BILL REQ. #:  H-3178.2 

Read first time 04/13/09.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to surcharges on fee-based activities related to public health; amending RCW 43.70.110; reenacting and amending RCW 70.58.107; and adding a new section to chapter 70.05 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.70.110 and 2007 c 259 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The secretary shall charge fees to the licensee for obtaining a license. After June 30, 1995, municipal corporations providing emergency medical care and transportation services pursuant to chapter 18.73 RCW shall be exempt from such fees, provided that such other emergency services shall only be charged for their pro rata share of the cost of licensure and inspection, if appropriate. The secretary may waive the fees when, in the discretion of the secretary, the fees would not be in the best interest of public health and safety, or when the fees would be to the financial disadvantage of the state.
     (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, fees charged shall be based on, but shall not exceed, the cost to the department for the licensure of the activity or class of activities and may include costs of necessary inspection.
     (3) License fees shall include amounts in addition to the cost of licensure activities in the following circumstances:
     (a) For registered nurses and licensed practical nurses licensed under chapter 18.79 RCW, support of a central nursing resource center as provided in RCW 18.79.202, until June 30, 2013;
     (b) For all health care providers licensed under RCW 18.130.040, the cost of regulatory activities for retired volunteer medical worker licensees as provided in RCW 18.130.360; ((and))
     (c) For physicians licensed under chapter 18.71 RCW, physician assistants licensed under chapter 18.71A RCW, osteopathic physicians licensed under chapter 18.57 RCW, osteopathic physicians' assistants licensed under chapter 18.57A RCW, naturopaths licensed under chapter 18.36A RCW, podiatrists licensed under chapter 18.22 RCW, chiropractors licensed under chapter 18.25 RCW, psychologists licensed under chapter 18.83 RCW, registered nurses licensed under chapter 18.79 RCW, optometrists licensed under chapter 18.53 RCW, mental health counselors licensed under chapter 18.225 RCW, massage therapists licensed under chapter 18.108 RCW, clinical social workers licensed under chapter 18.225 RCW, and acupuncturists licensed under chapter 18.06 RCW, the license fees shall include up to an additional twenty-five dollars to be transferred by the department to the University of Washington for the purposes of RCW 43.70.112; and
     (d) For all credentialed health care providers regulated by a disciplining authority identified in RCW 18.130.040, a surcharge must be assessed upon each health care provider credential at an annual rate of seven dollars. Amounts received from the surcharge must be placed in the public health services account established under RCW 43.72.902. Each person subject to this subsection (3)(d) must pay only one surcharge annually, regardless of how many professional licenses he or she holds.
     (4) Department of health advisory committees may review fees established by the secretary for licenses and comment upon the appropriateness of the level of such fees.

Sec. 2   RCW 70.58.107 and 2007 c 200 s 2 and 2007 c 91 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     The department of health shall charge a fee of twenty dollars for certified copies of records and for copies or information provided for research, statistical, or administrative purposes, and eight dollars for a search of the files or records when no copy is made. The department shall prescribe by regulation fees to be paid for preparing sealed files and for opening sealed files.
     No fee may be demanded or required for furnishing certified copies of a birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulment, or legal separation record for use in connection with a claim for compensation or pension pending before the veterans administration. No fee may be demanded or required for furnishing certified copies of a death certificate of a sex offender for use by a law enforcement agency in maintaining a registered sex offender database, or that of any offender requested by a county clerk or court in the state of Washington for purposes of extinguishing the offender's legal financial obligation.
     The department shall keep a true and correct account of all fees received and transmit the fees to the state treasurer on a weekly basis.
     Local registrars shall charge the same fees as the state as hereinabove provided and as prescribed by department regulation except in cases where payment is made by credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, stored value card, federal wire, automatic clearinghouse system, or other electronic communication. Payment by these electronic methods may be subject to an additional fee consistent with the requirements established by RCW 36.29.190. All such fees collected, except for seven dollars of each fee collected for the issuance of birth certificates and first copies of death certificates and fourteen dollars of each fee collected for additional copies of the same death certificate ordered at the same time as the first copy, shall be paid to the jurisdictional health department.
     All local registrars in cities and counties shall keep a true and correct account of all fees received under this section for the issuance of certified copies and shall transmit seven dollars of the fees collected for birth certificates and first copies of death certificates and fourteen dollars of the fee collected for additional copies of death certificates to the state treasurer on or before the first day of January, April, July, and October. All but five dollars of the fees turned over to the state treasurer by local registrars shall be paid to the department of health for the purpose of developing and maintaining the state vital records systems, including a web-based electronic death registration system.
     Eight dollars of each fee imposed for the issuance of certified copies, except for copies suitable for display issued under RCW 70.58.085, at both the state and local levels shall be held by the state treasurer in the death investigations' account established by RCW 43.79.445.
     A surcharge of eight dollars shall be charged to each transaction related to the purchase of certified copies of birth and death certificates. Amounts received by the department or any local registrar shall be deposited into the public health services account.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 70.05 RCW to read as follows:
     In addition to any regular fee for an inspection of a food establishment conducted by the local health jurisdiction, the jurisdiction shall assess an additional surcharge of ten dollars upon the establishment. All receipts from the surcharge must be remitted to the public health services account.