. Counties declining to participate in the affordable housing for all program shall continue to collect and utilize the affordable housing for all surcharge for the purposes described in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act); however, such counties shall not be allocated any additional affordable housing for all program funding that is specifically provided for program planning, implementation, performance and quality management, and administrative purposes. Counties may opt back into the affordable housing for all program authorized by this chapter at a later date through a process and timeline to be determined by the department.
     (2) If a county declines to participate in the affordable housing for all program authorized in this chapter, a city or formally organized collaborative of cities within that county may forward a resolution to the department stating its intention and willingness to operate an affordable housing for all program within its jurisdictional limits. The department must establish procedures to choose amongst cities or collaboratives of cities in the event that more than one city or collaborative of cities express an interest in participating in the program. Participating cities or collaboratives of cities must fulfill the same requirements as counties participating in the affordable housing for all program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   A county may subcontract with any other county, city, town, housing authority, community action agency, or other nonprofit organization for the execution of programs contributing to the affordable housing for all goal. All subcontracts must be: Consistent with the county affordable housing for all plan adopted by the legislative authority of the county; time limited; and filed with the department, and must have specific performance terms as specified by the county. County governments must strongly encourage each subcontractor under the affordable housing for all program to apply to the Washington state quality award program for an independent assessment of its quality management, accountability, and performance system. This authority to subcontract with other entities does not affect participating counties' ultimate responsibility for meeting the requirements of the affordable housing for all program.

Sec. 10   RCW 36.22.178 and 2007 c 427 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     The surcharge provided for in this section shall be named the affordable housing for all surcharge.
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a surcharge of ten dollars per instrument shall be charged by the county auditor for each document recorded, which will be in addition to any other charge authorized by law. The county may retain up to five percent of these funds collected solely for the collection, administration, and local distribution of these funds. Of the remaining funds, forty percent of the revenue generated through this surcharge will be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer who will deposit the funds into the affordable housing for all account created in RCW 43.185C.190. The department of community, trade, and economic development must use these funds to provide housing and shelter for extremely low-income households, including but not limited to grants for building operation and maintenance costs of housing projects or units within housing projects that are affordable to extremely low-income households with incomes at or below thirty percent of the area median income, and that require a supplement to rent income to cover ongoing operating expenses.
     (2) All of the remaining funds generated by this surcharge will be retained by the county and be deposited into a fund that must be used by the county and its cities and towns for eligible housing activities as described in this subsection that serve very low-income households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income. The portion of the surcharge retained by a county shall be allocated to eligible housing activities that serve extremely low and very low-income households in the county and the cities within a county according to an interlocal agreement between the county and the cities within the county consistent with countywide and local housing needs and policies. A priority must be given to eligible housing activities that serve extremely low-income households with incomes at or below thirty percent of the area median income. Eligible housing activities to be funded by these county funds are limited to:
     (a) Acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of housing projects or units within housing projects that are affordable to very low-income households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income, including units for homeownership, rental units, seasonal and permanent farm worker housing units, and single room occupancy units;
     (b) Supporting building operation and maintenance costs of housing projects or units within housing projects eligible to receive housing trust funds, that are affordable to very low-income households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income, and that require a supplement to rent income to cover ongoing operating expenses;
     (c) Rental assistance vouchers for housing units that are affordable to very low-income households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income, to be administered by a local public housing authority or other local organization that has an existing rental assistance voucher program, consistent with or similar to the United States department of housing and urban development's section 8 rental assistance voucher program standards; and
     (d) Operating costs for emergency shelters and licensed overnight youth shelters.
     (3) The surcharge imposed in this section does not apply to assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust.
     (4) All counties shall report at least biannually beginning May 1, 2010, upon receipts and expenditures of the affordable housing for all surcharge funds created in this section to the department. The department may require more frequent reports. The report must include the amount of funding generated by the surcharge, the total amount of funding distributed to date, the amount of funding allocated to each eligible housing activity, a description of each eligible housing activity funded, including information on the income or wage level and numbers of extremely low, very low, and low-income households the eligible housing activity is intended to serve, and the outcome or anticipated outcome of each eligible housing activity.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   This chapter does not require either the department or any local government to expend any funds to accomplish the goals of this chapter other than the revenues authorized in this act and other revenue that may be appropriated by the legislature for these purposes. However, neither the department nor any local government may use any funds authorized in this act to supplant or reduce any existing expenditures of public money to address the affordable housing shortage.

Sec. 12   RCW 43.185A.100 and 2006 c 349 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department((,)) shall collaborate with the housing finance commission, the affordable housing advisory board, and all local governments, housing authorities, and other ((nonprofits)) eligible organizations receiving state housing funds, affordable housing for all funds, home security funds, or financing through the housing finance commission ((shall, by December 31, 2006, and annually thereafter, review current housing reporting requirements related to housing programs and services and give)) to include in the state affordable housing for all plan, by December 31, 2010, recommendations, where possible:
     (1) To streamline and simplify all housing planning, application, and reporting requirements ((to the department of community, trade, and economic development, which will compile and present the recommendations annually to the legislature. The entities listed in this section shall also give recommendations for additional)); and
     (2) For legislative actions that could promote the affordable housing for all goal and the state goal to end homelessness.

Sec. 13   RCW 43.185.070 and 2005 c 518 s 1802 and 2005 c 219 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) During each calendar year in which funds from the housing trust fund or other legislative appropriations are available for use by the department for the housing assistance program, the department shall announce to all known interested parties, and through major media throughout the state, a grant and loan application period of at least ninety days' duration. This announcement shall be made as often as the director deems appropriate for proper utilization of resources. The department shall then promptly grant as many applications as will utilize available funds less appropriate administrative costs of the department. Administrative costs paid out of the housing trust fund may not exceed five percent of annual revenues available for distribution to housing trust fund projects. In awarding funds under this chapter, the department shall provide for a geographic distribution on a statewide basis.
     (2) The department shall give first priority to applications for projects and activities which utilize existing privately owned housing stock including privately owned housing stock purchased by nonprofit public development authorities and public housing authorities as created in chapter 35.82 RCW. As used in this subsection, privately owned housing stock includes housing that is acquired by a federal agency through a default on the mortgage by the private owner. Such projects and activities shall be evaluated under subsection (3) of this section. Second priority shall be given to activities and projects which utilize existing publicly owned housing stock. All projects and activities shall be evaluated by some or all of the criteria under subsection (3) of this section, and similar projects and activities shall be evaluated under the same criteria.
     (3) The department shall give preference for applications based on some or all of the criteria under this subsection, and similar projects and activities shall be evaluated under the same criteria:
     (a) The degree of leveraging of other funds that will occur;
     (b) The degree of commitment from programs to provide necessary habilitation and support services for projects focusing on special needs populations;
     (c) Recipient contributions to total project costs, including allied contributions from other sources such as professional, craft and trade services, and lender interest rate subsidies;
     (d) Local government project contributions in the form of infrastructure improvements, and others;
     (e) Projects that encourage ownership, management, and other project-related responsibility opportunities;
     (f) Projects that demonstrate a strong probability of serving the original target group or income level for a period of at least twenty-five years;
     (g) The applicant has the demonstrated ability, stability and resources to implement the project;
     (h) The applicant has committed to quality improvement and submitted an application to the Washington state quality award program for an independent assessment of its quality management, accountability, and performance system within the previous three years;
     (i) Projects which demonstrate serving the greatest need;
     (((i))) (j) Projects that provide housing for persons and families with the lowest incomes;
     (((j))) (k) Projects that provide housing for persons at risk of homelessness;
     (l) Projects serving special needs populations which are under statutory mandate to develop community housing;
     (((k))) (m) Project location and access to employment centers in the region or area;
     (((l))) (n) Projects that provide employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged youth under a youthbuild or youthbuild-type program as defined in RCW 50.72.020; and
     (((m))) (o) Project location and access to available public transportation services.
     (4) The department shall only approve applications for projects for ((mentally ill)) persons with mental illness that are consistent with a regional support network six-year capital and operating plan.

Sec. 14   RCW 43.185C.010 and 2007 c 427 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (2) "Director" means the director of the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (3) "Homeless person" means an individual living outside or in a building not meant for human habitation or which they have no legal right to occupy, in an emergency shelter, or in a temporary housing program which may include a transitional and supportive housing program if habitation time limits exist. This definition includes substance abusers, people with mental illness, and sex offenders who are homeless.
     (4) "Washington homeless census" or "census" means an annual statewide census conducted as a collaborative effort by towns, cities, counties, community-based organizations, and state agencies, with the technical support and coordination of the department, to count and collect ((data on)) information about all homeless individuals in Washington.
     (5) "Home security fund account" means the state treasury account receiving the state's portion of income from revenue from the sources established by RCW 36.22.179, RCW 36.22.1791, and all other sources directed to the homeless housing and assistance program.
     (6) "Homeless housing grant program" means the vehicle by which competitive grants are awarded by the department, utilizing moneys from the homeless housing account, to local governments for programs directly related to housing homeless individuals and families, addressing the root causes of homelessness, preventing homelessness, collecting data and information on homeless individuals, and other efforts directly related to housing homeless persons, including implementing quality management programs.
     (7) "Local government" means a county government in the state of Washington or a city government, if the legislative authority of the city affirmatively elects to accept the responsibility for housing homeless persons within its ((borders)) jurisdiction.
     (8) "Housing continuum" means the progression of individuals along a housing-focused continuum with homelessness at one end and homeownership at the other.
     (9) "Local homeless housing task force" means a voluntary local committee created to advise a local government on the creation of a local homeless housing plan and participate in a local homeless housing program. It must include a representative of the county, a representative of the largest city located within the county, at least one homeless or formerly homeless person, such other members as may be required to maintain eligibility for federal funding related to housing programs and services and if feasible, a representative of a private nonprofit organization with experience in low-income housing.
     (10) "Long-term private or public housing" means subsidized and unsubsidized rental or owner-occupied housing in which there is no established time limit for habitation of less than two years.
     (11) "Interagency council on homelessness" means a committee appointed by the governor and consisting of, at least, policy level representatives of the following entities: (a) The department of community, trade, and economic development; (b) the department of corrections; (c) the department of social and health services; (d) the department of veterans affairs; and (e) the department of health.
     (12) "Performance measurement" means the process of comparing specific measures of success against ultimate and interim goals.
     (13) "Performance evaluation" means the process of evaluating performance by established objective, measurable criteria according to the achievement of outlined goals, measures, targets, standards, or other outcomes, using a ranked scorecard from highest to lowest performance that employs a scale of one to one hundred, one hundred being the optimal score.
     (14) "Quality management program" means a nationally recognized program using criteria similar or equivalent to the Baldridge criteria. All local governments receiving over five hundred thousand dollars a year during the previous calendar year from: State housing-related funding sources, including the Washington housing trust fund; the ending homelessness program surcharges in RCW 36.22.179 and 36.22.1791; and any surcharges in this chapter and the surcharges in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), shall apply to the Washington state quality award program for an independent assessment of its quality management, accountability, and performance system, once every three years beginning by January 1, 2011.
     (15) "Community action agency" means a nonprofit private or public organization established under the economic opportunity act of 1964.
     (((14))) (16) "Housing authority" means any of the public corporations created by chapter 35.82 RCW.
     (((15))) (17) "Homeless housing program" means the program authorized under this chapter as administered by the department at the state level and by the local government or its designated subcontractor at the local level.
     (((16))) (18) "Homeless housing plan" means the ten-year plan developed by the county or other local government to address housing for homeless persons.
     (((17))) (19) "Homeless housing strategic plan" means the ten-year plan developed by the department, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and the affordable housing advisory board.
     (((18))) (20) "Washington homeless client management information system" means a database of information about homeless individuals in the state used to coordinate resources to assist homeless clients to obtain and retain housing and reach greater levels of self-sufficiency or economic independence when appropriate, depending upon their individual situations.

Sec. 15   RCW 43.185C.040 and 2005 c 484 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Six months after the first Washington homeless census, the department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and the affordable housing advisory board, prepare and publish a ten-year homeless housing strategic plan which shall outline statewide goals and performance measures and shall be coordinated with the plan for homeless families with children required under RCW 43.63A.650. To guide local governments in preparation of their first local homeless housing plans due December 31, 2005, the department shall issue by October 15, 2005, temporary guidelines consistent with this chapter and including the best available data on each community's homeless population. Local governments' ten-year homeless housing plans shall not be substantially inconsistent with the goals and program recommendations of the temporary guidelines and, when amended after 2005, the state strategic plan.
     (2)(a) Program outcomes and performance measures and goals ((shall)) must be created by the department ((and reflected)) in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and a task force established by the department consisting of the committee chairs of the appropriate committees of the legislature, representatives appointed by the director from a minimum of five local task forces representing both urban and rural areas and communities east and west of the Cascade mountains, and a representative from a statewide membership organization that advocates for homeless housing. All performance measures must have targets and timelines. The task force must also produce guidelines for local governments regarding methods, techniques, and data suggested to measure each performance measure. Performance measures must be included in the department's homeless housing strategic plan ((as well as)) and all local homeless housing plans.
     (b) Performance measures must be created, at a minimum, to gauge the success of the state and each local government in the following areas:
     (i) The quality and completeness of the Washington homeless client management information system database;
     (ii) The quality of the performance management systems of state agencies, local governments, and local government subcontractors executing programs, as authorized by RCW 43.185C.080(1), that contribute to the overall goal of ending homelessness; and
     (iii) The quality of local homeless housing plans.
     Performance measurements are reported upon by city and county geography, including demographics with yearly or more frequent targets.
     (3) Interim goals against which state and local governments' performance may be measured, including:
     (a) By the end of year one, completion of the first census as described in RCW 43.185C.030;
     (b) By the end of each subsequent year, goals common to all local programs which are measurable and the achievement of which would move that community toward housing its homeless population; and
     (c) By July 1, 2015, reduction of the homeless population statewide and in each county by fifty percent.
     (((3))) (4) The department shall develop a consistent statewide data gathering instrument to monitor the performance of cities and counties receiving grants in order to determine compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the grant application or required by the department.
     (5) The department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and the affordable housing advisory board, report annually to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature an assessment of the state's performance in furthering the goals of the state ten-year homeless housing strategic plan and the performance of each participating local government in creating and executing a local homeless housing plan which meets the requirements of this chapter. ((The annual report may include performance measures such as:
     (a) The reduction in the number of homeless individuals and families from the initial count of homeless persons;
     (b) The number of new units available and affordable for homeless families by housing type;
     (c) The number of homeless individuals identified who are not offered suitable housing within thirty days of their request or identification as homeless;
     (d) The number of households at risk of losing housing who maintain it due to a preventive intervention;
     (e) The transition time from homelessness to permanent housing;
     (f) The cost per person housed at each level of the housing continuum;
     (g) The ability to successfully collect data and report performance;
     (h) The extent of collaboration and coordination among public bodies, as well as community stakeholders, and the level of community support and participation;
     (i) The quality and safety of housing provided; and
     (j) The effectiveness of outreach to homeless persons, and their satisfaction with the program.
     (4) Based on the performance of local homeless housing programs in meeting their interim goals, on general population changes and on changes in the homeless population recorded in the annual census, the department may revise the performance measures and goals of the state homeless housing strategic plan, set goals for years following the initial ten-year period, and recommend changes in local governments' plans.))

Sec. 16   RCW 43.185C.050 and 2005 c 484 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Each local homeless housing task force shall prepare and recommend to its local government legislative authority a ten-year homeless housing plan for its jurisdictional area which shall be not inconsistent with the department's statewide temporary guidelines, for the December 31, 2005, plan, and thereafter the department's ten-year homeless housing strategic plan and which shall be aimed at eliminating homelessness, with a minimum goal of reducing homelessness by fifty percent by July 1, 2015. ((The local government may amend the proposed local plan and shall adopt a plan by December 31, 2005. Performance in meeting the goals of this local plan shall be assessed annually in terms of the performance measures published by the department.))
     (b) In addition to the performance measures mandated in RCW 43.185C.040(2), local plans may include specific local performance measures adopted by the local government legislative authority((,)) and ((may)) must include recommendations for ((any)) state legislation needed to meet the state or local plan goals. The recommendations must be specific and must, if funding is required, include an estimated amount of funding required and suggestions for an appropriate funding source.
     (2) Eligible activities under the local plans include:
     (a) Rental and furnishing of dwelling units for the use of homeless persons;
     (b) Costs of developing affordable housing for homeless persons, and services for formerly homeless individuals and families residing in transitional housing or permanent housing and still at risk of homelessness;
     (c) Operating subsidies for transitional housing or permanent housing serving formerly homeless families or individuals;
     (d) Services to prevent homelessness, such as emergency eviction prevention programs, including temporary rental subsidies to prevent homelessness;
     (e) Temporary services to assist persons leaving state institutions and other state programs to prevent them from becoming or remaining homeless;
     (f) Outreach services for homeless individuals and families;
     (g) Development and management of local homeless plans, including homeless census data collection; identification of goals, performance measures, strategies, and costs, and evaluation of progress towards established goals;
     (h) Rental vouchers payable to landlords for persons who are homeless or below thirty percent of the median income or in immediate danger of becoming homeless; ((and))
     (i) Implementing a quality management program and applying to the Washington state quality award program for an independent assessment of quality management, accountability, and performance systems or applying to the full examination Washington state quality award program; and
     (j) Other activities to reduce and prevent homelessness as identified for funding in the local plan.

Sec. 17   RCW 36.22.179 and 2007 c 427 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to the surcharge authorized in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), and except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, an additional surcharge of ten dollars shall be charged by the county auditor for each document recorded, which will be in addition to any other charge allowed by law. The funds collected pursuant to this section are to be distributed and used as follows:
     (a) The auditor shall retain two percent for collection of the fee, and of the remainder shall remit sixty percent to the county to be deposited into a fund that must be used by the county and its cities and towns to accomplish the purposes of this chapter, six percent of which may be used by the county for administrative costs related to its homeless housing plan and for activities related to performance evaluation and quality management programs, and the remainder for programs which directly accomplish the goals of the county's local homeless housing plan, except that for each city in the county which elects as authorized in RCW 43.185C.080 to operate its own local homeless housing program, a percentage of the surcharge assessed under this section equal to the percentage of the city's local portion of the real estate excise tax collected by the county shall be transmitted at least quarterly to the city treasurer, without any deduction for county administrative costs, for use by the city for program costs which directly contribute to the goals of the city's local homeless housing plan; of the funds received by the city, it may use six percent for administrative costs for its homeless housing program.
     (b) The auditor shall remit the remaining funds to the state treasurer for deposit in the home security fund account. The department may use twelve and one-half percent of this amount for administration of the program established in RCW 43.185C.020, including the costs of creating the statewide homeless housing strategic plan, measuring performance and quality management, providing technical assistance to local governments, and managing the homeless housing grant program. The remaining eighty-seven and one- half percent is to be used by the department to:
     (i) Provide housing and shelter for homeless people including, but not limited to: Grants to operate, repair, and staff shelters; grants to operate transitional housing; partial payments for rental assistance; consolidated emergency assistance; overnight youth shelters; and emergency shelter assistance; and
     (ii) Fund the homeless housing grant program.
     (2) The surcharge imposed in this section does not apply to assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust.

Sec. 18   RCW 36.22.1791 and 2007 c 427 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to the surcharges authorized in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and 36.22.179, and except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the county auditor shall charge an additional surcharge of eight dollars for each document recorded, which is in addition to any other charge allowed by law. The funds collected under this section are to be distributed and used as follows:
     (a) The auditor shall remit ninety percent to the county to be deposited into a fund six percent of which may be used by the county for administrative costs related to its homeless housing plan and for activities related to performance evaluation and quality management programs, and the remainder for programs that directly accomplish the goals of the county's local homeless housing plan, except that for each city in the county that elects, as authorized in RCW 43.185C.080, to operate its own homeless housing program, a percentage of the surcharge assessed under this section equal to the percentage of the city's local portion of the real estate excise tax collected by the county must be transmitted at least quarterly to the city treasurer for use by the city for program costs that directly contribute to the goals of the city's homeless housing plan.
     (b) The auditor shall remit the remaining funds to the state treasurer for deposit in the home security fund account. The department may use the funds for administering the program established in RCW 43.185C.020, including the costs of creating and updating the statewide homeless housing strategic plan, measuring performance and quality management, providing technical assistance to local governments, and managing the homeless housing grant program. Remaining funds may also be used to:
     (i) Provide housing and shelter for homeless people including, but not limited to: Grants to operate, repair, and staff shelters; grants to operate transitional housing; partial payments for rental assistance; consolidated emergency assistance; overnight youth shelters; and emergency shelter assistance; and
     (ii) Fund the homeless housing grant program.
     (2) The surcharge imposed in this section does not apply to assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 19   A new section is added to chapter 43.185C RCW to read as follows:
     The department shall establish two self-sufficiency income standards based upon the cost of living, including housing costs, which include mortgage or rent payments and utilities other than telephone, for each county in the state. The self-sufficiency income standards must be based upon the costs needed to support: (1) One adult individual; and (2) two adult individuals and one preschool-aged child and one school-aged child. These income standards will be translated into an equivalent hourly wage rate assuming one full-year, full-time earner for the self-sufficiency income standards for each county. By December 31, 2009, the department shall deliver to the appropriate committees of the legislature the self-sufficiency income standards and a report that details the number and percentage of individuals statewide and in each county who do not have a good family wage job and, as a result, earn less than the self-sufficiency income standards, as well as the number and percentage of individuals statewide and in each county who have a good family wage job and, as a result, earn an amount equivalent to or more than the self-sufficiency income standards.

Sec. 20   RCW 43.185C.150 and 2005 c 484 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:
     This chapter does not require either the department or any local government to expend any funds to accomplish the goals of this chapter other than the revenues authorized in chapter 484, Laws of 2005 and the revenues authorized in RCW 36.22.1791. However, neither the department nor any local government may use any funds authorized in chapter 484, Laws of 2005 or the revenues authorized in RCW 36.22.1791 to supplant or reduce any existing expenditures of public money for the reduction or prevention of homelessness or services for homeless persons.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 21   RCW 36.22.178, 43.185A.100, and 43.185B.040 are each recodified as sections in chapter 43.--- RCW (created in section 22 of this act).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 22   Sections 1 through 4, 6 through 9, and 11 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 23   The code reviser shall alphabetize and renumber the definitions in RCW 43.185C.010.