Public facilities funding

AN ACT Relating to the definition of "rural county" for purposes 1
of public facilities funding; amending RCW 82.14.370; and reenacting 2
and amending RCW 43.160.020. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 43.160.020 and 2024 c 86 s 2 and 2024 c 47 s 1 are 5
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 6
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in 7
this section apply throughout this chapter. 8
(1) "Board" means the community economic revitalization board.9
(2) "Broadband" means a network of deployed telecommunications 10
equipment and technologies necessary to provide high-speed internet 11
access and other advanced telecommunications services.12
(3) "Department" means the department of commerce.13
(4) "Frontier county" means a county with a population density of 14
fewer than 50 persons per square mile as determined by the office of 15
financial management and published each year by the department. A 16
county with a population density of 21 or fewer persons per square 17
mile is a "frontier one" county. A county with a population density 18
of more than 21 but fewer than 50 persons per square mile is a 19
"frontier two" county. Every frontier county is also a rural county 20
under this chapter and eligible for all benefits, services, and 21
S-3606.1
SENATE BILL 6149
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators J. Wilson, Dozier, Short, and Chapman
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programs of a rural county unless a frontier county is specifically 1
excluded in the authorizing statute. 2
(5) "Local government" or "political subdivision" means any port 3
district, county, city, town, special purpose district, and any other 4
municipal corporations or quasi-municipal corporations in the state 5
providing for public facilities under this chapter.6
(6) "Public facilities" means a project of a local government or 7
a federally recognized Indian tribe for the planning, acquisition, 8
construction, repair, reconstruction, replacement, rehabilitation, or 9
improvement of: Bridges; roads; research, testing, training, and 10
incubation facilities in areas designated as innovation partnership 11
zones under RCW 43.330.270; buildings or structures; domestic and 12
industrial water, earth stabilization, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, 13
railroad, electricity, telecommunications, transportation, natural 14
gas, and port facilities; all for the purpose of job creation, job 15
retention, or job expansion. 16
(7) "Rural county" means ((a)) any of the following, as 17
determined by the office of financial management and published each 18
year by the department for the period July 1st to June 30th: (a) A 19
county with a population density of fewer than 100 persons per square 20
mile ((or)); (b) a county with a population density of 100 persons 21
per square mile or greater, with no city with a population greater 22
than 75,000 persons; or (c) a county smaller than 225 square miles ((, 23
as determined by the office of financial management and published 24
each year by the department for the period July 1st to June 30th)).25
Sec. 2. RCW 82.14.370 and 2024 c 58 s 1 are each amended to read 26
as follows: 27
(1) The legislative authority of a rural county may impose a 28
sales and use tax in accordance with the terms of this chapter. The 29
tax is in addition to other taxes authorized by law and must be 30
collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under 31
chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW upon the occurrence of any taxable event 32
within the county. The rate of tax may not exceed 0.09 percent of the 33
selling price in the case of a sales tax or value of the article used 34
in the case of a use tax, except that for rural counties with 35
population densities between 60 and 100 persons per square mile, the 36
rate shall not exceed 0.04 percent before January 1, 2000.37
(2) The tax imposed under subsection (1) of this section must be 38
deducted from the amount of tax otherwise required to be collected or 39
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paid over to the department of revenue under chapter 82.08 or 82.12 1
RCW. The department of revenue must perform the collection of such 2
taxes on behalf of the county at no cost to the county.3
(3)(a) Moneys collected under this section may only be used to:4
(i) Finance public facilities serving economic development 5
purposes in rural counties; 6
(ii) Finance the construction of affordable workforce housing 7
infrastructure or facilities; and 8
(iii) Finance personnel in economic development offices.9
(b) The public facility must be listed as an item in the 10
officially adopted county overall economic development plan, or the 11
economic development section of the county's comprehensive plan, or 12
the comprehensive plan of a city or town located within the county 13
for those counties planning under RCW 36.70A.040, or provide 14
affordable workforce housing infrastructure or facilities. For those 15
counties that do not have an adopted overall economic development 16
plan and do not plan under the growth management act, the public 17
facility must be listed in the county's capital facilities plan or 18
the capital facilities plan of a city or town located within the 19
county, or provide affordable workforce housing infrastructure or 20
facilities. 21
(c) In implementing this section, the county must consult with 22
cities, towns, and port districts located within the county and the 23
associate development organization serving the county to ensure that 24
the expenditure of money collected under this section meets the goals 25
of creating, attracting, expanding, and retaining businesses, 26
providing family-wage jobs, and providing affordable workforce 27
housing infrastructure or facilities and the use of money collected 28
under this section meets the requirements of (a) and (b) of this 29
subsection. Each county collecting money under this section must 30
provide a report to the office of the state auditor within 150 days 31
after the close of each fiscal year identifying in detail each new 32
and continuing public facility project, economic development purpose 33
project, affordable workforce housing infrastructure or facilities 34
project, economic development staff position, and qualifying provider 35
project funded with the tax authorized under this section and the 36
amount of tax proceeds allocated to such project or position in the 37
prior fiscal year. Any projects financed prior to June 10, 2004, from 38
the proceeds of obligations to which the tax imposed under subsection 39
(1) of this section has been pledged may not be deemed to be new 40
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projects under this subsection. No new projects funded with money 1
collected under this section may be for justice system facilities.2
(4) The definitions in this section apply throughout this 3
section. 4
(a) "Public facilities" means bridges, roads, domestic and 5
industrial water facilities, sanitary sewer facilities, earth 6
stabilization, storm sewer facilities, railroads, electrical 7
facilities, natural gas facilities, research, testing, training, and 8
incubation facilities in innovation partnership zones designated 9
under RCW 43.330.270, buildings, structures, telecommunications 10
infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, or commercial 11
infrastructure, or port facilities in the state of Washington.12
(b) "Economic development purposes" means those purposes which 13
facilitate the creation or retention of businesses and jobs in a 14
county, including affordable workforce housing infrastructure or 15
facilities. 16
(c) "Economic development office" means an office of a county, 17
port districts, or an associate development organization as defined 18
in RCW 43.330.010, which promotes economic development purposes 19
within the county. 20
(d) "Affordable workforce housing infrastructure or facilities" 21
means housing infrastructure, facilities, or land that a qualifying 22
provider owns or uses for housing for single persons, families, or 23
unrelated persons living together whose income is no more than 120 24
percent of the median income, adjusted for housing size, for the 25
county where the housing is located. 26
(e) "Qualifying provider" means a nonprofit entity as defined in 27
RCW 84.36.560, a nonprofit entity or qualified cooperative 28
association as defined in RCW 84.36.049, a housing authority created 29
under RCW 35.82.030 or 35.82.300, a public corporation established 30
under RCW 35.21.660 or 35.21.730, or a county or municipal 31
corporation. 32
(5) No tax may be collected under this section before July 1, 33
1998. 34
(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, no tax may be 35
collected under this section by a county more than 25 years after the 36
date that a tax is first imposed under this section.37
(b) For counties imposing the tax before August 1, 2009, and 38
meeting the definition of a rural county as of August 1, 2009, the 39
tax expires December 31, 2054. 40
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(6) By December 31, 2024, the state auditor must provide a 1
publicly accessible report on its website containing the project 2
information and other expenditure information included in the annual 3
report required under subsection (3)(c) of this section for each 4
county. The publicly accessible report must also include the total 5
amount of revenue collected by the county under this section in the 6
prior fiscal year. The state auditor must develop a standardized 7
expenditure report for the project information and other expenditure 8
information included in the annual report submitted by counties. This 9
subsection applies to reports filed beginning in 2024 based on 2023 10
expenditures and thereafter. 11
(7) For purposes of this section, "rural county" means ((a)) any 12
of the following, as determined by the office of financial management 13
pursuant to RCW 43.62.035: (a) A county with a population density of 14
less than 100 persons per square mile ((or)); (b) a county with a 15
population density of 100 persons per square mile or greater, with no 16
city, as defined in RCW 36.70A.030, with a population greater than 17
75,000 persons; or (c) a county smaller than 225 square miles ((as 18
determined by the office of financial management pursuant to RCW 19
43.62.035)). 20
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