BILL REQ. #:  H-3734.2 

Prefiled 12/03/07. Read first time 01/14/08.   Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to small-scale powered equipment; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 82 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Consumer benefits" means a property of an item that is advantageous to the consumer of the item. The term "consumer benefits" includes, but is not limited to, reduced long-term costs of ownership, enhanced safety, and benefits to the overall environment.
     (2) "Department" means the department of ecology.
     (3) "Shelf space" means the area of a retail store that is made available to a potential customer and designed to display the items offered for sale at the store. The term "shelf space" includes not only items displayed on shelves, but also items displayed on the floor of the store or in other areas on the store's premises.
     (4) "Small-scale powered equipment" means a tool or other nonroad or marine machine powered by a gasoline, diesel, or propane spark ignition engine that has a standard manufacturer's listed horsepower rating of fifty horsepower or fewer. Examples of the term "small-scale powered equipment" include, but are not limited to, the following items when the components of the definition are satisfied: Lawnmowers, string trimmers, leaf blowers, air compressors, chainsaws, turf equipment, lawn and garden tractors, and vehicles designed for off-road use.
     (5) "State agency" means any office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other agency of the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) Any retailer that offers for sale an item that satisfies the definition of small-scale powered equipment must provide equal or greater shelf space to similar products that are powered by an electrical cord or a rechargeable battery.
     (2) In calculating equal or greater shelf space, electric versions of individual equipment categories must be considered discreetly from their small-scale powered equipment counterparts. Total aggregate shelf space for small-scale powered equipment is not to be compared with the total aggregate shelf space for similar products that are powered by an electrical cord or a rechargeable battery.
     (3)(a) This section does not apply to small-scale powered equipment when there is not a similar product category available on the market that is powered by an electrical cord or a rechargeable battery.
     (b) If a retailer is unsure whether a similar product that is powered by an electrical cord or a rechargeable battery exists for a particular category of small-scale powered equipment, the retailer may petition the department for a statement of exemption from this section for the small-scale powered equipment in question.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) Any retailer that offers for sale an item that satisfies the definition of small-scale powered equipment must dedicate a portion of its shelf space to adequate signs describing the consumer benefits of choosing electric or battery-powered engines over small-scale powered equipment. Retailers can either purchase signs from the department or produce their own signs consistent with the standards developed by the department under this section.
     (2)(a) The department shall identify potential consumer benefits of choosing electric or battery-powered engines over small-scale powered equipment.
     (b) The department shall:
     (i) Incorporate the identified consumer benefits into a sign template appropriate for display in a retail store that satisfies the requirements of this section;
     (ii) Produce copies of the signs made from the template that are to be offered for sale to retailers; and
     (iii) Develop minimum sign standards to guide retailers choosing to produce their own signs in order to satisfy the requirements of this section.
     (c) Signs sold to a retailer by the department under this section must be priced no higher than necessary to reimburse the department's development and production costs. All proceeds from sign sales must be deposited into the electrical equipment incentive account created in section 7 of this act.
     (3)(a) This section does not apply to small-scale powered equipment when there is not a similar product category available on the market that is powered by an electrical cord or a rechargeable battery.
     (b) If a retailer is unsure whether a similar product that is powered by an electrical cord or a rechargeable battery exists for a particular category of small-scale powered equipment, the retailer may petition the department for a statement of exemption from this section for the small-scale powered equipment in question.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department shall offer electrical equipment incentive grants on a competitive basis to city or county governments. Grant funding may only be used by the city or county government for programs designed to subsidize, or otherwise create an incentive for, the purchase of alternatives to small-scale powered equipment that are powered by an electrical cord or a rechargeable battery.
     (2) Competitive criteria for grant awards must be designed by the department. However, competitive priority must be given to local governments located in areas with the highest measurable air quality degradation due to emissions commonly associated with small-scale powered equipment.
     (3) The amount provided in each grant, as well as the number of grants available, must be determined by the department based on funding available from the electrical equipment incentive account created in section 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, state agencies are prohibited from purchasing small-scale powered equipment if the market offers an alternative item that is powered by an electrical cord or rechargeable battery.
     (2) All state agencies shall phase out the use of small-scale powered equipment that have alternative items available on the market that are powered by an electrical cord or rechargeable battery on a timeline that ensures that no such items are in use five years after the effective date of this section.
     (3)(a) The top administrative official of a state agency may waive the provisions of this section on a case-by-case basis if the top administrative official of the agency publishes a finding in the Washington State Register explaining the details as to why the purchase or use of the small-scale powered equipment was necessary and why the use of an electric-based alternative would have been impractical.
     (b) The Washington State Register publication requirements of this section may be satisfied with one annual publication summarizing all instances where the requirements of this section were waived by the top administrative official in the preceding year.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Local governments and school districts are encouraged to review their purchasing and use of small-scale powered equipment and select, when possible, alternative items that are powered by an electrical cord or rechargeable battery.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The electrical equipment incentive account is created in the state treasury. All receipts from the electrical equipment incentive tax created in section 9 of this act, along with the sales of signs developed by the department under section 3 of this act, must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only by the department for local government electrical equipment incentive grants provided in section 4 of this act, sign development and manufacturing costs incurred by conformance with section 3 of this act, and general expenses incurred through the implementation of this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   (1) A retailer operating in violation of this chapter is subject to a class 1 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW. Each calendar day of operation in violation of this section comprises a new violation.
     (2) This chapter may be enforced by the department, the applicable air pollution control authority created under RCW 70.94.053, the applicable city or county government, or a general authority Washington law enforcement agency, as that term is defined in RCW 10.93.020.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   (1) In addition to any other taxes, there is levied and there shall be collected by the department from every person for the privilege of engaging within this state in business as a wholesaler or as a retailer an electrical equipment incentive tax equal to the gross proceeds of sales of all small-scale powered equipment, as that term is defined in section 1 of this act, that are sold within this state multiplied by six percent.
     (2) The frequency and time of collection of the electrical equipment incentive tax shall coincide with the reporting periods by payers of their business and occupation tax.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   Instead of requiring each business to separately account for taxable and nontaxable products under this chapter, the department may provide, by rule, that the tax imposed in this chapter be reported and paid based on a percentage of total sales for a particular type of business if the department determines that the percentage reasonably approximates the taxable activity of the particular type of business.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   To the extent applicable, all of the definitions of chapter 82.04 RCW and all of the provisions of chapter 82.32 RCW apply to the tax imposed in this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   Taxes collected under this chapter must be allocated as follows:
     (1) Fifty percent must be deposited into the electrical equipment incentive account created in section 7 of this act;
     (2) Twenty-five percent must be deposited into the air pollution control account created in RCW 70.94.015;
     (3) Twenty percent must be deposited into the general fund; and
     (4) Five percent must be maintained by the department for the administration and enforcement of this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   As a demonstration to other state agencies as to how the requirements of section 5 of this act may be achieved, the department of general administration shall suspend the use of all spark ignition lawnmowers, string trimmers, and weed blowers on the capitol campus by October 1, 2008. The department of general administration shall document their transition from small-scale powered equipment to electrical or manual alternatives to aid other state agencies in their implementation of section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14   Sections 1 through 8 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15   Sections 9 through 12 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 82 RCW.