This bill amends existing law (RCW 82.46.035) that allows counties and certain cities to impose an additional real property excise tax on each sale of real property, capped at 0.25 percent of the selling price. It revises who may impose the tax (counties and cities planning under RCW 36.70A.040(1) may impose it without voter approval; counties planning under RCW 36.70A.040(2) and cities within those counties may impose it only if approved by voters), requires the taxing jurisdiction to identify in its adopted budget the capital projects funded by the tax and to state that the tax is in addition to other reasonably available funds, and requires revenues to be deposited in a separate account after December 31, 2023. Revenues must be used solely to finance capital projects listed in the capital facilities element of a comprehensive plan, with specified exceptions allowing a temporary use for operation, maintenance, and service support for existing capital projects from after May 13, 2021 through December 31, 2023 (the greater of $100,000 or 35 percent of revenues during that period). Revenues pledged or committed before March 1, 1992 may continue to be used for debt retirement or project completion as originally pledged. The amendment adds specific permitted uses for planning, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, repair, replacement, rehabilitation, or improvement of facilities for those experiencing homelessness and for affordable housing projects, but only if those projects are supported through an interlocal housing collaboration under chapter 39.34 RCW. A county or city may use the greater of $100,000 or 25 percent of available funds for those homelessness/affordable housing projects, not to exceed $1,000,000 annually, with an exception for jurisdictions that used revenue for homeless housing prior to June 30, 2019. Jurisdictions using funds for homelessness/affordable housing must document in their comprehensive plan that they have funds over the next two years for other capital projects required by the statute. The governor may temporarily rescind a jurisdiction’s authority to impose the tax by filing a notice of noncompliance under RCW 36.70A.340 until that notice is rescinded. The text provided is an amendment to an existing statute; it does not create a new criminal offense or change criminal penalties. Important context is missing: the document extract does not include other sections of the bill (if any), legislative findings or fiscal notes, the full prior version for a complete side-by-side comparison, or the full text of the other referenced RCW provisions, so the complete legal effect and any cross-references cannot be confirmed from these excerpts alone.

If a county or city chooses to add the extra real estate excise tax (up to 0.25% of the sale price), it will gain a modest new revenue stream that can only be used for capital projects listed in its comprehensive plan. Local governments will face tighter limits and conditions on spending: funds can be used for homeless and affordable housing only through an interlocal housing collaboration and are subject to an annual cap (the greater of $100,000 or 25% of available funds, not to exceed $1,000,000, with some jurisdictions exempt), revenues must be placed in a separate account after December 31, 2023, and older pledges made before March 1, 1992 remain honored. A temporary allowance already existed to use a portion of revenues for operation and maintenance through December 31, 2023. Practically, counties and cities that adopt the tax must add new budgeting and reporting steps—identify specific capital projects in adopted budgets, document that housing spending won’t starve other capital needs for two years, and, in some jurisdictions, seek voter approval first. There is also a compliance risk: the governor can suspend a jurisdiction’s ability to levy the tax by filing a notice of noncompliance. The extracted text does not include fiscal notes, implementation details, or the full content of the other statutes it references, so the size of revenue, exact procedural steps, and overall budget impact are not fully clear from these facts alone.