HOUSE
BILL ANALYSIS
HB
3170
Title: An act relating to financial assistance to local
governments.
Brief Description: Providing financial assistance to local
governments.
Sponsors: Representatives H. Sommers, Huff, Scott,
Mulliken, Doumit, Mielke, Grant, Carrell, Linville, Ericksen, Edwards, Barlean,
Fisher, Campbell, Dunshee, D. Schmidt, Haigh, Koster, Hurst, Sump, Conway,
Alexander, Dickerson, McIntire, Schual‑Berke, Santos, Buck, Rockefeller,
Schoesler, Kastama, Keiser, Romero, Cairnes, Regala, Fortunato, Carlson,
McDonald, Hatfield, Kessler, Ruderman, Ogden, Cooper, Wood, Miloscia, O'Brien,
Anderson, Wolfe, Lovick, Lantz, Veloria, Stensen, Benson, Woods, Lisk, Skinner,
Talcott, Ballasiotes, Hankins, Pennington, Thomas and Esser.
Background:
Local
Government
The
passage of initiative 695 in November 1999 repealed the Motor Vehicle Excise
Tax (MVET), which had been forecasted to generate approximately $1.6 billion in
revenues during the fiscal 1999‑2001 biennium. The MVET statute
apportioned 23.6 percent of collections to counties, cities, and public health
districts for the purposes of criminal justice assistance, fire and police
protection, sales tax equalization, and public health. For some jurisdictions,
the MVET assistance represented a relatively significant part of the operating
budget, in some cases providing over 50 percent of operating expenditures.
The
MVET collections were distributed on a quarterly basis to city and county
jurisdictions and on a monthly basis to public health districts and county public
health departments. The final distributions to jurisdictions occurred in
January, 2001, based on collections in October through December, 1999.
Shorelines
The
Shoreline Management Act (SMA) requires counties and cities to adopt local
shoreline master programs regulating land use activities in shoreline areas of
the state and to enforce approved programs within their jurisdictions. The SMA
also requires the Department of Ecology (DOE) to adopt guidelines for local
governments to use when developing these local shoreline master programs.
The
Growth Management Act requires all jurisdictions to designate natural resource
lands and designate and protect critical areas.
In
1998, the Legislature directed the Conservation Commission to conduct a
limiting factors analysis for salmonids as part of the critical pathways
methodology required for salmon recovery.
Expenditure
and Debt Limits
Initiative
601, enacted by the voters in 1993, establishes an expenditure limit for the
state general fund. I-601 requires that the expenditure limit be decreased if
moneys are transferred from the state general fund to another fund or account.
The initiative also directs that the limit be increased if costs of a local
government program are transferred to the state.
A
statutory debt limit prohibits the state from incurring aggregate debt that
would result in debt service payments that exceed seven percent of the average
of general state revenues for the previous three years.
Summary:
Funding
is provided to local jurisdictions for the purposes of public safety, criminal
justice, public health, shorelines protection, and other program areas.
Local
Government
An
appropriations from the Health Services Account of $33.2 million is made to the
Office of Financial Management (OFM) to distribute to county health departments
and public health districts for the 1999‑2001 fiscal biennium.
For
the 1999‑2001 fiscal biennium, $35.5 million is appropriated from the
general fund to the OFM for distribution to counties. This ongoing funding is
provided for the Superior Court system, police operations, crime prevention,
care and custody of prisoners, and legal services.
For
the 1999‑2001 fiscal biennium, $66.3 million is appropriated from the general
fund to the OFM for distribution to cities. This ongoing funding is provided
for municipal court systems, police operations, crime prevention, care and
custody of prisoners, and legal services.
A
task force is created to provide recommendations to the Governor and
Legislature on the future distribution of funding to cities and counties. The
task force will consist of three members from each of the two largest caucuses
in the House and Senate, appointed by the Co-Speakers of the House and the President
of the Senate. The task force will identify an appropriate level of ongoing
funding and the mechanism by which the funds would be distributed, and will
submit a report on its recommendations by November 1, 2000.
Shorelines
The
shorelines protection account is created in the state treasury, and $20 million
per fiscal year is transferred into the account, beginning July 1, 2001, and
ending June 30, 2006. The State Treasurer will transfer moneys in the account
to eligible counties based on the miles of shorelines in the county. To be
eligible, a county must have shorelines as defined in the Shoreline Management
Act of 1971, and it must have a population of less than 500,000.
Counties
may use funding from the shoreline protection account for acquisition of
conservation easements and futures, and for restoration, maintenance, and
monitoring activities in riparian areas. A riparian area must be designated as
a critical area under the Growth Management Act, or be located within a county=s shoreline management jurisdiction, or be identified as addressing a
limiting factor for salmon.
Expenditure
and Debt Limits
The
appropriations to the counties and cities are expressly declared to be a transfer
of local government costs to the state, which will result in an increase to the
expenditure limit.
Initiative
601 is amended to provide that the transfer of general fund moneys to the
shorelines protection account does not result in a reduction of the state
expenditure limit. Additionally, the transfers to the Shorelines Protection
Account will not be deducted from general state revenues for purposes of
calculating the debt limit.
Appropriation: Appropriates a total of $101.8 million from the
state general fund and $33,183,801 from the Health Services Account.
Effective
Date: Sections 1 through 6
contain an emergency clause and take effect immediately. Sections 7 through 9
take effect on July 1, 2001.
Fiscal
Note: Not requested.