Mental health treatment/tax

AN ACT Relating to the sales and use tax supporting chemical 1
dependency and mental health treatment programs; amending RCW 2
82.14.460; and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the operation 5
or delivery of chemical dependency or mental health treatment 6
programs and services and the operation or delivery of therapeutic 7
court programs and services are part of local government public 8
safety programs. New construction of facilities as well as 9
modification of existing structures is part of that provision. The 10
legislature finds a need to be clear that both strategies are 11
acceptable within this chapter.12
Sec. 2. RCW 82.14.460 and 2023 c 101 s 1 are each amended to 13
read as follows: 14
(1)(a) A county legislative authority may authorize, fix, and 15
impose a sales and use tax in accordance with the terms of this 16
chapter. 17
(b) If a county with a population over eight hundred thousand has 18
not imposed the tax authorized under this subsection by January 1, 19
2011, any city with a population over thirty thousand located in that 20
S-1018.2
SENATE BILL 5696
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senator King
p. 1 SB 5696
county may authorize, fix, and impose the sales and use tax in 1
accordance with the terms of this chapter. The county must provide a 2
credit against its tax for the full amount of tax imposed under this 3
subsection (1)(b) by any city located in that county if the county 4
imposes the tax after January 1, 2011. 5
(2) The tax authorized in this section is in addition to any 6
other taxes authorized by law and must be collected from those 7
persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 8
RCW upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the county for a 9
county's tax and within a city for a city's tax. The rate of tax 10
equals one-tenth of one percent of the selling price in the case of a 11
sales tax, or value of the article used, in the case of a use tax.12
(3) Moneys collected under this section must be used solely for 13
the purpose of providing for the operation or delivery of chemical 14
dependency or mental health treatment programs and services and for 15
the operation or delivery of therapeutic court programs and services. 16
Moneys collected by cities and counties under this section may 17
((also)) be used for new construction of facilities and modifications 18
to existing facilities to address health and safety needs necessary 19
for the provision, operation, or delivery of chemical dependency or 20
mental health treatment programs or services otherwise funded with 21
moneys collected in this section. For the purposes of this section, 22
"programs and services" includes, but is not limited to, treatment 23
services, case management, transportation, and housing that are a 24
component of a coordinated chemical dependency or mental health 25
treatment program or service. Every county that authorizes the tax 26
provided in this section shall, and every other county may, establish 27
and operate a therapeutic court component for dependency proceedings 28
designed to be effective for the court's size, location, and 29
resources. 30
(4) All moneys collected under this section must be used solely 31
for the purpose of providing new or expanded programs and services as 32
provided in this section, except as follows: 33
(a) For a county with a population larger than twenty-five 34
thousand or a city with a population over thirty thousand, which 35
initially imposed the tax authorized under this section prior to 36
January 1, 2012, a portion of moneys collected under this section may 37
be used to supplant existing funding for these purposes as follows: 38
Up to fifty percent may be used to supplant existing funding in 39
calendar years 2011-2012; up to forty percent may be used to supplant 40
p. 2 SB 5696
existing funding in calendar year 2013; up to thirty percent may be 1
used to supplant existing funding in calendar year 2014; up to twenty 2
percent may be used to supplant existing funding in calendar year 3
2015; and up to ten percent may be used to supplant existing funding 4
in calendar year 2016; 5
(b) For a county with a population larger than twenty-five 6
thousand or a city with a population over thirty thousand, which 7
initially imposes the tax authorized under this section after 8
December 31, 2011, a portion of moneys collected under this section 9
may be used to supplant existing funding for these purposes as 10
follows: Up to fifty percent may be used to supplant existing funding 11
for up to the first three calendar years following adoption; and up 12
to twenty-five percent may be used to supplant existing funding for 13
the fourth and fifth years after adoption; 14
(c) For a county with a population of less than twenty-five 15
thousand, a portion of moneys collected under this section may be 16
used to supplant existing funding for these purposes as follows: Up 17
to eighty percent may be used to supplant existing funding in 18
calendar years 2011-2012; up to sixty percent may be used to supplant 19
existing funding in calendar year 2013; up to forty percent may be 20
used to supplant existing funding in calendar year 2014; up to twenty 21
percent may be used to supplant existing funding in calendar year 22
2015; and up to ten percent may be used to supplant existing funding 23
in calendar year 2016; and 24
(d) Notwithstanding (a) through (c) of this subsection, moneys 25
collected under this section may be used to support the cost of the 26
judicial officer and support staff of a therapeutic court.27
(5) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to prohibit the 28
use of moneys collected under this section for the replacement of 29
lapsed federal funding previously provided for the operation or 30
delivery of services and programs as provided in this section.31
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