BILL REQ. #:  H-2819.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/05/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to providing affordable housing for all; amending RCW 43.185B.040, 36.22.178, and 43.63A.650; reenacting and amending RCW 36.18.010; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; creating new sections; recodifying RCW 36.22.178, 43.185B.020, and 43.185B.040; and providing expiration dates.

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 and that, at a minimum, this goal must be accomplished for every low-income household by 2020. 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 low-income 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) "Affordable housing for all 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 all other sources directed to the affordable housing for all 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, 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.

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 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 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 supply of homes available for purchase statewide and in each county that are affordable to each wage level decile;
     (f) An estimate of the number of 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 very 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.
     (((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 and low-income households within each twelve-month period;
     (b) A measure of the increase in affordable rental housing;
     (c) A measure of the increase in self-sufficiency amongst individuals and families;
     (d) A measure of the increase in individuals' and family wages;
     (e) A measure of community support for the state and county plans;
     (f) A measure of county government financial support for the program;
     (g) A measure of the financial viability of the state and county plans;
     (h) A measure of the financial efficiency of the housing programs funded by the county;
     (i) A measure of the quality of the state and county plans; and
     (j) 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) County affordable housing for all plans must include timelines for the accomplishment of interim goals and targets, and for the acquisition of projected financing that is appropriate for outlined goals and targets. Plans must also include 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)) affordable housing for all 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 affordable housing for all account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. The state's portion of the surcharge established in RCW 36.22.178 (as recodified by this act) shall be deposited in the account, as well as all other sources directed to the affordable housing for all program. Expenditures from the account may only be used for the affordable housing for all program as described in this chapter. 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.

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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 19   RCW 36.22.178, 43.185B.020, and 43.185B.040 are each recodified as sections in chapter 43.--- RCW (created in section 20 of this act).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 20   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. 21   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2007, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.