(1) Each year that funding has been made available by the legislature for support of student engagement hubs, a county that is required to operate a student engagement hub under RCW 29A.40.180, may request reimbursement from the secretary of state. Reimbursement under this section is limited to the operation of a student engagement hub during any portion of the in-person voter registration period associated with each general election.

(2) Reimbursement may be requested as either:

(a) Direct costs identified in the election cost reimbursement submitted pursuant to chapter 29A.04 RCW and compliant with the BARS Manual requirements related to cost reimbursement; or

(b) A reimbursement request separate from the election cost reimbursement request. This must be accompanied by supporting documentation, which may include invoices, written narratives, cost allocation, or other information, for each billed cost, a description of hub operations, dates and hours of operation, and a copy of the hub agreement.

(3) Prior to each general election, the secretary of state may identify a portion of the funding made available by the legislature to support student engagement hubs for statewide communication, outreach, or system upgrades related to student engagement hubs.

(4) All funding remaining after statewide communication, outreach, or system upgrades, must be used for reimbursement of operation costs as requested by counties operating student engagement hubs.

(5) In the event that available funding is less than the total of all reimbursements requested, available funding must be distributed using a proportional allocation method.