S-0778.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5316

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senators T. Sheldon and Rasmussen

Read first time 01/19/1999.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Rural Economic Development.

Providing financial assistance for the development of public facilities in rural counties.

    AN ACT Relating to infrastructure financing in rural counties; and adding a new section to chapter 43.160 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 43.160 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) Except as authorized to the contrary under subsection (3) of this section, from all funds available to the board for financial assistance, the board shall designate at least seventy-five percent for financial assistance for the development of public facilities in rural counties.

    (2) Financial assistance made under this section shall be provided on a one-to-one matching basis, provided the county and the city are working cooperatively on public facilities financed under RCW 82.14.370.

    (3) If at any time during the last six months of a biennium the board finds that the actual and anticipated application for qualified projects in rural counties are clearly insufficient to use up the seventy-five percent allocation, then the board shall estimate the amount of the insufficiency and during the remainder of the biennium may use that amount of the allocation for financial assistance for projects not located in rural counties.

    (4) For the purposes of this section:

    (a) "Rural county" means a county with a population density of fewer than one hundred persons per square mile, as determined by the office of financial management; and

    (b) "Public facilities" means a project of a local government for the planning, acquisition, construction, repair, reconstruction, replacement, rehabilitation, or improvement of bridges, roads, domestic and industrial water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, railroad, electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, buildings or structures, and port facilities all for the purpose of job creation, job retention, or job expansion.

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