READ FIRST TIME 03/05/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to providing affordable housing for all; amending RCW 43.185B.040, 36.22.178, 43.63A.650, 43.185C.005, 43.185C.040, 43.185C.050, 43.185C.080, 43.185C.160, 36.22.179, and 43.185C.150; reenacting and amending RCW 36.18.010 and 36.18.010; adding new sections to chapter 43.185C RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; creating new sections; recodifying RCW 36.22.179, 43.20A.790, 43.63A.650, 36.22.178, 43.185B.020, and 43.185B.040; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that there is a large, unmet need for affordable housing in the state of Washington. The legislature declares that a decent, appropriate, and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for every household should be a state goal. Furthermore, this goal includes increasing the percentage of low-income households who are able to obtain and retain housing without government subsidies or other public support.
     (2) The legislature finds that there are many root causes of the affordable housing shortage and declares that it is critical that such causes be analyzed, effective solutions be developed, implemented, monitored, and evaluated, and that these causal factors be eliminated. The legislature also finds that there is a taxpayer and societal cost associated with a lack of jobs that pay self-sufficiency standard wages and a shortage of affordable housing, and that the state must identify and quantify that cost.
     (3) The legislature finds that the support and commitment of all sectors of the statewide community is critical to accomplishing the state's affordable housing for all goal. The legislature finds that the provision of housing and housing-related services should be administered at the local level. However, the state should play a primary role in: Providing financial resources to achieve the goal at all levels of government; researching, evaluating, benchmarking, and implementing best practices; continually updating and evaluating statewide housing data; developing a state plan that integrates the strategies, goals, objectives, and performance measures of all other state housing plans and programs; coordinating and supporting county government plans and activities; and directing quality management practices by monitoring both state and county government performance towards achieving interim and ultimate goals.
     (4) The legislature declares that the systematic and comprehensive performance measurement and evaluation of progress toward interim goals and the immediate state affordable housing goal of a decent, appropriate, and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for every household in the state by 2020 is a necessary component of the statewide effort to end the affordable housing crisis.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   This chapter may be known and cited as the Washington affordable housing for all act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   There is created within the department the state affordable housing for all program, which shall be funded by the affordable housing for all program surcharge provided for in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and all other sources directed to the affordable housing for all program. The goal of the program is a decent, appropriate, and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment for every very low-income household in the state by 2020. A priority must be placed upon achieving this goal for extremely low-income households. This goal includes increasing the percentage of households who access housing that is affordable for their income or wage level without government assistance by increasing the number of previously very low-income households who achieve self-sufficiency and economic independence. The goal also includes implementing strategies to keep the rising cost of housing below the relative rise in wages. The department shall develop and administer the affordable housing for all program. In the development and implementation of the program, the department shall consider: The funding level, number of county staff available to implement the program, and competency of each county to meet the goals of the program; and establish program guidelines, performance measures, and reporting requirements appropriate to the existing capacity of the participating counties.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Affordable housing" means housing that has a sales price or rental amount that is within the means of a household that may occupy low, very low, and extremely low-income housing. The department shall adopt policies for residential rental and homeownership housing, occupied by extremely low, very low, and low-income households, that specify the percentage of household income that may be spent on monthly housing costs, including utilities other than telephone, to qualify as affordable housing.
     (2) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (3) "Director" means the director of the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (4) "First-time home buyer" means an individual or his or her spouse who have not owned a home during the three-year period prior to purchase of a home.
     (5) "Nonprofit organization" means any public or private nonprofit organization that: (a) Is organized under federal, state, or local laws; (b) has no part of its net earnings inuring to the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or individual; and (c) has among its purposes, significant activities related to the provision of decent housing that is affordable to extremely low-income, very low-income, low-income, or moderate-income households and special needs populations.
     (6) "Regulatory barriers to affordable housing" and "regulatory barriers" mean any public policies, including those embodied in statutes, ordinances, regulations, or administrative procedures or processes, required to be identified by the state, cities, towns, or counties in connection with strategies under section 105(b)(4) of the Cranston-Gonzalez national affordable housing act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12701 et seq.).
     (7) "Home security fund account" means the account in the custody of the state treasurer receiving the state's portion of income from the revenue of sources established by RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and 36.22.179, section 25 of this act, and all other sources directed to the affordable housing for all program or homeless housing and assistance program.
     (8) "County affordable housing task force" means a county committee, as described in section 7 of this act, created to prepare and recommend to its county legislative authority a county affordable housing for all plan, and also to recommend expenditures of the funds from the affordable housing for all program surcharge in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and all other sources directed to the county's affordable housing for all program.
     (9) "Performance measurement" means the process of comparing specific measures of success with ultimate and interim goals.
     (10) "Performance evaluation" means the process of evaluating the performance by established objective, measurable criteria according to the achievement of outlined goals, measures, targets, standards, or other outcomes using a ranked scorecard from highest to lowest performance which employs a scale of one to one hundred, one hundred being the optimal score.
     (11) "Quality management program" means a nationally recognized program using criteria similar or equivalent to the Baldridge criteria. Beginning in 2009, all cities, towns, and counties receiving over five hundred thousand dollars a year during the previous calendar year from (a) state housing-related funding sources, including the housing trust fund, (b) housing finance commission programs, (c) the affordable housing for all program surcharge in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), (d) the homeless housing and assistance program surcharge in RCW 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act), and (e) any other surcharge charged under chapter 36.22 RCW to fund homelessness programs shall apply to the full examination Washington state quality award program once every three years beginning by January 1, 2010. The Washington state housing finance commission must apply to the full examination Washington state quality award program by December 31, 2009, and at least once every three years thereafter.
     (12) "Affordable housing for all program" means the program authorized under this chapter, utilizing the funding from the affordable housing for all program surcharge in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), and all other sources directed to the affordable housing for all program, as administered by the department at the state level and by each county at the local level.
     (13) "State affordable housing for all plan" or "state plan" means the plan developed by the department in collaboration with the affordable housing advisory board with the goal of ensuring that every very low-income household in Washington has a decent, appropriate, and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment by 2020.
     (14) "County affordable housing for all plan" or "county plan" means the plan developed by each county with the goal of ensuring that every very low-income household in the county has a decent, appropriate, and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment by 2020.
     (15) "Low-income household," for the purposes of the affordable housing for all program, means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is less than eighty percent of the median household income, adjusted for household size for the county where the project is located.
     (16) "Very low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is less than fifty percent of the median family income, adjusted for household size for the county where the project is located.
     (17) "Extremely low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is less than thirty percent of the median family income, adjusted for household size for the county where the project is located.
     (18) "County" means a county government in the state of Washington or, except under RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), a city government or collaborative of city governments within that county if the county government declines to participate in the affordable housing program.
     (19) "Local government" means a county or city government in the state of Washington or, except under RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), a city government or collaborative of city governments within that county if the county government declines to participate in the affordable housing program.
     (20) "Authority" or "housing authority" means any of the public corporations created by RCW 35.82.030.
     (21) "Good family-wage job" means a job that pays at or above one of the two self-sufficiency income standards established under section 26 of this act which for an individual means enough income to support one adult individual, and for a family means enough income to support two adult individuals, one preschool-aged child, and one school-aged child.

Sec. 5   RCW 43.185B.040 and 1993 c 478 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall, in consultation with the affordable housing advisory board created in RCW 43.185B.020 (as recodified by this act), prepare and ((from time to time amend a five-year)) annually update a state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all plan. The state plan must incorporate the strategies, objectives, goals, and performance measures of all other housing-related state plans, including the state homeless housing strategic plan required under RCW 43.185C.040 and all state housing programs. The state affordable housing for all plan may be combined with the state homeless housing strategic plan required under RCW 43.185C.040 or any other existing state housing plan as long as the requirements of all of the plans to be merged are met.
     (2) The purpose of the state affordable housing for all plan is to:
     (a) Document the need for affordable housing in the state and the extent to which that need is being met through public and private sector programs((,));
     (b) Outline the development of sound strategies and programs to promote affordable housing;
     (c) Establish, evaluate, and report upon interim goals and timelines that are determined by the department and by which the state and counties may be measured;
     (d) Establish, evaluate, and report upon performance measures, including the performance measures outlined in section 6 of this act, for all state housing programs, as well as all housing programs operated by or coordinated by city and county governments, including local housing-related levy initiatives, housing-related tax exemption programs, and federally funded programs operated or coordinated by the state or local governments;
     (e) Evaluate and report upon all counties' use of the affordable housing for all program surcharge funds provided for in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and all other sources directed to the counties' affordable housing for all programs;
     (f) Report upon how housing trust fund awards within the previous one-year period are consistent with the plan and have contributed to the goal of the affordable housing for all program; and ((to))
     (g) Facilitate state and county government planning to meet the state affordable housing ((needs of the state, and to enable the development of sound strategies and programs for affordable housing)) for all goal.
     (3) The information in the ((five-year)) annual state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all plan must include:
     (a) An assessment of the state's housing market trends;
     (b) An assessment of the housing needs for all economic segments of the state by wage level decile and special needs populations including:
     (i) A report on the number and percentage of persons or households statewide and in each county in each income level decile who are currently living in housing that is not affordable given their wage level;
     (ii) A report on the number and percentage of additional affordable rental housing units that are needed statewide and in each county to house persons or households at each wage level decile;
     (iii) A report of the number and percentage of persons or households identified as having special needs statewide and in each county who are not adequately and affordably housed;
     (iv) An estimate of the number and percentage of additional housing units needed statewide and in each county for each special needs population category;
     (c) An inventory of the supply and geographic distribution of affordable housing rental units made available through public and private sector programs;
     (d) An inventory of the homeownership units under public or nonprofit control through a trust or covenant limiting the economic value of the unit made available through public and private sector programs;
     (e) An estimate of the number and percentage of homes available for purchase statewide and in each county that are affordable to each wage level decile;
     (f) An estimate of the number and percentage affordable homes for purchase needed for each wage level decile to achieve the state's homeownership goal, as determined by the department and included in the state affordable housing for all plan, unless established by the legislature;
     (g) A summary of the activities of all state housing programs, as well as all housing programs operated by or coordinated by city and county governments, including local housing-related levy initiatives, housing-related tax exemption programs, and federally funded programs operated or coordinated by the state or local governments;
     (h) A status report on the degree of progress made by the public and private sector toward meeting the housing needs of the state, each county, and each city with a population greater than fifty thousand or the city with the highest population in each county, where information is available;
     (((e))) (i) An identification of state and local regulatory barriers to affordable housing and proposed regulatory and administrative techniques designed to remove barriers to the development and placement of affordable housing; ((and
     (f))) (j) An analysis, statewide and within each county and major city, of the primary contributors to the cost of housing and an outline of potential strategies to keep the increasing cost of housing below the relative rise in wages;
     (k) Specific recommendations, policies, or proposals for meeting the affordable housing needs of the state;
     (l) Identification of key root causal factors of the affordable housing shortage and the inability of low-income households to obtain and retain appropriate housing, and identification of possible preventative strategies and related performance measures;
     (m) A report on the growth in the population of persons in each wage level decile statewide and for each county;
     (n) A determination of the cost to the state of the affordable housing shortage;
     (o) A report of any differences in the rates of inflation between median house prices, median rent for a two-bedroom apartment, and median family income for persons or households in each wage level decile;
     (p) A summary of the recommendations of the affordable housing advisory board report as required in RCW 43.185B.030;
     (q) A response to all county legislative and policy recommendations included in county affordable housing for all plans as well as proposed strategies to address issues raised in the county plans; and
     (r) A summary report of the department's evaluations of the operations and accomplishments of other state departments and agencies as they affect housing as required in RCW 43.63A.650 (as recodified by this act).
     (((2)(a))) (4) The ((five-year)) state affordable housing ((advisory)) for all plan required under ((subsection (1) of)) this section must be submitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature on or before ((February 1, 1994)) December 31, 2008, and subsequent updated plans must be submitted ((every five years)) by December 31st each year thereafter.
     (((b) Each February 1st, beginning February 1, 1995, the department shall submit an annual progress report, to the legislature, detailing the extent to which the state's affordable housing needs were met during the preceding year and recommendations for meeting those needs))
     (5) To guide counties in preparation of county affordable housing for all plans required under section 8 of this act, the department shall issue, by December 31, 2007, guidelines for preparing county plans consistent with this chapter. County plans must be substantially consistent with the goals and program recommendations of the state affordable housing for all plan and must include, at a minimum, the same information analysis, on a local level, as described in subsection (3) of this section and must include the performance measures outlined in section 6 of this act.
     (6) Based on changes to the general population and in the housing market, the department may revise the performance measures and goals of the state affordable housing for all plan and set goals for years following December 31, 2020.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) The department, in consultation with a task force established by the department consisting of the chairs of the appropriate committees of the legislature, representatives appointed by the director from a minimum of five county affordable housing for all task forces representing urban and rural areas as well as communities east and west of the Cascade mountains, representatives from private for-profit housing developers that have experience with low-income housing, and representatives from statewide housing advocacy organizations, shall create affordable housing for all program outcomes and performance measures and goals addressing, at a minimum, the success of the state and each county in the following areas:
     (a) An overall measurement of the affordable housing needs met for extremely low, low, and low-income households within each twelve-month period;
     (b) A measure of the change in the cost of housing relative to the change in wages;
     (c) A measure of the increase in affordable rental housing;
     (d) A measure of the increase in self-sufficiency amongst individuals and families;
     (e) A measure of the increase in individuals' and family wages;
     (f) A measure of community support for the state and county plans;
     (g) A measure of county government financial support for the program;
     (h) A measure of the financial viability of the state and county plans;
     (i) A measure of the financial efficiency of the housing programs funded by the county;
     (j) A measure of the quality of the state and county plans; and
     (k) A measure of the quality of the management of county governments.
     Measurement reporting must be subdivided by county, major city, and political geography, and yearly targets for these results must be included. Performance measures must be included in the department's state affordable housing for all plan and all county affordable housing for all plans and must be provided to the joint legislative audit and review committee.
     (2) Performance measures and yearly targets must be established by December 31, 2007, and must be reviewed annually by the department after soliciting feedback from all county affordable housing for all task forces.
     (3) The department may determine a timeline to implement and measure each performance measure for the state and county plans, except that the state and all counties participating in the affordable housing for all program must implement and respond to all performance measures by January 1, 2010, unless the department determines that a performance measure is not applicable to a specific county based on parameters and thresholds established by the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Each county shall convene a county affordable housing task force. The task force must be a committee, made up of volunteers, created to prepare and recommend to the county legislative authority a county affordable housing for all plan and also to recommend appropriate expenditures of the affordable housing for all program funds provided for in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and any other sources directed to the county program. The county affordable housing task force must include a representative of the county, a representative from the city with the highest population in the county, a representative from all other cities in the county with a population greater than fifty thousand, a member representing beneficiaries of affordable housing programs, other members as may be required to maintain eligibility for federal funding related to housing programs and services, and a representative from both a private nonprofit organization and a private for-profit organization with experience in very low-income housing. The task force may be the same as the homeless housing task force created in RCW 43.185C.160 or the same as another existing task force or other formal committee that meets the requirements of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   (1) Each county shall direct its affordable housing task force to prepare and recommend to its county legislative authority a county affordable housing for all plan for its jurisdictional area. Each county shall adopt a county plan by June 30, 2008, and update the plan annually by June 30th thereafter. All plans must be forwarded to the department by the date of adoption. County affordable housing for all plans may be combined with the local homeless housing plans required under RCW 43.185C.040 or any other existing plan addressing housing within a county as long as the requirements of all of the plans to be merged are met. For counties required or choosing to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, county affordable housing for all plans must be consistent with the housing elements of comprehensive plans described in RCW 36.70A.070(2). County plans must also be consistent with any existing local homeless housing plan required in RCW 43.185C.050.
     (2) County affordable housing for all plans must be primarily focused on (a) ensuring that every very low-income household in the county jurisdictional area has a decent, appropriate, and affordable home in a healthy, safe environment by 2020 and (b) increasing the percentage of very low-income households that access affordable housing without government assistance. County plans must include information and performance measurement data where available on all city and county housing programs, including local housing-related levy initiatives, housing-related tax exemption programs, and federally funded programs operated or coordinated by the state or local governments. County plans must be substantially consistent with the goals, performance measures, and program recommendations of the state affordable housing for all plan and must include, at a minimum, the same information, analysis, and performance measures as described in RCW 43.185B.040 (as recodified by this act) and section 6 of this act. In addition to these performance measures, counties must report on a common performance measure, to be determined by the department, measuring the health and safety of tenants of affordable rental housing. All towns, cities, and counties must report information related to this performance measure to the county task force to the greatest extent practicable using available funds. Counties shall report on achievements according to stated performance measures to the department annually by December 1st, beginning in 2008.
     (3) In addition to fulfilling the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, county affordable housing for all plans must include:
     (a) Timelines for the accomplishment of interim goals and targets, and for the acquisition of projected financing that is appropriate for outlined goals and targets;
     (b) An identification of challenges to reaching the affordable housing for all goal;
     (c) A total estimated amount of funds needed to reach the local affordable housing for all goal and an identification of potential funding sources; and
     (d) State legislative recommendations to enable the county to achieve its affordable housing for all goals. Legislative recommendations must be specific and, if necessary, include an estimated amount of funding required and suggestions of an appropriate funding source.
     (4) Each year, the department shall:
     (a) Summarize key information from county plans, including a summary of local city and county housing program activities and a summary of legislative recommendations;
     (b) Conduct annual performance evaluations of county plans; and
     (c) Conduct annual performance evaluations of all counties according to their performance in achieving stated affordable housing goals in their plans.
     (5) The department shall present the summary of county affordable housing for all plans and the results of performance evaluations to the appropriate committees of the legislature annually on or before December 31st.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   (1) Any county may decline to participate in the affordable housing for all program authorized in this chapter by forwarding to the department a resolution adopted by the county legislative authority stating the intention not to participate. A copy of the resolution must also be transmitted to the county auditor and treasurer. Counties that decline to participate shall not be required to establish an affordable housing task force or to create a county affordable housing for all plan. Counties declining to participate in the affordable housing for all program shall continue to collect and utilize the affordable housing for all surcharge for the purposes described in RCW 36.22.178; however, such counties shall not be allocated any additional affordable housing for all program funding. Counties may opt back into the affordable housing for all program authorized by this chapter at a later date through a process and timeline to be determined by the department.
     (2) If a county declines to participate in the affordable housing for all program authorized in this chapter, a city or formally organized collaborative of cities within that county may forward a resolution to the department stating its intention and willingness to operate an affordable housing for all program within its jurisdictional limits. The department must establish procedures to choose amongst cities or collaboratives of cities in the event that more than one city or collaborative of cities express an interest in participating in the program. Participating cities or collaboratives of cities must fulfill the same requirements as counties participating in the affordable housing for all program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   A county may subcontract with any other county, city, town, housing authority, community action agency, or other nonprofit organization for the execution of programs contributing to the affordable housing for all goal. All subcontracts must be: Consistent with the county affordable housing for all plan adopted by the legislative authority of the county; time limited; and filed with the department, and must have specific performance terms as specified by the county. County governments must strongly encourage all subcontractors under the affordable housing for all program to apply to the full examination Washington state quality award program. This authority to subcontract with other entities does not affect participating counties' ultimate responsibility for meeting the requirements of the affordable housing for all program.

Sec. 11   RCW 36.22.178 and 2005 c 484 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
     The surcharge provided for in this section shall be named the affordable housing for all program surcharge.
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (((2))) (3) of this section, a surcharge of ten dollars per instrument shall be charged by the county auditor for each document recorded, which will be in addition to any other charge authorized by law. The county may retain up to five percent of these funds collected solely for the collection, administration, and local distribution of these funds. Of the remaining funds, forty percent of the revenue generated through this surcharge will be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer who will deposit the funds into the ((Washington housing trust account)) home security fund account created in section 12 of this act. The office of community development of the department of community, trade, and economic development will develop guidelines for the use of these funds to support building operation and maintenance costs of housing projects or units within housing projects that are affordable to extremely low-income ((persons)) households with incomes at or below thirty percent of the area median income, and that require a supplement to rent income to cover ongoing operating expenses.
     (2) All of the remaining funds generated by this surcharge will be retained by the county and be deposited into a fund that must be used by the county and its cities and towns for eligible housing ((projects or units within housing projects that are affordable to)) activities as described in this subsection that serve very low-income ((persons)) households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income. The portion of the surcharge retained by a county shall be allocated to eligible housing activities that serve extremely low and very low-income ((housing projects or units within such housing projects)) households in the county and the cities within a county according to an interlocal agreement between the county and the cities within the county consistent with countywide and local housing needs and policies. ((The funds generated with this surcharge shall not be used for construction of new housing if at any time the vacancy rate for available low-income housing within the county rises above ten percent. The vacancy rate for each county shall be developed using the state low-income vacancy rate standard developed under subsection (3) of this section. Uses of)) A priority must be given to eligible housing activities that serve extremely low-income households with incomes at or below thirty percent of the area median income. For counties participating in the affordable housing for all program, all eligible housing activities funded must be consistent with strategies outlined in the county affordable housing for all plan. Eligible housing activities to be funded by these ((local)) county funds are limited to:
     (a) Acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of housing projects or units within housing projects that are affordable to very low-income ((persons)) households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income, including units for homeownership, rental units, seasonal and permanent farm worker housing units, and single room occupancy units;
     (b) Supporting building operation and maintenance costs of housing projects or units within housing projects eligible to receive housing trust funds, that are affordable to very low-income ((persons)) households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income, and that require a supplement to rent income to cover ongoing operating expenses;
     (c) Rental assistance vouchers for housing ((projects or)) units ((within housing projects)) that are affordable to very low-income ((persons)) households with incomes at or below fifty percent of the area median income, to be administered by a local public housing authority or other local organization that has an existing rental assistance voucher program, consistent with or similar to the United States department of housing and urban development's section 8 rental assistance voucher program standards. The department shall develop statewide guidelines for rental assistance programs by 2008, which must include, at a minimum, guidelines and related performance measures to ensure acceptable housing quality for voucher recipients, as well as tenant protections consistent with federal section 8 rental assistance voucher program standards; and
     (d) Operating costs for emergency shelters and licensed overnight youth shelters.
     (((2))) (3) The surcharge imposed in this section does not apply to assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust.
     (((3) The real estate research center at Washington State University shall develop a vacancy rate standard for low-income housing in the state as described in RCW 18.85.540(1)(i)))
     (4) All counties shall report at least annually upon receipts and expenditures of the affordable housing for all program surcharge funds created in this section to the department. The department may require more frequent reports. The report must include the amount of funding generated by the surcharge, the total amount of funding distributed to date, the amount of funding allocated to each eligible housing activity, a description of each eligible housing activity funded, including information on the income or wage level and numbers of extremely low and low-income households the eligible housing activity is intended to serve, and the outcome or anticipated outcome of each eligible housing activity. Counties participating in the affordable housing for all program shall also report annually on performance measures, including performance measures outlined in section 6 of this act and others to be determined by the department, related to uses of the affordable housing for all program surcharge funds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   The home security fund account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. The state's portion of the surcharges established in RCW 36.22.178 and 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act), and section 25 of this act shall be deposited in the account, as well as all other sources directed to the affordable housing for all program and the homeless housing and assistance program. Expenditures from the account may only be used for the affordable housing for all program and the homeless housing and assistance program as described in this act. Only the director or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

Sec. 13   RCW 36.18.010 and 2005 c 484 s 19 and 2005 c 374 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     County auditors or recording officers shall collect the following fees for their official services:
     (1) For recording instruments, for the first page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, five dollars; for each additional page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar. The fee for recording multiple transactions contained in one instrument will be calculated for each transaction requiring separate indexing as required under RCW 65.04.050 as follows: The fee for each title or transaction is the same fee as the first page of any additional recorded document; the fee for additional pages is the same fee as for any additional pages for any recorded document; the fee for the additional pages may be collected only once and may not be collected for each title or transaction;
     (2) For preparing and certifying copies, for the first page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, three dollars; for each additional page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;
     (3) For preparing noncertified copies, for each page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;
     (4) For administering an oath or taking an affidavit, with or without seal, two dollars;
     (5) For issuing a marriage license, eight dollars, (this fee includes taking necessary affidavits, filing returns, indexing, and transmittal of a record of the marriage to the state registrar of vital statistics) plus an additional five-dollar fee for use and support of the prevention of child abuse and neglect activities to be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund plus an additional ten-dollar fee to be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund. The legislature intends to appropriate an amount at least equal to the revenue generated by this fee for the purposes of the displaced homemaker act, chapter 28B.04 RCW;
     (6) For searching records per hour, eight dollars;
     (7) For recording plats, fifty cents for each lot except cemetery plats for which the charge shall be twenty-five cents per lot; also one dollar for each acknowledgment, dedication, and description: PROVIDED, That there shall be a minimum fee of twenty-five dollars per plat;
     (8) For recording of miscellaneous records not listed above, for the first page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, five dollars; for each additional page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;
     (9) For modernization and improvement of the recording and indexing system, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.170;
     (10) For recording an emergency nonstandard document as provided in RCW 65.04.047, fifty dollars, in addition to all other applicable recording fees;
     (11) For recording instruments, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act); and
     (([(12)])) (12) For recording instruments, except for documents recording a birth, marriage, divorce, or death or any documents otherwise exempted from a recording fee under state law, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14   This chapter does not require either the department or any local government to expend any funds to accomplish the goals of this chapter other than the revenues authorized in this act and other revenue that may be appropriated by the legislature for these purposes. However, neither the department nor any local government may use any funds authorized in this act to supplant or reduce any existing expenditures of public money to address the affordable housing shortage.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15   The joint legislative audit and review committee shall conduct a performance audit of the state affordable housing for all program every four years. The audit must include an analysis of the department's expenditures of funds from sources established by RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) and all other sources directed to the affordable housing for all program. The first audit must be conducted on or before December 31, 2010. Each audit must take no longer than six months or fifty thousand dollars to complete.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 16   (1) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall conduct an evaluation and comparison of the cost-efficiency of rental housing voucher programs funded with state or local moneys versus other low-income housing projects funded with state or local moneys that are intended to assist low-income households to obtain and retain affordable housing. The study must consider factors including administrative costs, capital costs, and other operating costs involved in the implementation and management of rental housing voucher programs. The study must compare the number of households that may be served, given a set amount of available funds, through rental housing voucher programs funded with state or local moneys with other housing projects funded with state or local moneys, including new construction and rehabilitation of housing units. The department of community, trade, and economic development, the Washington state housing finance commission, housing authorities, community action agencies, and local governments shall provide the joint legislative audit and review committee with information necessary for the evaluation study.
     (2) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall solicit input regarding the study from interested parties, including representatives from the affordable housing advisory board, the department of community, trade, and economic development, the Washington state housing finance commission, representatives from the private rental housing industry, housing authorities, community action agencies, county and city governments, and nonprofit and for-profit housing developers.
     (3) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall present the results of this study to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 31, 2008.
     (4) This section expires December 31, 2008.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 17   (1) The department, the Washington state housing finance commission, the affordable housing advisory board, and all participating county governments, housing authorities, and other nonprofit organizations receiving state funds, county affordable housing for all surcharge funds, or financing through the housing finance commission, shall, by December 31, 2007, and annually thereafter, review current housing reporting requirements related to housing programs and services and give recommendations to the legislature to streamline and simplify all planning and reporting requirements. The entities listed in this section shall also give recommendations for additional legislative actions that could promote the affordable housing for all goal.
     (2) The department shall collaborate with the Washington state housing finance commission and representatives from statewide organizations representing counties, cities, housing authorities, nonprofit groups involved in affordable housing, and other interested parties, to create a strategy to streamline and, when possible, consolidate state, city, town, and county reporting requirements to address the inefficiencies associated with multiple reporting requirements. The department shall present the strategy to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 31, 2007.

Sec. 18   RCW 43.63A.650 and 1999 c 267 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall be the principal state department responsible for coordinating federal and state resources and activities in housing, except for programs administered by the Washington state housing finance commission under chapter 43.180 RCW, and for evaluating the operations and accomplishments of other state departments and agencies as they affect housing. The department shall conduct annual performance evaluations of all state department and agency services provided to extremely low, very low, and low-income persons needing housing assistance, as well as all other housing-related programs and activities. The department shall provide copies of the evaluation reports to the appropriate committees of the legislature and the affordable housing advisory board by December 31st of each year.
     (2) The department shall work with ((local governments)) cities, towns, counties, tribal organizations, local housing authorities, nonprofit community or neighborhood-based organizations, and regional or statewide nonprofit housing assistance organizations, for the purpose of coordinating federal and state resources with local resources for housing.
     (3) The department shall be the principal state department responsible for providing shelter and housing services to homeless families with children. The department shall have the principal responsibility to coordinate, plan, and oversee the state's activities for developing a coordinated and comprehensive plan to serve homeless families with children. The plan shall be developed collaboratively with the department of social and health services. The department shall include community organizations involved in the delivery of services to homeless families with children, and experts in the development and ongoing evaluation of the plan. The department shall follow professionally recognized standards and procedures. The plan shall be implemented within amounts appropriated by the legislature for that specific purpose in the operating and capital budgets. The department shall submit the plan to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives no later than September 1, 1999, and shall update the plan and submit it to the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1st of every odd-numbered year through 2007. The plan shall address at least the following: (a) The need for prevention assistance; (b) the need for emergency shelter; (c) the need for transitional assistance to aid families into permanent housing; (d) the need for linking services with shelter or housing; and (e) the need for ongoing monitoring of the efficiency and effectiveness of the plan's design and implementation.

Sec. 19   RCW 43.185C.005 and 2005 c 484 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Despite laudable efforts by all levels of government, private individuals, nonprofit organizations, and charitable foundations to end homelessness, the number of homeless persons in Washington is unacceptably high. The state's homeless population, furthermore, includes a large number of families with children, youth, and employed persons. The legislature finds that the fiscal and societal costs of homelessness are high for both the public and private sectors, and that ending homelessness ((should)) must be a goal for state and local government.
     The legislature finds that there are many causes of homelessness, including a shortage of affordable housing; a shortage of good family-wage jobs which undermines housing affordability; a lack of an accessible and affordable health care system available to all who suffer from physical and mental illnesses and chemical and alcohol dependency; domestic violence; ((and)) a lack of education and job skills necessary to acquire adequate wage jobs in the economy of the twenty-first century; inadequate availability of services for citizens with mental illness and developmental disabilities living in the community; and the difficulties faced by formerly institutionalized persons in reintegrating to society and finding stable employment and housing.
     The support and commitment of all sectors of the statewide community is critical to the chances of success in ending homelessness in Washington. While the provision of housing and housing-related services to the homeless should be administered at the local level to best address specific community needs, the legislature also recognizes the need for the state to play a primary coordinating, supporting, ((and)) monitoring, and evaluating role. There must be a clear assignment of responsibilities and a clear statement of achievable and quantifiable goals. Systematic statewide data collection on ((homelessness)) homeless individuals in Washington must be a critical component of such a program enabling the state to work with local governments not only to count all homeless people in the state, but to record and manage information about homeless persons ((and)) in order to assist them in finding housing and other supportive services that can help them, when possible, achieve the highest degree of self-sufficiency and economic independence that is appropriate given their specific abilities and situations.
     The systematic collection and rigorous evaluation of homeless data, a nationwide search for and implementation through adequate resource allocation of best practices, and the systematic measurement of progress toward interim goals and the ultimate goal of ending homelessness are all necessary components of a statewide effort to end homelessness in Washington by July 1, 2015.

Sec. 20   RCW 43.185C.040 and 2005 c 484 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((Six months after the first Washington homeless census,)) The department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness, the state advisory council on homelessness, and the affordable housing advisory board, prepare and ((publish a ten-year homeless housing)) annually update a state homeless housing strategic plan which ((shall)) must outline statewide goals and performance measures ((and shall be coordinated with the plan for homeless families with children required under RCW 43.63A.650. To guide local governments in preparation of their first local homeless housing plans due December 31, 2005, the department shall issue by October 15, 2005, temporary guidelines consistent with this chapter and including the best available data on each community's homeless population)). Local governments' ((ten-year homeless housing)) homeless housing plans ((shall not)) must include all of the performance measures included in the state homeless housing strategic plan and must be substantially ((inconsistent)) consistent with the goals and program recommendations of ((the temporary guidelines and, when amended after 2005,)) the state homeless housing strategic plan.
     (2)(a) Program outcomes and performance measures and goals ((shall)) must be created by the department ((and reflected)) in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and a task force established by the department consisting of the committee chairs of the appropriate committees of the legislature, representatives appointed by the director from a minimum of five local ending homelessness task forces representing both urban and rural areas and communities east and west of the Cascade mountains, and a representative from a statewide membership organization that advocates for ending homelessness. The task force must also produce guidelines for local governments regarding methods, techniques, and data suggested to measure each performance measure. Performance measures, yearly targets, and corresponding measurement guidelines must be established by December 31, 2007, and must be reviewed annually by the department and the interagency council on homelessness after soliciting feedback from all local homeless housing task forces. Performance measures must be included in the department's ((homeless housing)) state homeless housing strategic plan ((as well as)) and all local homeless housing plans.
     (b) The department may determine a timeline for implementation and measurement of each performance measure for the state and local homeless housing plans, except that the state and all local governments must implement and respond to all performance measures by December 31, 2009, unless the department finds that a performance measure is not applicable to a specific local area according to parameters and thresholds established by the department.
     (c) Performance measures must be created, at a minimum, to gauge the success of the state and each local government in the following areas:
     (i) The societal cost of homelessness;
     (ii) The cost of ending homelessness in comparison with available and committed resources;
     (iii) The self-sufficiency of persons in Washington;
     (iv) The achievement of an appropriate level of self-sufficiency for homeless individuals;
     (v) The quality and completeness of the Washington homeless client management information system database;
     (vi) The quality of the performance management systems of state agencies, local governments, and local government subcontractors executing programs, as authorized by RCW 43.185C.080(1), that contribute to the overall goal of ending homelessness; and
     (vii) The quality of local homeless housing plans.
     Performance measurements are reported upon by city and county geography, including demographics with yearly or more frequent targets.
     (3) Interim goals against which state and local governments' performance may be measured must also be described and reported upon in the state homeless housing strategic plan, including:
     (a) ((By the end of year one, completion of the first census as described in RCW 43.185C.030;
     (b))) By the end of each subsequent year, goals common to all state and local programs which are measurable and the achievement of which would move that community toward housing its homeless population; and
     (((c))) (b) By July 1, 2015, reduction of the homeless population statewide and in each county by fifty percent.
     (((3))) (4) The department shall develop a consistent statewide data gathering instrument to monitor the performance of cities and counties receiving homeless housing grants in order to determine compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the homeless housing grant application or required by the department.
     (5) The department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness, the state advisory council on homelessness, and the affordable housing advisory board, report annually to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature ((an assessment of)) the fiscal and societal costs of the homeless crisis, including identifying, to the extent practical, savings in state and local program costs that could be obtained through the achievement of stable housing for the clients served by those programs.
     (6) The department shall also deliver a summary annual report, including information about:
     (a) All state programs addressing homeless housing and services;
     (b) The state's performance in furthering the goals of the state ((ten-year)) homeless housing strategic plan; and
     (c) The performance of each participating local government in creating and executing a local homeless housing plan ((which)) that meets the requirements of this chapter. ((The annual report may include performance measures such as:
     (a) The reduction in the number of homeless individuals and families from the initial count of homeless persons;
     (b) The number of new units available and affordable for homeless families by housing type;
     (c) The number of homeless individuals identified who are not offered suitable housing within thirty days of their request or identification as homeless;
     (d) The number of households at risk of losing housing who maintain it due to a preventive intervention;
     (e) The transition time from homelessness to permanent housing;
     (f) The cost per person housed at each level of the housing continuum;
     (g) The ability to successfully collect data and report performance;
     (h) The extent of collaboration and coordination among public bodies, as well as community stakeholders, and the level of community support and participation;
     (i) The quality and safety of housing provided; and
     (j) The effectiveness of outreach to homeless persons, and their satisfaction with the program.
     (4))) (7) The state homeless housing plan must also include a response to each recommendation included in the local homeless housing plans for policy changes to assist in ending homelessness and a summary of the recommendations to the legislature to streamline and simplify all housing planning and reporting requirements, as required in section 17 of this act.
     (8) Based on the performance of local homeless housing programs in meeting their interim goals, on general population changes and on changes in the homeless population recorded in the ((annual)) census, the department may revise the performance measures and goals of the state homeless housing strategic plans, set goals for years following the initial ten-year period, and recommend changes in local governments' homeless housing plans.

Sec. 21   RCW 43.185C.050 and 2005 c 484 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a)(i) Each local homeless housing task force shall prepare and recommend to its local government legislative authority a ((ten-year)) local homeless housing plan for its jurisdictional area ((which shall be not inconsistent)) that is consistent with the department's ((statewide temporary guidelines, for the December 31, 2005, plan, and thereafter the department's ten-year homeless housing)) state homeless housing strategic plan and ((which shall be)) is aimed at eliminating homelessness, with a minimum goal of reducing homelessness by fifty percent by July 1, 2015. ((The local government may amend the proposed local plan and shall adopt a plan by December 31, 2005. Performance in meeting the goals of this local plan shall be assessed annually in terms of the performance measures published by the department.)) Local governments must update their local homeless housing plans annually on a schedule to be determined by the department.
     (ii) Local plans must include specific strategic objectives, consistent with the state plan, and must include corresponding action plans. Local plans must address identified strategies to meet the needs of all homeless populations, including chronic homeless, short-term homeless, families, individuals, and youth. Each local plan must include the total estimated cost of accomplishing the goals of the plan to reduce homelessness by fifty percent by July 1, 2015, and must include an accounting of total committed funds for this purpose.
     (b)(i) The department must conduct an annual performance evaluation of each local plan by December 31st of each year beginning in 2007. The department must also conduct an annual performance evaluation of each local government's performance related to its local plan by December 31st of each year beginning in 2007. A local government's performance must be evaluated using, at a minimum, the performance measures outlined in RCW 43.185C.040(2).
     (ii) In addition to the performance measures mandated in RCW 43.185C.040(2), local plans may include specific local performance measures adopted by the local government legislative authority((,)) and ((may)) must include recommendations for ((any)) state legislation needed to meet the state or local plan goals. The recommendations must be specific and must, if funding is required, include an estimated amount of funding required and suggestions for an appropriate funding source.
     (2) Eligible activities under the local plans include:
     (a) Rental and furnishing of dwelling units for the use of homeless persons;
     (b) Costs of developing affordable housing for homeless persons, and services for formerly homeless individuals and families residing in transitional housing or permanent housing and still at risk of homelessness;
     (c) Operating subsidies for transitional housing or permanent housing serving formerly homeless families or individuals;
     (d) Services to prevent homelessness, such as emergency eviction prevention programs, including temporary rental subsidies to prevent homelessness;
     (e) Temporary services to assist persons leaving state institutions and other state programs to prevent them from becoming or remaining homeless;
     (f) Outreach services for homeless individuals and families;
     (g) Development and management of local homeless housing plans, including homeless census data collection((;)) and information, identification of goals, performance measures, strategies, and costs, and evaluation of progress towards established goals;
     (h) Rental vouchers payable to landlords for persons who are homeless or below thirty percent of the median income or in immediate danger of becoming homeless; ((and))
     (i) Implementing a quality management program and applying to the full examination Washington state quality award program; and
     (j) Other activities to reduce and prevent homelessness as identified for funding in the local plan.

Sec. 22   RCW 43.185C.080 and 2005 c 484 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((Only a local government is eligible to receive a homeless housing grant from the homeless housing account. Any city may assert responsibility for homeless housing within its borders if it so chooses, by forwarding a resolution to the legislative authority of the county stating its intention and its commitment to operate a separate homeless housing program. The city shall then receive a percentage of the surcharge assessed under RCW 36.22.179 equal to the percentage of the city's local portion of the real estate excise tax collected by the county. A participating city may also then apply separately for homeless housing program grants. A city choosing to operate a separate homeless housing program shall be responsible for complying with all of the same requirements as counties and shall adopt a local homeless housing plan meeting the requirements of this chapter for county local plans. However, the city may by resolution of its legislative authority accept the county's homeless housing task force as its own and based on that task force's recommendations adopt a homeless housing plan specific to the city.
     (2))) Local governments ((applying for homeless housing funds)) may subcontract with any other local government, housing authority, community action agency, or other nonprofit organization for the execution of programs contributing to the overall goal of ending homelessness within a defined service area. All subcontracts ((shall)) must be consistent with the local homeless housing plan adopted by the legislative authority of the local government, time limited, and filed with the department, and ((shall)) must have specific performance terms. Local governments must strongly encourage all subcontractors under the homeless housing and assistance program to apply to the full examination Washington state quality award program. While a local government has the authority to subcontract with other entities, the local government continues to maintain the ultimate responsibility for the homeless housing program within its ((borders)) jurisdiction.
     (((3))) (2) A county may decline to participate in the program authorized in this chapter by forwarding to the department a resolution adopted by the county legislative authority stating the intention not to participate. A copy of the resolution ((shall)) must also be transmitted to the county auditor and treasurer. If ((such a)) the resolution is adopted, all of the funds otherwise due to the county under RCW ((43.185C.060 shall)) 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act) and section 25 of this act, minus funds due to any city that has chosen to participate through the process established in subsection (3) of this section, must be remitted monthly to the state treasurer for deposit in the ((homeless housing)) home security fund account, without any reduction by the county for collecting or administering the funds. Upon receipt of the resolution, the department shall promptly begin to identify and contract with one or more entities eligible under this section to create and execute a local homeless housing plan for the county meeting the requirements of this chapter. The department shall expend all of the funds received from the county under this subsection to carry out the purposes of this chapter ((484, Laws of 2005)) in the county, ((provided that)) but the department may retain six percent of these funds to offset the cost of managing the county's program.
     (3) Any city may assert responsibility for homeless housing within its borders, by forwarding a resolution to the legislative authority of the county stating its intention and its commitment to operate a separate homeless housing program. A city choosing to operate a separate homeless housing program receives a percentage of the surcharge assessed under RCW 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act) and under section 25 of this act equal to the percentage of the city's local portion of the real estate excise tax collected by the county. A participating city may also then apply separately for homeless housing grants. A city choosing to operate a separate homeless housing program must comply with all of the same requirements as counties and shall adopt a local homeless housing plan meeting the requirements of this chapter for local homeless housing plans.
     (4) A resolution by the county declining to participate in the program ((shall have)) has no effect on the ((ability)) authority of each city in the county to assert its right to manage its own program under this chapter, and the county shall monthly transmit to the city the funds due under ((this chapter)) RCW 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act) and section 25 of this act.

Sec. 23   RCW 43.185C.160 and 2005 c 485 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each county shall create a homeless housing task force to develop a ((ten-year)) homeless housing plan addressing short-term and long-term services and housing ((for homeless persons)) to prevent and reduce homelessness by fifty percent by 2015.
     Membership on the task force may include representatives of the counties, cities, towns, housing authorities, civic and faith organizations, schools, community networks, human services providers, law enforcement personnel, criminal justice personnel, including prosecutors, probation officers, and jail administrators, substance abuse treatment providers, mental health care providers, emergency health care providers, businesses, at-large representatives of the community, and a homeless or formerly homeless individual.
     In lieu of creating a new task force, a local government may designate an existing governmental or nonprofit body ((which)) that substantially conforms to this section and ((which)) includes at least one homeless or formerly homeless individual to serve as its homeless representative. As an alternative to a separate plan, two or more local governments may work in concert to develop and execute a joint homeless housing plan, or to contract with another entity to do so according to the requirements of this chapter. While a local government has the authority to subcontract with other entities, the local government continues to maintain the ultimate responsibility for the homeless housing program within its borders.
     ((A county may decline to participate in the program authorized in this chapter by forwarding to the department a resolution adopted by the county legislative authority stating the intention not to participate. A copy of the resolution shall also be transmitted to the county auditor and treasurer. If a county declines to participate, the department shall create and execute a local homeless housing plan for the county meeting the requirements of this chapter.))
     (2) In addition to developing a ((ten-year)) homeless housing plan, each task force shall establish guidelines consistent with the ((statewide)) state homeless housing strategic plan, as needed, for the following:
     (a) Emergency shelters;
     (b) Short-term housing needs;
     (c) Temporary encampments;
     (d) Rental voucher programs;
     (e) Supportive housing for chronically homeless persons; ((and
     (e))) (f) Long-term housing; and
     (g) Prevention services.
     Guidelines must include, when appropriate, standards for health and safety and notifying the public of proposed facilities to house the homeless.
     (3) Each county((, including counties exempted from creating a new task force under subsection (1) of this section,)) shall report to the department of community, trade, and economic development ((such)) any information ((as may be)) needed to ensure compliance with this chapter.

Sec. 24   RCW 36.22.179 and 2005 c 484 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to the surcharge authorized in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act), and except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, an additional surcharge of ten dollars shall be charged by the county auditor for each document recorded, which will be in addition to any other charge allowed by law. The funds collected pursuant to this section are to be distributed and used as follows:
     (a) The auditor shall retain two percent for collection of the fee, and of the remainder shall remit sixty percent to the county to be deposited into a fund that must be used by the county and its cities and towns to accomplish the purposes of chapter ((484, Laws of 2005)) 43.185C RCW, six percent of which may be used by the county for administrative costs related to its homeless housing plan, and the remainder for programs which directly accomplish the goals of the county's local homeless housing plan, except that for each city in the county which elects as authorized in RCW 43.185C.080 to operate its own local homeless housing program, a percentage of the surcharge assessed under this section equal to the percentage of the city's local portion of the real estate excise tax collected by the county shall be transmitted at least quarterly to the city treasurer, without any deduction for county administrative costs, for use by the city for program costs which directly contribute to the goals of the city's local homeless housing plan; of the funds received by the city, it may use six percent for administrative costs for its homeless housing program.
     (b) The auditor shall remit the remaining funds to the state treasurer for deposit in the homeless housing home security fund account. The department may use twelve and one-half percent of this amount for administration of the program established in RCW 43.185C.020, including the costs of creating the statewide homeless housing strategic plan, measuring performance, providing technical assistance to local governments, and managing the homeless housing grant program. The remaining eighty-seven and one-half percent is to be ((distributed by the department to local governments through the homeless housing grant program)) used by the department to:
     (i) Provide housing and shelter for homeless people including, but not limited to: Grants to operate, repair, and staff shelters; grants to operate transitional housing; partial payments for rental assistance; consolidated emergency assistance; overnight youth shelters; and emergency shelter assistance; and
     (ii) Fund the homeless housing grant program.
     (2) The surcharge imposed in this section does not apply to assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 25   A new section is added to chapter 43.185C RCW to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to the surcharges authorized in RCW 36.22.178 and 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act), and except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the county auditor shall charge an additional surcharge of eight dollars for each document recorded, which is in addition to any other charge allowed by law. The funds collected under this section are to be distributed and used as follows:
     (a) The auditor shall remit ninety percent to the county to be deposited into a fund that must be used by the county and its cities and towns to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. Funds are to be used for programs that directly accomplish the goals of the county's local homeless housing plan, except that for each city in the county that elects, as authorized in RCW 43.185C.080(3), to operate its own homeless housing program, a percentage of the surcharge assessed under this section equal to the percentage of the city's local portion of the real estate excise tax collected by the county must be transmitted at least quarterly to the city treasurer for use by the city for program costs that directly contribute to the goals of the city's homeless housing plan.
     (b) The auditor shall remit the remaining funds to the state treasurer for deposit in the home security fund account. The department may use the funds for administering the program established in RCW 43.185C.020, including the costs of creating and updating the statewide homeless housing strategic plan, implementing and managing the Washington homeless client management information system established in RCW 43.185C.180, measuring performance, providing technical assistance to local governments, and managing the homeless housing grant program. Remaining funds may also be used to:
     (i) Fund the creation of two self-sufficiency income standards established under section 26 of this act;
     (ii) Provide housing and shelter for homeless people including, but not limited to: Grants to operate, repair, and staff shelters; grants to operate transitional housing; partial payments for rental assistance; consolidated emergency assistance; overnight youth shelters; and emergency shelter assistance; and
     (iii) Fund the homeless housing grant program.
     (2) The surcharge imposed in this section does not apply to assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 26   A new section is added to chapter 43.185C RCW to read as follows:
     The department shall contract with the employment security department to annually establish two self-sufficiency income standards based upon the cost of living, including housing costs, which include mortgage or rent payments and utilities other than telephone, for each county in the state. The self-sufficiency income standards must be based upon the costs needed to support: (1) One adult individual; and (2) two adult individuals and one preschool-aged child and one school-aged child. These income standards will be translated into an equivalent hourly wage rate assuming one full-year, full-time earner for the self-sufficiency income standards for each county. The self-sufficiency income standards must be presented to the legislature by December 31, 2008. The employment security department must spend no more than one hundred ten thousand dollars in creating the initial self-sufficiency income standards and no more than fifty-five thousand dollars annually to update the standards. The employment security department shall deliver a report to the department and the appropriate committees of the legislature that details the number and percentage of individuals statewide and in each county who do not have a good family wage job and, as a result, earn less than the self-sufficiency income standards, as well as the number and percentage of individuals statewide and in each county who have a good family wage job and, as a result, earn an amount equivalent to or more than the self-sufficiency income standards.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 27   A new section is added to chapter 43.185C RCW to read as follows:
     The joint legislative audit and review committee shall conduct a performance audit of the homeless housing and assistance program every four years. The first audit must be conducted by December 31, 2009. Each audit must take no longer than six months or fifty thousand dollars to complete.

Sec. 28   RCW 36.18.010 and 2005 c 484 s 19 and 2005 c 374 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     County auditors or recording officers shall collect the following fees for their official services:
     (1) For recording instruments, for the first page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, five dollars; for each additional page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar. The fee for recording multiple transactions contained in one instrument will be calculated for each transaction requiring separate indexing as required under RCW 65.04.050 as follows: The fee for each title or transaction is the same fee as the first page of any additional recorded document; the fee for additional pages is the same fee as for any additional pages for any recorded document; the fee for the additional pages may be collected only once and may not be collected for each title or transaction;
     (2) For preparing and certifying copies, for the first page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, three dollars; for each additional page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;
     (3) For preparing noncertified copies, for each page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;
     (4) For administering an oath or taking an affidavit, with or without seal, two dollars;
     (5) For issuing a marriage license, eight dollars, (this fee includes taking necessary affidavits, filing returns, indexing, and transmittal of a record of the marriage to the state registrar of vital statistics) plus an additional five-dollar fee for use and support of the prevention of child abuse and neglect activities to be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund plus an additional ten-dollar fee to be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund. The legislature intends to appropriate an amount at least equal to the revenue generated by this fee for the purposes of the displaced homemaker act, chapter 28B.04 RCW;
     (6) For searching records per hour, eight dollars;
     (7) For recording plats, fifty cents for each lot except cemetery plats for which the charge shall be twenty-five cents per lot; also one dollar for each acknowledgment, dedication, and description: PROVIDED, That there shall be a minimum fee of twenty-five dollars per plat;
     (8) For recording of miscellaneous records not listed above, for the first page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, five dollars; for each additional page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;
     (9) For modernization and improvement of the recording and indexing system, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.170;
     (10) For recording an emergency nonstandard document as provided in RCW 65.04.047, fifty dollars, in addition to all other applicable recording fees;
     (11) For recording instruments, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.178 as recodified by this act); ((and
     [(12)])) (12) For recording instruments, except for documents recording a birth, marriage, divorce, or death or any documents otherwise exempted from a recording fee under state law, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act); and
     (13) For recording instruments, except for documents recorded by the department of revenue, the department of labor and industries, and the employment security department and for documents recording a birth, marriage, divorce, or death or any documents otherwise exempted from a recording fee under state law, a surcharge as provided in section 25 of this act.

Sec. 29   RCW 43.185C.150 and 2005 c 484 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:
     This chapter does not require either the department or any local government to expend any funds to accomplish the goals of this chapter other than the revenues authorized in ((chapter 484, Laws of 2005)) RCW 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act) and the revenues authorized in section 25 of this act. However, neither the department nor any local government may use any funds authorized in ((chapter 484, Laws of 2005)) RCW 36.22.179 (as recodified by this act) or the revenues authorized in section 25 of this act to supplant or reduce any existing expenditures of public money for the reduction or prevention of homelessness or services for homeless persons.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 30   RCW 36.22.179, 43.20A.790, and 43.63A.650 are each recodified as sections in chapter 43.185C RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 31   RCW 36.22.178, 43.185B.020, and 43.185B.040 are each recodified as sections in chapter 43.--- RCW (created in section 32 of this act).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 32   Sections 1 through 4, 6 through 10, 12, 14, and 15 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 33   If specific funding for the purposes of sections 1 through 18 of this act, referencing this act by bill, chapter, or section, number, is not provided by June 30, 2007, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.