BILL REQ. #:  S-4345.1 

Read first time 02/01/10.   Referred to Committee on Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance.

     AN ACT Relating to a new surcharge on certain recorded documents for affordable housing purposes; amending RCW 43.185B.040; adding a new section to chapter 36.22 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 36.22 RCW to read as follows:
     The county auditor shall charge a surcharge of sixty-two dollars for each document recorded, which is in addition to any other charge allowed by law. The surcharge in this section applies only to assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust. The funds collected under this section must be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer who shall deposit the funds in the Washington housing trust fund account created in RCW 43.185.030. The department of commerce must use these funds solely for the bond retirement and interest requirements of the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   For the purpose of providing funds for the housing trust fund program at the department of commerce, the state finance committee is authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of one hundred million three hundred forty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be required, to finance the projects and all costs incidental thereto. Bonds authorized in this section may be sold at such price as the state finance committee shall determine. No bonds authorized in this section may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the net proceeds of the sale of the bonds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act must be deposited in the Washington housing bond account created in the state treasury. If the state finance committee deems it necessary to issue the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act as taxable bonds in order to comply with federal internal revenue service rules and regulations pertaining to the use of nontaxable bond proceeds, the proceeds of such taxable bonds shall be transferred to the state taxable building construction account in lieu of any deposit otherwise provided by this section. The state treasurer shall submit written notice to the director of financial management if it is determined that any such transfer to the state taxable building construction account is necessary. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. The proceeds shall be used exclusively for the purposes specified in section 2 of this act and for the payment of expenses incurred in the issuance and sale of the bonds. These proceeds must be administered by the office of financial management, subject to legislative appropriation.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The debt-limit general fund bond retirement account must be used for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act.
     The state finance committee shall, on or before June 30th of each year, certify to the state treasurer the amount needed in the ensuing twelve months to meet the bond retirement and interest requirements. On or before the date on which any interest or principal and interest payment is due, the state treasurer shall transfer from the Washington housing trust account for deposit in the debt-limit general fund bond retirement account the following:
     (1) An amount equal to the amount certified by the state finance committee to be due on the payment date; and
     (2) Any additional revenue generated in section 1 of this act in excess of the amount required to meet annual bond retirement and interest requirements and reasonable reserve requirements. Such excess revenue must be used for early retirement of the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act.
     Bonds issued under section 2 of this act must state that they are a general obligation of the state of Washington, must pledge the full faith and credit of the state to the payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon, and must contain an unconditional promise to pay the principal and interest as the same shall become due.
     The owner and holder of each of the bonds or the trustee for the owner and holder of any of the bonds may by mandamus or other appropriate proceeding require the transfer and payment of funds as directed in this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The legislature may provide additional means for raising moneys for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act, and section 4 of this act is not deemed to provide an exclusive method for the payment.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The bonds authorized in section 2 of this act shall be a legal investment for all state funds or funds under state control and for all funds of any other public body.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The sum of one hundred million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2011, from the Washington housing bond account to the department of commerce for the purposes of this act.
     (1) Up to ten million dollars of the appropriation is for the workforce housing program established in chapter . . . ., Laws of 2010 (HB 2753).
     (2) Up to seven hundred fifty thousand dollars of the appropriation is for the department of commerce to develop a long-term state affordable housing strategy, based on the ten-year plan to end homelessness and the state affordable housing for all plan outlined in section 8 of this act.

Sec. 8   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)) state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all plan. The state plan must incorporate strategies, objectives, goals, and performance measures, including those required for the state homeless housing strategic plan required under RCW 43.185C.040. 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 the need for affordable housing in the state and the extent to which that need is being met through public and private sector programs((, to));
     (b) Outline the development of sound strategies and programs to promote affordable housing;
     (c) Establish, evaluate, and report upon interim goals and timelines that are determined by the department and by which the state and counties may be measured;
     (d) Evaluate and report upon all counties' use of the affordable housing for all program surcharge funds provided for in RCW 36.22.178 and all other sources directed to the counties' affordable housing for all programs;
     (e) Report upon how housing trust fund awards within the previous five-year period are consistent with the state plan and have contributed to the goal of the affordable housing for all program; 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.
     (3) The information in the ((five-year)) state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all 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 by low-income, very low-income, and extremely low-income households and special needs populations, including a report on the number and percentage of additional affordable rental housing units that are needed statewide and in each county to house low-income, very low-income, and extremely low-income households;
     (c) An inventory of the supply and geographic distribution of affordable housing rental units made available through public and private sector programs;
     (d) A summary of the activities of all state housing programs, as well as all housing programs operated by or coordinated by city and county governments, including local housing-related levy initiatives, housing-related tax exemption programs, and federally funded programs operated or coordinated by the state or local governments;
     (e) A status report on the degree of progress made by the public and private sector toward meeting the housing needs of the state, including each county or city required by the United States department of housing and urban development to produce a consolidated plan, and any other city or county where information is readily available;
     (((e))) (f) 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))) (g) An analysis, statewide and within each county and major city, of the primary contributors to the cost of housing and an outline of potential strategies to keep the increasing cost of housing below the relative rise in wages;
     (h) Specific recommendations, policies, or proposals for meeting the affordable housing needs of the state;
     (i) A report on the growth in the population of low-income, very low-income, and extremely low-income households statewide and for each county;
     (j) A determination of the cost to the state of the affordable housing shortage;
     (k) A report of any differences in the rates of inflation between median house prices, median rent for a two-bedroom apartment, and median family income for low-income, very low-income, and extremely low-income households; and
     (l) A summary of the recommendations of the affordable housing advisory board report as required in RCW 43.185B.030.
     (((2)(a))) (4) The ((five-year)) state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all plan required under ((subsection (1) of)) this section must be submitted to appropriate committees of the legislature on or before ((February 1, 1994)) December 31, 2010, and subsequent updated plans must be submitted by December 31st every five years 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) 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. 9   Sections 2 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.