This bill amends existing law (RCW 36.22.170) to impose recording surcharges and to create and direct use of new and existing preservation funds. County auditors must charge a $5 surcharge per instrument recorded, except as provided for documents from the Employment Security Department, which instead are subject to a $2 per-instrument surcharge. Of the $5 surcharge, $1 must be deposited into a county historic preservation and programs fund to support operations and capital needs of history or heritage museums (municipal or IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofits) and to support historic preservation activities authorized by RCW 35.21.395 or RCW 36.32.435. The bill requires each county treasurer to hold a historic preservation and programs fund and directs that the remaining surcharge revenue (after the $1 historic preservation amount and any Employment Security Department treatment) be split 50/50: one half transmitted monthly to the state treasurer and distributed annually in July to county treasurers under RCW 36.22.190 to be placed in a newly created auditor's centennial document preservation and modernization account for ongoing preservation of county historical documents, and the other half retained by the county in the auditor's operation and maintenance fund for the same purpose. The centennial account is created as a state treasury trust account and state distributions from it are to be made without appropriation. The excerpt provided appears to be only the amended text of RCW 36.22.170 and may omit other bill provisions; the exact calculation of the “remaining revenue” base for the 50/50 split after the $1 deposit and the Employment Security Department surcharge is not fully detailed in the extracted facts.

If enacted, people and businesses that record documents with county auditors will pay an added fee (generally $5 per recorded instrument) that creates dedicated money for local historic preservation and for preserving county historical records; municipalities and qualifying 501(c)(3) history museums become eligible to receive support from the $1-per-instrument historic preservation portion, while half of the remaining surcharge revenue will flow into a state "centennial document preservation and modernization" trust account that is then redistributed to counties each July and the other half stays with the county auditor for document preservation. County auditors, county treasurers, and county commissioners will have new duties to collect, hold, and direct these funds, and people who file records will see higher recording costs (documents filed by the Employment Security Department are treated under a separate $2 surcharge). Counties gain a predictable revenue stream earmarked for museum support and record preservation and the state treasurer will manage a new trust account whose distributions do not need legislative appropriation, which reduces funding uncertainty for preservation work; however, the exact math for the “remaining revenue” split after the $1 deposit and the Employment Security Department surcharge and other implementation details are not shown in the extracted text, so some administrative and eligibility specifics remain unclear.