CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

                        HOUSE BILL 2598

                        55th Legislature

                      1998 Regular Session

Passed by the House February 13, 1998  Yeas 98   Nays 0 Speaker of the       House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 4, 1998   Yeas 47   Nays 0

CERTIFICATE I, Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 2598  as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

President of the Senate

Chief Clerk

Approved Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.

FILED

Governor of the State of Washington

Secretary of State                   State of Washington

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                          HOUSE BILL 2598

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             Passed Legislature - 1998 Regular Session

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1998 Regular Session

By Representatives Radcliff, McDonald, Pennington, Dickerson, Mastin, Dunshee, O'Brien, Mulliken, Cole, Conway, Mason, Wood and Ogden

Read first time 01/15/98.  Referred to Committee on Finance.

Modifying property tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations.

    AN ACT Relating to property tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations; and amending RCW 84.36.043.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 84.36.043 and 1991 c 198 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) The real and personal property used by a nonprofit organization in providing emergency or transitional housing for low-income homeless persons as defined in RCW 35.21.685 or 36.32.415 or victims of domestic violence who are homeless for personal safety reasons is exempt from taxation if:

    (a) The charge, if any, for the housing does not exceed the actual cost of operating and maintaining the housing; and

    (b)(i) The property is owned by the nonprofit organization; or

    (ii) ((For taxes levied for collection in 1991 through 1999 only,)) The property is rented or leased by the nonprofit organization and the benefit of the exemption inures to the nonprofit organization.

    (2) As used in this section:

    (a) "Homeless" means persons, including families, who, on one particular day or night, do not have decent and safe shelter nor sufficient funds to purchase or rent a place to stay.

    (b) "Emergency housing" means a project that provides housing and supportive services to homeless persons or families for up to sixty days.

    (c) "Transitional housing" means a project that provides housing and supportive services to homeless persons or families for up to two years and that has as its purpose facilitating the movement of homeless persons and families into independent living.

    (3) This exemption is subject to the administrative provisions contained in RCW 84.36.800 through 84.36.865.

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