The bill creates new statutory sections (labeled Sec. 1, Sec. 2, and Sec. 3) that first set out legislative findings about Washington’s high earthquake risk and the vulnerability of unreinforced masonry buildings. It directs the Department of Commerce, subject to appropriations, to conduct a time-limited study on financial incentives to reduce the cost of seismic retrofits for unreinforced masonry buildings. The study must analyze impacts and recommend policies on topics including modification or expansion of the special valuation tax, expansion of current use taxation, time-limited exemptions under state property, excise, sales, or business and occupation tax structures, use of valuation of special assessments and assessment zones, and identification of financial incentives for tax-exempt entities such as schools, nonprofits, and religious organizations. The department must request input from specified stakeholders (the state association of county assessors, AIA Washington chapter, Structural Engineers Association of Washington, Department of Revenue, and JLARC) and submit a preliminary report by June 30, 2026, and a final report by September 1, 2026; Sec. 2 expires December 31, 2026. The bill also directs, subject to appropriations, the Emergency Management Division of the Washington Military Department to complete a statewide inventory and categorization of unreinforced masonry buildings as directed in section 1009, chapter 298, Laws of 2018. Inventory tasks are defined to include reviewing existing survey and data sources (including the state historic resources database and Sanborn maps), ground-truthing suspected unreinforced masonry to confirm construction type and vulnerability, and uploading data into the Washington system for architectural and archaeological records data portal and dashboard for local use. The division must file a preliminary progress report by September 1, 2027, and complete the inventory by June 30, 2030; Sec. 3 expires December 31, 2030. The bill provides a neutral high-level description of unreinforced masonry buildings as older, common-construction brick buildings lacking reinforcing steel and adequate connections and therefore collapse-prone in earthquakes. It identifies the Department of Commerce, Emergency Management Division, Department of Revenue, local jurisdictions, professional associations, and tax-exempt institutions as affected parties. Important context is missing from the extracted text: no appropriation amounts are provided, the specific contents of the referenced section 1009, chapter 298, Laws of 2018 are not included, no RCW citation or statutory placement is given for the new sections, and the bill lists study topics but does not include implementing language or details for how proposed tax modifications or exemptions would be enacted.

If enacted, the bill will require the Department of Commerce to produce a short-term study, with stakeholder input, on tax and other financial tools that could lower the cost of seismic retrofits for unreinforced masonry buildings and to deliver a preliminary report by June 30, 2026 and a final report by September 1, 2026. This will put new analytic work and coordination demands on Commerce, the Department of Revenue, county assessors, architects and structural engineers, and could identify options that change how owners — including schools, nonprofits, and religious organizations named for consideration — might be eligible for tax relief or special assessments; however, no changes to taxes or direct funding are required by the bill itself and the study expires December 31, 2026, so any actual tax or funding changes would come later and are not guaranteed. The Emergency Management Division must, subject to appropriations, complete a statewide inventory of unreinforced masonry buildings by June 30, 2030 (with a progress report due September 1, 2027) by reviewing existing surveys, ground‑truthing suspect buildings, and uploading findings into the state architectural and archaeological records portal for local jurisdictions to use. That work will give local governments and emergency planners clearer information about collapse-prone buildings and could influence retrofit priorities, but the timeline, scope and costs depend on legislative appropriations and a referenced 2018 directive that isn’t included here, so exact resource needs and implementation details remain unclear.