"Sec. 1   RCW 82.02.050 and 1994 c 257 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) It is the intent of the legislature:
     (a) To ensure that adequate facilities are available to serve new growth and development;
     (b) To promote orderly growth and development by establishing standards by which counties, cities, and towns may require, by ordinance, that new growth and development pay a proportionate share of the cost of new facilities needed to serve new growth and development; and
     (c) To ensure that impact fees are imposed through established procedures and criteria so that specific developments do not pay arbitrary fees or duplicative fees for the same impact.
     (2) Counties, cities, and towns that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 are authorized to impose impact fees on development activity as part of the financing for public facilities, provided that the financing for system improvements to serve new development must provide for a balance between impact fees and other sources of public funds and cannot rely solely on impact fees.
     (3)(a) Counties, cities, and towns collecting impact fees must adopt a permanent system for the collection of impact fees from applicants for residential building permits issued for a lot or unit created by a subdivision, short subdivision, site development permit, binding site plan, or condominium that includes one or more of the following:
     (i)(A) A process by which an applicant for any development permit that requires payment of an impact fee may record a covenant against title to the lot or unit subject to the impact fee obligation. A covenant under this subsection (3)(a)(i) must also serve as a lien. The covenant must require payment equal to one hundred percent of the impact fee applicable to the lot or unit at the rates in effect at the time the building permit was issued, less a credit for any deposits paid.
     (B) Covenants recorded in accordance with this subsection (3)(a)(i) must provide for payment of the impact fee through escrow at the earlier of the following: The time of closing of sale of the applicable lot or unit; or in accordance with the applicable county, city, or town ordinance, eighteen or more months after the building permit is issued. Payment of impact fees due at closing of a sale must, unless an agreement to the contrary is reached between buyer and seller, be made from the seller's proceeds. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the seller bears strict liability for the payment of the impact fees.
     (C) Either a seller or a seller's agent, or both, of property subject to a deferral covenant authorized under this subsection (3)(a)(i) must provide written disclosure of the covenant to a purchaser or prospective purchaser. Disclosure of the covenant must include the amount of impact fees payable and the entities to which fees are to be paid at closing.
     (D) Upon receiving payment of impact fees due, the applicable county, city, or town must remove the covenant recorded in accordance with this subsection (3)(a)(i); or
     (ii) A process by which an applicant may apply for a deferral of the impact fee payment until final inspection or certificate of occupancy, or equivalent certification.
     (b) Counties, cities, and towns may adopt local systems for the collection of impact fees that differ from the requirements of this subsection (3) if the payment timing provisions are consistent with those of this subsection.
     (4) The impact fees:
     (a) Shall only be imposed for system improvements that are reasonably related to the new development;
     (b) Shall not exceed a proportionate share of the costs of system improvements that are reasonably related to the new development; and
     (c) Shall be used for system improvements that will reasonably benefit the new development.
     (((4))) (5)(a) Impact fees may be collected and spent only for the public facilities defined in RCW 82.02.090 which are addressed by a capital facilities plan element of a comprehensive land use plan adopted pursuant to the provisions of RCW 36.70A.070 or the provisions for comprehensive plan adoption contained in chapter 36.70, 35.63, or 35A.63 RCW. After the date a county, city, or town is required to adopt its development regulations under chapter 36.70A RCW, continued authorization to collect and expend impact fees ((shall be)) is contingent on the county, city, or town adopting or revising a comprehensive plan in compliance with RCW 36.70A.070, and on the capital facilities plan identifying:
     (((a))) (i) Deficiencies in public facilities serving existing development and the means by which existing deficiencies will be eliminated within a reasonable period of time;
     (((b))) (ii) Additional demands placed on existing public facilities by new development; and
     (((c))) (iii) Additional public facility improvements required to serve new development.
     (b) If the capital facilities plan of the county, city, or town is complete other than for the inclusion of those elements which are the responsibility of a special district, the county, city, or town may impose impact fees to address those public facility needs for which the county, city, or town is responsible."

"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act expires July 1, 2016."