AN ACT Relating to local government taxes; adding a new chapter to Title 36 RCW; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Counties are experiencing a serious erosion in their ability to maintain the staffing necessary to deliver mandated public health services since the dedicated public health millage was removed in 1977. In many counties staffing is less now than it was five years ago while the demands have increased. In order to deliver public health services on a regional basis it has been increasingly difficult for city, town, and county governments to meet these responsibilities within current revenue sources. Public health is a regional responsibility. A method of funding public health services should be one which distributes the cost of delivery of these personal and environmental health services among all the residents of the region receiving the services. Currently counties and incorporated cities and towns are required to share in the cost of delivery of public health services.

The legislature intends to give county governments the authority to raise increased revenue in exchange for acceptance by county governments of full responsibility for funding public health services and agreement by the counties that the revenue so raised will be used specifically for and only for the purpose of basic funding of public health services as determined by the local board of health having jurisdiction.

The duties and responsibilities of local boards of health and local health officers are statutorily mandated. These include the control and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), control of tuberculosis, vital statistics, environmental protection, and control of communicable diseases. Local boards of health and local health officers also have regulatory responsibilities including public water supplies, mobile home parks, on-site sewage disposal, and swimming pools. Many local governments have not been able to adequately fund the services necessary to meet these many responsibilities, in particular in such areas of increasing need as solid waste, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), maternal and child preventive health services, and toxic waste. Trends in these and other areas of public health responsibility predict the need for local governments to take a leadership role to insure that the public health delivery system can meet public health needs.

It is not the intent of the legislature to alter the present administrative or policy-making roles and authority of local health departments, local health districts, and combined city county health departments.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. As used in this chapter:

(1) "Electrical utility" means an electrical power distribution business as defined in RCW 82.16.010.

(2) "Gas utility" means a gas distribution business as defined in RCW 82.16.010.

(3) "Telephone utility" means any firm engaged in the business of providing network telephone service as defined in RCW 82.04.065. However, for purposes of this chapter, network telephone service shall not include amounts which represent: (a) Charges to another telecommunications company, as defined in RCW 80.04.010, for connecting fees, switching charges, or carrier access charges relating to intrastate toll telephone services; or (b) charges to any person or business for access to, or charges for, interstate services.

(4) "Water utility" means a water distribution business as defined in RCW 82.16.010.

(5) "Sewer utility" means a sewerage collection business taxable under RCW 82.16.020.

(6) "Retail sale" means the sale of or charge made for electrical energy, gas, network telephone service, water, or sewerage service by a utility. A retail sale occurs at the place to which electrical energy, gas, network telephone service, water, or sewerage service is delivered or provided to the consumer thereof.

(7) "Selling price" has the meaning ascribed to it by RCW 82.08.010.

(8) "Utility" means an electrical utility, gas utility, telephone utility, water utility, or sewer utility.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. By ordinance, the legislative authority of a county may levy an excise tax on retail sales by utilities. The tax shall be measured by the selling price and shall:

(1) Apply equally at a single rate to these utilities;

(2) Apply uniformly at a single rate within individual classes throughout the county;

(3) Be imposed at a rate which does not exceed one percent;

(4) Allow an exemption from tax for inter-utility sales of commodities for resale;

(5) Be additional to payments made pursuant to franchises granted by the county; and

(6) Be used only for the purposes of providing public health services to all residents of the county, including residents of incorporated cities and towns within the county.

A county imposing a tax under this section may exempt from the tax senior citizens sixty-five years of age or older, persons who would qualify for an exemption under RCW 84.36.381 by reason of physical disability, and/or persons whose household income is at or below the limits that would qualify for an exemption under RCW 84.36.381.

No tax may be levied under this section unless the county imposing the tax assumes full responsibility for funding public health services as adopted in the annual budget of the local health department, combined city county health district, or local health district under chapters 70.05, 70.08, and 70.46 RCW to all residents of the county, including residents of incorporated cities and towns within the county.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A referendum petition to repeal a county ordinance imposing a tax or altering the rate of tax under this chapter may be filed with a filing officer, as identified in the ordinance, within seven days of passage of the ordinance in any county imposing a tax or altering the rate of tax. Within ten days, the filing officer shall confer with the petitioner concerning form and style of the petition, issue an identification number for the petition, and write a ballot title for the measure. The ballot title shall be posed as a question so that an affirmative answer to the question and an affirmative vote on the measure results in the tax or tax rate increase being imposed and a negative answer to the question and a negative vote on the measure results in the tax or tax rate increase not being imposed. The petitioner shall be notified of the identification number and ballot title within this ten-day period.

After this notification, the petitioner shall have thirty days in which to secure on petition forms the signatures of not less than fifteen percent of the registered voters of the county and to file the signed petitions with the filing officer. Each petition form shall contain the ballot title and the full text of the measure to be referred. The filing officer shall verify the sufficiency of the signatures on the petitions. If sufficient valid signatures are properly submitted, the filing officer shall submit the referendum measure to the county voters at a general or special election held on one of the dates provided in RCW 29.13.010 as determined by the county legislative authority, which election shall not take place later than one hundred twenty days after the signed petition has been filed with the filing officer.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Each utility shall add the tax so levied to the rates or charges it makes for utility services provided to consumers or users thereof and shall separately state the amount of the tax on consumer or user billings as "public health services tax."

Any tax imposed under this chapter shall be paid by the consumer to the utility, and each utility shall collect from the consumer the full amount of the tax payable in respect to each taxable sale. The tax required to be collected by the utility shall be deemed to be held in trust by the utility until paid to the county.

The amount of tax, until paid by the consumer to the utility, shall constitute a debt from the consumer to the utility.

No tax levied under this chapter may apply to sales prior to the effective date of the ordinance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The county legislative authority may establish, in consultation with the utility, classes of persons based on use upon whom the utility taxes are levied and may establish different rates of taxation on the classes, exemption of a class or classes, or rebates for a class or classes. Differential rates, exemptions, and rebates granted under this section shall be allowed equally for both consumers of electrical utility services and consumers of gas utility services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The taxes authorized by this chapter shall be administered and collected by the county or counties jointly which impose the taxes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 7 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 36 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This act shall take effect January 1, 1989.