AN ACT Relating to replacing the streamlined sales tax mitigation program with sales tax diversification awards for certain eligible cities; amending RCW 82.14.505, 82.14.510, 39.104.020, and 39.104.050; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 2. RCW 82.14.505 and 2014 c 112 s 120 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Demonstration projects are designated to determine the feasibility of local revitalization financing. For the purpose of this section, "annual state contribution limit" means ((four))eleven million ((two))eight hundred thirty-four thousand dollars statewide per fiscal year.

(a) Notwithstanding RCW 39.104.100, the department must approve each demonstration project for 2009 as follows:

(i) The Whitman county Pullman/Moscow corridor improvement project award may not exceed two hundred thousand dollars;

(ii) The University Place improvement project award may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars;

(iii) The Tacoma international financial services area/Tacoma dome project award may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars;

(iv) The Bremerton downtown improvement project award may not exceed three hundred thirty thousand dollars;

(v) The Auburn downtown redevelopment project award may not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars;

(vi) The Vancouver Columbia waterfront/downtown project award may not exceed two hundred twenty thousand dollars; and

(vii) The Spokane University District project award may not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

(b) Notwithstanding RCW 39.104.100, the department must approve each demonstration project for 2010 meeting the requirements in subsection (2)(((c)))(d) of this section as follows:

(i) The Richland revitalization area for industry, science and education project award may not exceed three hundred thirty thousand dollars;

(ii) The Lacey gateway town center project award may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars;

(iii) The Mill Creek east gateway planned urban village revitalization area project award may not exceed three hundred thirty thousand dollars;

(iv) The Puyallup river road revitalization area project award may not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars;

(v) The Renton south Lake Washington project award may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars; and

(vi) The New Castle downtown project award may not exceed forty thousand dollars.

(2)(a) Local government sponsors of demonstration projects under subsection (1)(a) of this section must submit to the department no later than September 1, 2009, documentation that substantiates that the project has met the conditions, limitations, and requirements provided in chapter 270, Laws of 2009.

(b) Sponsoring local governments of demonstration projects under subsection (1)(b) of this section must update and resubmit to the department no later than September 1, 2010, the application already on file with the department to substantiate that the project has met the conditions, limitations, and requirements provided in chapter 270, Laws of 2009 and chapter 164, Laws of 2010 and the project is substantially the same as the project in the original application submitted to the department in 2009.

(c) Sponsoring local governments of the demonstration projects under subsection (1)(c) of this section must submit to the department no later than September 1, 2020, documentation that substantiates that the project has met all applicable conditions, limitations, and requirements.

(d) The department must not approve any resubmitted application unless an economic analysis by a qualified researcher at the department of economics at the University of Washington confirms that there is an eighty-five percent probability that the application's assumptions and estimates of jobs created and increased tax receipts will be achieved by the project and determines that net state tax revenue will increase as a result of the project by an amount that equals or exceeds the award authorized in subsection (1)(b) of this section.

(3) Within ninety days of such submittal, the economic analysis in subsection (2)(((c)))(d) of this section must be completed and the department must either approve demonstration projects that have met these conditions, limitations, and requirements or deny resubmitted applications that have not met these conditions, limitations, and requirements.

(4) Local government sponsors of demonstration projects may elect to decline the project awards as designated in this section, and may elect instead to submit applications according to the process described in RCW 39.104.100.

(5)(a) If a demonstration project listed in subsection (1)(b) of this section does not update and resubmit its application to the department by the deadline specified in subsection (2)(b) of this section or if the demonstration project withdraws its application, the associated dollar amounts may not be approved for another project and may not be considered part of the annual state contribution limit under RCW 39.104.020(1).

Sec. 3. RCW 82.14.510 and 2016 c 207 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any city or county that has been approved for a project award under RCW 39.104.100 or a demonstration project under RCW 82.14.505 may impose a sales and use tax under the authority of this section in accordance with the terms of this chapter. Except as provided in this section, the tax is in addition to other taxes authorized by law and must be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the taxing jurisdiction of the city or county.

(2) The tax authorized under subsection (1) of this section is credited against the state taxes imposed under RCW 82.08.020(1) and 82.12.020 at the rate provided in RCW 82.08.020(1). The department must perform the collection of such taxes on behalf of the city or county at no cost to the city or county. The taxes must be distributed to cities and counties as provided in RCW 82.14.060.

(3) The rate of tax imposed by a city or county may not exceed the lesser of:

(a) The rate provided in RCW 82.08.020(1), less:

(i) The aggregate rates of all other local sales and use taxes imposed by any taxing authority on the same taxable events;

(ii) The aggregate rates of all taxes under RCW 82.14.465 and 82.14.475 and this section that are authorized but have not yet been imposed on the same taxable events by a city or county that has been approved to receive a state contribution by the department, the department of commerce, or the community economic revitalization board under chapter 39.104, 39.100, or 39.102 RCW; and

(iii) The percentage amount of distributions required under RCW 82.08.020(5) multiplied by the rate of state taxes imposed under RCW 82.08.020(1); and

(b) The rate, as determined by the city or county in consultation with the department, reasonably necessary to receive the project award under RCW 39.104.100 over ten months.

(4) The department, upon request, must assist a city or county in establishing its tax rate in accordance with subsection (3) of this section. Once the rate of tax is selected through the application process and approved under RCW 39.104.100, it may not be increased.

(5)(a) Except as provided in (c) ((and)), (d), and (e) of this subsection, no tax may be imposed under the authority of this section before:

(i) July 1, 2011;

(ii) July 1st of the second calendar year following the year in which the application was approved under RCW 39.104.100;

(iii) The state sales and use tax increment and state property tax increment for the preceding calendar year equal or exceed the amount of the project award approved under RCW 39.104.100; and

(iv) Bonds have been issued according to RCW 39.104.110.

(b) ((The))Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (5)(b), the tax imposed under this section expires the earlier of the date that the bonds issued under the authority of RCW 39.104.110 are retired or twenty-five years after the tax is first imposed. A tax imposed under this section to finance any of the demonstration projects described in RCW 82.14.505(1)(c) expires no later than twenty years after the tax is first imposed.

(c) For a demonstration project described in RCW 82.14.505(1)(a) except as provided in (d) of this subsection (5), no tax may be imposed under the authority of this section before:

(i) July 1, 2010; and

(ii) Bonds have been issued according to RCW 39.104.110.

(d) The requirement to issue bonds in (a)(iv) or (c)(ii) of this subsection (5) does not apply to demonstration projects authorized by RCW 82.14.505(1)(a)(iii), or any city receiving a project award under RCW 39.104.100 of less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars.

(6) An ordinance or resolution adopted by the legislative authority of the city or county imposing a tax under this section must provide that:

(a) The tax will first be imposed on the first day of a fiscal year;

(b) The cumulative amount of tax received by the city or county, in any fiscal year, may not exceed the amount approved by the department under subsection (10) of this section;

(c) The department must cease distributing the tax for the remainder of any fiscal year in which either:

(i) The amount of tax received by the city or county equals the amount of distributions approved by the department for the fiscal year under subsection (10) of this section; or

(ii) The amount of revenue distributed to all sponsoring and cosponsoring local governments from taxes imposed under this section equals the annual state contribution limit;

(d) The tax will be distributed again, should it cease to be distributed for any of the reasons provided in (c) of this subsection, at the beginning of the next fiscal year, subject to the restrictions in this section; and

(e) The state is entitled to any revenue generated by the tax in excess of the amounts specified in (c) of this subsection.

(7) If a city or county receives approval for more than one revitalization area within its jurisdiction, the city or county may impose a sales and use tax under this section for each revitalization area.

(8) The department must determine the amount of tax receipts distributed to each city and county imposing a sales and use tax under the authority of this section and must advise a city or county when tax distributions for the fiscal year equal the amount determined by the department in subsection (10) of this section. Determinations by the department of the amount of tax distributions attributable to a city or county are not appealable. The department must remit any tax receipts in excess of the amounts specified in subsection (6)(c) of this section to the state treasurer who must deposit the money in the general fund.

(9) If a city or county fails to comply with RCW 82.32.765, no tax may be distributed in the subsequent fiscal year until such time as the city or county complies and the department calculates the state contribution amount according to subsection (10) of this section for the fiscal year.

(10)(a) For each fiscal year that a city or county imposes the tax under the authority of this section, the department must approve the amount of taxes that may be distributed to the city or county. The amount approved by the department under this subsection is the lesser of:

(i) The state contribution;

(ii) The amount of project award granted as provided in RCW 39.104.100; or

(iii) The total amount of revenues from local public sources dedicated or, in the case of carry forward revenues, deemed dedicated in the preceding calendar year, as reported in the required annual report under RCW 82.32.765.

(b) A city or county may not receive, in any fiscal year, more revenues from taxes imposed under the authority of this section than the amount approved annually by the department.

(11) The amount of tax distributions received from taxes imposed under the authority of this section by all cities and counties is limited annually to not more than the amount of annual state contribution limit.

(12) The definitions in RCW 39.104.020 apply to this section subject to subsection (13) of this section and unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(13) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Local sales and use taxes" means sales and use taxes imposed by cities, counties, public facilities districts, and other local governments under the authority of this chapter, chapter 67.28 RCW, or any other chapter, and that are credited against the state sales and use taxes.

(b) "State sales and use taxes" means the taxes imposed in RCW 82.08.020(1) and 82.12.020.

Sec. 4. RCW 39.104.020 and 2016 c 207 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Annual state contribution limit" means two million five hundred thousand dollars statewide per fiscal year, plus the additional amounts approved for demonstration projects in RCW 82.14.505.

(2) "Approving agency" means the department of revenue for project awards approved before June 9, 2016, and the department of commerce for project awards approved after June 9, 2016.

(3) "Assessed value" means the valuation of taxable real property as placed on the last completed assessment roll.

(4) "Bond" means a bond, a note or other evidence of indebtedness, including but not limited to a lease-purchase agreement or an executory conditional sales contract.

(5) "Department" means the department of revenue.

(6) "Fiscal year" means the twelve-month period beginning July 1st and ending the following June 30th.

(7) "Local government" means any city, town, county, and port district.

(8) "Local property tax allocation revenue" means those tax revenues derived from the receipt of regular property taxes levied on the property tax allocation revenue value and used for local revitalization financing.

(9) "Local revitalization financing" means the use of revenues from local public sources, dedicated to pay the principal and interest on bonds authorized under RCW 39.104.110 and public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis, and revenues received from the local option sales and use tax authorized in RCW 82.14.510, dedicated to pay the principal and interest on bonds authorized under RCW 39.104.110.

(10) "Local sales and use tax increment" means the estimated annual increase in local sales and use taxes as determined by the local government in the calendar years following the approval of the revitalization area by the department from taxable activity within the revitalization area.

(11) "Local sales and use taxes" means local revenues derived from the imposition of sales and use taxes authorized in RCW 82.14.030.

(12) "Ordinance" means any appropriate method of taking legislative action by a local government.

(13) "Participating local government" means a local government having a revitalization area within its geographic boundaries that has taken action as provided in RCW 39.104.070(1) to allow the use of all or some of its local sales and use tax increment or other revenues from local public sources dedicated for local revitalization financing.

(14) "Participating taxing district" means a taxing district that:

(a) Has a revitalization area wholly or partially within its geographic boundaries;

(b) Levies or has levied for it regular property taxes as defined in this section; and

(c) Has not taken action as provided in RCW 39.104.060(2).

(15) "Property tax allocation revenue base value" means the assessed value of real property located within a revitalization area, less the property tax allocation revenue value.

(16)(a)(i) "Property tax allocation revenue value" means seventy-five percent of any increase in the assessed value of real property in a revitalization area resulting from:

(A) The placement of new construction, improvements to property, or both, on the assessment roll, where the new construction and improvements are initiated after the revitalization area is approved;

(B) The cost of new housing construction, conversion, and rehabilitation improvements, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW as provided in RCW 84.14.020, and the new housing construction, conversion, and rehabilitation improvements are initiated after the revitalization area is approved;

(C) The cost of rehabilitation of historic property, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW as provided in RCW 84.26.070, and the rehabilitation is initiated after the revitalization area is approved.

(ii) Increases in the assessed value of real property in a revitalization area resulting from (a)(i)(A) through (C) of this subsection are included in the property tax allocation revenue value in the initial year. These same amounts are also included in the property tax allocation revenue value in subsequent years unless the property becomes exempt from property taxation.

(b) "Property tax allocation revenue value" includes seventy-five percent of any increase in the assessed value of new construction consisting of an entire building in the years following the initial year, unless the building becomes exempt from property taxation.

(c) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, "property tax allocation revenue value" does not include any increase in the assessed value of real property after the initial year.

(d) There is no property tax allocation revenue value if the assessed value of real property in a revitalization area has not increased as a result of any of the reasons specified in (a)(i)(A) through (C) of this subsection.

(e) For purposes of this subsection, "initial year" means:

(i) For new construction and improvements to property added to the assessment roll, the year during which the new construction and improvements are initially placed on the assessment roll;

(ii) For the cost of new housing construction, conversion, and rehabilitation improvements, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW, the year when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of levying taxes for collection in the following year; and

(iii) For the cost of rehabilitation of historic property, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW, the year when such cost is treated as new construction for purposes of levying taxes for collection in the following year.

(17) "Public improvement costs" means the costs of:

(a) Design, planning, acquisition, including land acquisition, site preparation including land clearing, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, and installation of public improvements;

(b) Demolishing, relocating, maintaining, and operating property pending construction of public improvements;

(c) Relocating utilities as a result of public improvements;

(d) Financing public improvements, including interest during construction, legal and other professional services, taxes, insurance, principal and interest costs on general indebtedness issued to finance public improvements, and any necessary reserves for general indebtedness; and

(e) Administrative expenses and feasibility studies reasonably necessary and related to these costs, including related costs that may have been incurred before adoption of the ordinance authorizing the public improvements and the use of local revitalization financing to fund the costs of the public improvements.

(18) "Public improvements" means:

(a) Infrastructure improvements within the revitalization area that include:

(i) Street, road, bridge, and rail construction and maintenance;

(ii) Water and sewer system construction and improvements;

(iii) Sidewalks, streetlights, landscaping, and streetscaping;

(iv) Parking, terminal, and dock facilities;

(v) Park and ride facilities of a transit authority;

(vi) Park facilities, recreational areas, and environmental remediation;

(vii) Stormwater and drainage management systems;

(viii) Electric, gas, fiber, and other utility infrastructures; and

(b) Expenditures for any of the following purposes:

(i) Providing environmental analysis, professional management, planning, and promotion within the revitalization area, including the management and promotion of retail trade activities in the revitalization area;

(ii) Providing maintenance and security for common or public areas in the revitalization area; or

(iii) Historic preservation activities authorized under RCW 35.21.395.

(19) "Real property" has the same meaning as in RCW 84.04.090 and also includes any privately owned improvements located on publicly owned land that are subject to property taxation.

(20)(a) "Regular property taxes" means regular property taxes as defined in RCW 84.04.140, except: (i) Regular property taxes levied by public utility districts specifically for the purpose of making required payments of principal and interest on general indebtedness; (ii) regular property taxes levied by the state for the support of common schools under RCW 84.52.065; and (iii) regular property taxes authorized by RCW 84.55.050 that are limited to a specific purpose.

(b) "Regular property taxes" do not include:

(i) Excess property tax levies that are exempt from the aggregate limits for junior and senior taxing districts as provided in RCW 84.52.043; and

(ii) Property taxes that are specifically excluded through an interlocal agreement between the sponsoring local government and a participating taxing district as set forth in RCW 39.104.060(3).

(21)(a) "Revenues from local public sources" means:

(i) The local sales and use tax amounts received as a result of interlocal agreement, local sales and use tax amounts from sponsoring local governments based on its local sales and use tax increment, and local property tax allocation revenues, which are dedicated by a sponsoring local government, participating local governments, and participating taxing districts, for payment of bonds under RCW 39.104.110 or public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis; and

(ii) Any other local revenues, except as provided in (b) of this subsection, including revenues derived from federal and private sources and amounts received by taxing districts as set forth by an interlocal agreement as described in RCW 39.104.060(4), which are dedicated for the payment of bonds under RCW 39.104.110 or public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis.

(b) Revenues from local public sources do not include any local funds derived from state grants, state loans, or any other state moneys including any local sales and use taxes credited against the state sales and use taxes imposed under chapter 82.08 or 82.12 RCW.

(22) "Revitalization area" means the geographic area adopted by a sponsoring local government and approved by the approving agency, from which local sales and use tax increments are estimated and property tax allocation revenues are derived for local revitalization financing.

(23) "Sponsoring local government" means a city, town, county, or any combination thereof, that adopts a revitalization area.

(24) (("State))(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, "state contribution" means the lesser of:

(((a)))(i) Five hundred thousand dollars;

(((b)))(ii) The project award amount approved by the approving agency as provided in RCW 39.104.100 or 82.14.505; or

(((c)))(iii) The total amount of revenues from local public sources dedicated in the preceding calendar year to the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued under RCW 39.104.110 and public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis. Revenues from local public sources dedicated in the preceding calendar year that are in excess of the project award may be carried forward and used in later years for the purpose of this subsection (24)(((c)))(a)(iii).

(25) "State property tax increment" means the estimated amount of annual tax revenues estimated to be received by the state from the imposition of property taxes levied by the state for the support of common schools under RCW 84.52.065 on the property tax allocation revenue value, as determined by the sponsoring local government in an application under RCW 39.104.100 and updated periodically as required in RCW 82.32.765.

(26) "State sales and use tax increment" means the estimated amount of annual increase in state sales and use taxes to be received by the state from taxable activity within the revitalization area in the years following the approval of the revitalization area as determined by the sponsoring local government in an application under RCW 39.104.100 and updated periodically as required in RCW 82.32.765.

(27) "State sales and use taxes" means state retail sales and use taxes under RCW 82.08.020(1) and 82.12.020 at the rate provided in RCW 82.08.020(1), less the amount of tax distributions from all local retail sales and use taxes, other than the local sales and use taxes authorized by RCW 82.14.510 for the applicable revitalization area, imposed on the same taxable events that are credited against the state retail sales and use taxes under RCW 82.08.020(1) and 82.12.020.

(28) "Taxing district" means a government entity that levies or has levied for it regular property taxes upon real property located within a proposed or approved revitalization area.

Sec. 5. RCW 39.104.050 and 2010 c 164 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The designation of a revitalization area is subject to the following limitations:

(1)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, no revitalization area may have within its geographic boundaries any part of a hospital benefit zone under chapter 39.100 RCW, any part of a revenue development area created under chapter 39.102 RCW, any part of an increment area under chapter 39.89 RCW, or any part of another revitalization area under this chapter;

(b) A revitalization area's boundaries may include all or a portion of an existing increment area if:

(i) The state of Washington has loaned money for environmental cleanup on such area in order to stimulate redevelopment of brownfields;

(ii) The environmental cleanup, for which the state's loans were intended, has been completed; and

(iii) The sponsoring local government determines the creation of the revitalization area is necessary for redevelopment and protecting the state's investment by increasing property tax revenue;

(2) A revitalization area is limited to contiguous tracts, lots, pieces, or parcels of land without the creation of islands of property not included in the revitalization area;

(3) The boundaries may not be drawn to purposely exclude parcels where economic growth is unlikely to occur;

(4) The public improvements financed through bonds issued under RCW 39.104.110 must be located in the revitalization area;

(5) ((A))Except for demonstration projects listed in RCW 82.14.505(1)(c), a revitalization area cannot comprise an area containing more than twenty-five percent of the total assessed value of the taxable real property within the boundaries of the sponsoring local government at the time the revitalization area is created. For demonstration projects listed in RCW 82.14.505(1)(c), a revitalization area cannot comprise an area containing more than seventy-five percent of the total assessed value of the taxable real property within the boundaries of the sponsoring local government at the time the revitalization area is created;

(6) The boundaries of the revitalization area may not be changed for the time period that local property tax allocation revenues, local sales and use taxes of participating local governments, and the local sales and use tax under RCW 82.14.510 are used to pay bonds issued under RCW 39.104.110 and public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis, as provided under this chapter; and

(7) A revitalization area must be geographically restricted to the location of the public improvement and adjacent locations that the sponsoring local government finds to have a high likelihood of receiving direct positive business and economic impacts due to the public improvement, such as a neighborhood or a block.

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