BILL REQ. #:  H-0915.1 

Read first time 01/22/09.   Referred to Committee on Finance.

     AN ACT Relating to property enrolled in current use property tax programs; and amending RCW 84.34.070.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 84.34.070 and 1992 c 69 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) When land has once been classified under this chapter, it shall remain under such classification and shall not be applied to other use except as provided by subsection (2) of this section for at least ten years from the date of classification and shall continue under such classification until and unless withdrawn from classification after notice of request for withdrawal shall be made by the owner. During any year after eight years of the initial ten-year classification period ((have)) has elapsed, notice of request for withdrawal of all or a portion of the land may be given by the owner to the assessor or assessors of the county or counties in which ((such)) the land is situated. In the event that a portion of a parcel is removed from classification, the remaining portion must meet the same requirements as did the entire parcel when ((such)) the land was originally granted classification pursuant to this chapter unless the remaining parcel has different income criteria. Within seven days the assessor shall transmit one copy of ((such)) the notice to the legislative body ((which)) that originally approved the application. The assessor or assessors, as the case may be, shall, when two assessment years have elapsed following the date of receipt of ((such)) the notice, withdraw ((such)) the land from ((such)) the classification and the land shall be subject to the additional tax and applicable interest due under RCW 84.34.108. The open space taxation agreement to tax according to use shall not be considered to be a contract and can be abrogated at any time by the legislature in which event no additional tax or penalty shall be imposed.
     (2)(a) In counties with a population of less than one million five hundred thousand on January 1, 2009, the following reclassifications are not considered withdrawals or removals and are not subject to additional tax under RCW 84.34.108:
     (((a))) (i) Reclassification between lands under RCW 84.34.020 (2) and (3);
     (((b))) (ii) Reclassification of land classified under RCW 84.34.020 (2) or (3) or chapter 84.33 RCW to open space land under RCW 84.34.020(1);
     (((c))) (iii) Reclassification of land classified under RCW 84.34.020 (2) or (3) to forest land classified under chapter 84.33 RCW; and
     (((d))) (iv) Reclassification of land classified as open space land under RCW 84.34.020(1)(c) and reclassified to farm and agricultural land under RCW 84.34.020(2) if the land had been previously classified as farm and agricultural land under RCW 84.34.020(2); and
     (b) In counties with a population of one million five hundred thousand or greater on January 1, 2009, the following reclassifications are not considered withdrawals or removals and are not subject to additional tax under RCW 84.34.108:
     (i) Reclassification of land from one current use classification governed by this chapter to another current use classification governed by this chapter;
     (ii) Reclassification of land designated under chapter 84.33 RCW to a current use classification governed by this chapter; and
     (iii) Reclassification of land from a current use classification governed by this chapter to forest land designated under chapter 84.33 RCW.
     (3) Applications for reclassification shall be subject to applicable provisions of RCW 84.34.037, 84.34.035, 84.34.041, and chapter 84.33 RCW.
     (4) The income criteria for land classified under RCW 84.34.020(2) (b) and (c) may be deferred for land being reclassified from land classified under RCW 84.34.020 (1)(c) or (3), or chapter 84.33 RCW into RCW 84.34.020(2) (b) or (c) for a period of up to five years from the date of reclassification.