HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1341

                       As Passed House

                       March 12, 1997

Title:  An act relating to technical corrections for tax provisions.

Brief Description:  Making technical corrections for tax provisions.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on Finance (originally sponsored by  Representatives Thompson, Dunshee, B. Thomas and Wensman; by request of Department of Revenue).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Finance:  2/18/97, 3/4/97 [DP].

Floor Activity:

Passed House:  3/12/97, 97‑0.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 14 members:  Representatives B. Thomas, Chairman; Carrell, Vice Chairman; Mulliken, Vice Chairman; Dunshee, Ranking Minority Member; Dickerson, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Boldt; Butler; Conway; Kastama; Mason; Morris; Pennington; Schoesler and Thompson.

Staff:  Linda Brooks (786-7153).

Background:  Some excise and property tax statutes

-make gender-specific references;

-contain outdated provisions;

-include numerically out-of-sequence references to other statutes; or

-contain incorrect cross-references (as the result of a statute being amended without simultaneously updating other statutes that make reference to the amended statute).

Business and occupation (B&O) and property tax statutes define agricultural products differently, although in practical terms the universe of Aagricultural products@ is the same under both definitions.

Summary of Bill:  The bill makes the following technical corrections to excise and property tax statutes:

-replaces gender-specific references with gender-neutral terms;

-deletes outdated provisions;

-reorders cites to other statutes so that the cites are in numeric sequential order; or

-renumbers subsections in statutes that make reference to a statute that was amended last year so that the original legislative intent is preserved.

The business and occupation (B&O) tax definition of agricultural products defines agricultural products for property-tax purposes too.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  None.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  None.