BILL REQ. #:  S-3413.1 

Read first time 01/20/14.   Referred to Committee on Governmental Operations.

     AN ACT Relating to exempting certain fire districts from use tax on vehicle purchases; adding a new section to chapter 82.12 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) This section is the tax preference performance statement for the tax preference contained in section 2 of this act. This performance statement is only intended to be used for subsequent evaluation of the tax preference. It is not intended to create a private right of action by any party or be used to determine eligibility for preferential tax treatment.
     (2) The legislature categorizes this tax preference as one intended to provide tax relief for fire districts that have small budgets.
     (3) The legislature's specific public policy goal is to reduce the cost of purchasing necessary vehicles for low revenue fire districts that meet the criteria in section 2(2) of this act.
     (4) The department of licensing must provide the data necessary to perform a review to the joint legislative audit and review committee during the year in which the review will be conducted.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 82.12 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply with respect to the use of vehicles, by a qualified fire district, that are necessary to perform the duties and mission of the fire district.     
     (2) A "qualified fire district" means a fire district that meets the following criteria:
     (a) The fire district must be publicly owned; and
     (b) The fire district must have an annual budget that receives less than one thousand dollars per square mile served.
     (3) The county assessor of the qualified fire district's county must provide certification of the agencies qualifying criteria in subsection (2) of this section at the time of registration of the vehicle.
     (4) The one thousand dollar threshold in subsection (2)(b) of this section must be annually adjusted by the consumer price index for all urban consumers, all items, for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton metropolitan area as calculated by the United States bureau of labor statistics. The department must make this calculation using the year-over-year change in the consumer price index each October. The department must notify the counties of the new dollar threshold by December 31st of each year for adjustments for the following calendar year.