House Bill 1729 amends Washington’s state school levy law (RCW 84.52.065) and levy limitation statute (RCW 84.55.010), creates new statutory sections, and establishes new levy bases and collection rules starting for collection in 2026. The bill states a legislative finding that property tax collections for 2018–2025 were about $4 billion more than intended under prior law, sets new specific dollar bases for the two parts of the state school levy in 2026, and directs how those bases change in subsequent years through 2028 and how limits apply in 2029 and thereafter. For collection in 2026 the bill sets the Part I highest lawful levy at $2,789,400,000 and the Part II highest lawful levy at $1,315,500,000, each plus any increase allowed under RCW 84.55.010. For 2027 and 2028 each part equals the prior year’s highest lawful levy plus any increase allowed under RCW 84.55.010. For collection in 2029 and later, levies are governed by chapter 84.55 RCW and by the aggregate rate limit of $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value for state property taxes under RCW 84.52.065(4); if the aggregate rate would be exceeded, rates are reduced pro rata. The bill also specifies deposit rules for revenue from the affected levies (generally to the state general fund, with fiscal year 2019 collections directed to the education legacy trust account) and expressly states that “the support of common schools” includes payment of principal and interest on bonds for common school capital projects. Affected entities named include common schools, the Department of Revenue, the state general fund, the education legacy trust account, taxing districts, and certain local districts noted in cross‑references. This is a statutory modification to tax and levy law and levy calculation procedures, not a criminal or penalty change. Some important implementation details are not included in the provided text: the bill repeatedly cross‑references chapter 84.55 RCW and terms like “limit factor,” and the pre‑amendment statutory text and the mechanics for calculating allowed increases under RCW 84.55.010 are not provided here, so those calculation details are unclear.

If enacted, the bill would cap the state school property tax revenue stream starting in 2026 by setting new baseline levy amounts (Part I at $2,789,400,000 and Part II at $1,315,500,000 for collection in 2026, each able to grow only by whatever increase chapter 84.55 RCW allows through 2028) and then subject those levies to existing levy-limit rules and a $3.60 per $1,000 assessed-value rate cap beginning in 2029. Practically, this is likely to reduce the amount of state property-tax revenue available for school support compared with the higher collections from 2018–2025 that the bill says were in excess, direct those capped collections primarily to the state general fund (with a one-time FY2019 deposit to the education legacy trust account), and preserve that state support can be used for common school operating needs and to pay principal and interest on school construction bonds. The groups most affected will be common schools (their funding baseline is reset), Washington property taxpayers (who are likely to face lower or more predictable state school levy charges), taxing districts and the Department of Revenue (which must apply the new levy bases and equalize assessed values under RCW 84.52.065), and the state budget (which will receive the capped levy revenues). Important details about how allowed annual increases are calculated under RCW 84.55.010, the meaning of terms like "limit factor," and how the bill reconciles with prior years’ rates are not included in the extracted text, so the exact year‑to‑year impacts and mechanics remain unclear.