This bill creates a new section in chapter 82.08 RCW and amends RCW 82.14.050 to change how state sales tax receipts are calculated and routed to local sales and use tax accounts. It requires "the department" to calculate total sales tax revenues collected in the previous month and notify the state treasurer monthly, and requires the state treasurer to transfer 20 percent of that calculated amount each month to the local sales and use tax account created in RCW 82.14.050. It also restates and retains provisions that require counties, cities, transportation and other listed local entities to contract administration and collection of local sales and use taxes to the state Department of Revenue, to deposit collected local taxes into the local sales and use tax account, and to limit withdrawals from that account to distributions to imposing entities and certain refunds. The amendment continues to permit the Department of Revenue to deduct, by contract, an administration and collection fee not to exceed 2 percent of taxes collected. Beginning January 1, 2026, the state treasurer must distribute monthly the moneys transferred under the new section to each local taxing district imposing a local sales and use tax under chapter 82.14 RCW in the same proportion as the sales tax revenues described in subsection (1) of RCW 82.14.050 for the same month of collections. The act takes effect January 1, 2026. This is a procedural and fiscal allocation change to existing law: it adds a new reporting and transfer requirement, and it amends RCW 82.14.050 to restate administration, deposit, withdrawal, and fee rules. The text provided does not explicitly define "the department," does not reproduce the internal details of subsection (1) used for proportional distribution, and omits the full content of several cited RCWs, so some operational specifics cannot be confirmed from these excerpts.

If enacted, the state will start calculating total state sales tax collections each month and the state treasurer will move 20 percent of that monthly amount into the local sales and use tax account, then distribute those funds each month to local taxing districts beginning January 1, 2026. The Department of Revenue (referred to as "the department" in the bill) will continue to administer and collect local sales taxes and may deduct up to 2 percent per contract for administration, so local jurisdictions’ net receipts will be reduced by that fee and by the proportional split used for distribution. The most affected parties are counties, cities, transportation and local taxing districts (including public facilities and transportation benefit areas), the state treasurer, and the Department of Revenue. Local governments should expect more regular, monthly cash flows tied directly to monthly state sales tax receipts but with slightly smaller amounts after the administration fee and proportional allocation; the state treasurer and the department will take on recurring monthly calculation, notification, transfer, and distribution duties. It is unclear from the extracted text which exact agency is meant by "the department" and how the proportional shares are calculated because the bill relies on internal subsection references not included here, so some operational details remain unspecified.