AN ACT Relating to the excise taxation of personal, alcohol, residential and commercial security and fire monitoring devices and services; adding a new section to chapter 82.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.12 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.04 RCW; creating new sections; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that in appropriate circumstances electronic home monitoring or alcohol monitoring can be a more cost-effective, and less restrictive, public safety measure than alternatives, such as incarceration; the central monitoring of security and fire alarm systems are life-safety systems desired by the general public and often required by state or local statute, contributing significantly to the public well-being. The legislature finds that it is in the public interest that there be a robust marketplace for providing these services and that the services should be as inexpensive as possible. Therefore, the legislature intends to provide permanent sales and use and business and occupation tax exemptions for the provision of these monitoring services by monitoring agencies.

(1) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to the sale of remote monitoring services, personal monitoring devices, alcohol monitoring devices by a monitoring agency, or security and fire alarm monitoring services.

(a) "Alcohol monitoring device" means a device that is capable of remote continuous or transdermal alcohol monitoring that can be attached directly to the participant. The term includes any associated equipment necessary for the device to perform properly.

(c) "Personal monitoring device" means a device used for tracking the location of an individual, whether pretrial or posttrial, through the use of technology that is capable of determining or identifying the monitored individual's presence or absence at a particular location including, but not limited to:

(i) Radio frequency signaling technology, which detects if the monitored individual is or is not at an approved location and notifies the monitoring agency of the time that the monitored individual either leaves the approved location or tampers with or removes the personal monitoring device; or

(ii) Active or passive global positioning system technology, which detects the location of the monitored individual and notifies the monitoring agency of the monitored individual's location.

(d) "Remote monitoring service" is a service provided by a person referred to as a "monitoring agency," and that is intended to monitor or track an individual's location or consumption of drugs or alcohol for the purposes of ongoing verification of compliance with court orders.

(e) "Security and fire alarm monitoring services" means the monitoring and response, whether to a residential or commercial customer, to alarm and other signals from home and business alarm systems and devices by a certified monitoring agency, which verifies signals, dispatches first responders, and notifies other responsible parties.

The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the use of remote monitoring services, personal monitoring devices, alcohol monitoring devices, or security and fire alarm monitoring services as defined in section 2 of this act.

This chapter does not apply to amounts received by a monitoring agency as defined in RCW 9.94A.736 from the provision of remote monitoring services, personal monitoring devices, alcohol monitoring devices, or security and fire alarm monitoring services as defined in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act applies prospectively to the sale or use of remote monitoring services, personal monitoring devices, alcohol monitoring devices, and security and fire alarm monitoring services as defined in section 2 of this act that occur on or after July 1, 2019, as well as retroactively for any taxpayer who has been assessed taxes by the department of revenue prior to July 1, 2019, on devices or services exempted in this act. Nothing in this act is intended to be construed to require or otherwise authorize a refund of taxes lawfully paid prior to the effective date of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2019.