This bill amends existing law in chapter 82.18 RCW by changing the solid waste collection tax structure and by adding a new statewide account to receive and distribute part of the revenue. It sets the base tax on consideration charged for solid waste collection services at 3.6 percent and, beginning January 1, 2026, imposes an additional tax on users of these services that escalates over five years from 0.5 percent in year 1 to 2.5 percent in year 5 and thereafter (rates are expressed as percentages of the consideration charged). The amendments also require that taxes collected under the chapter be held in trust until paid to the state, that taxes above 3.6 percent be deposited into a newly created local government solid waste assistance account, and that partial remittances be applied first to payment of the solid waste collection tax. The tax is due from the customer within 25 days of billing and is due from the collector at the end of the tax period in which the tax is received; the text references collection duties and penalties but does not include the specific penalty details in the extracted material. The bill creates a local government solid waste assistance account in the custody of the state treasurer, provides that receipts from chapter 82.18 RCW must be deposited into that account, and states the account is not subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW and does not require an appropriation for expenditures. The treasurer must annually disburse all money in the account to eligible counties and cities: 50 percent as a base allocation divided equally among counties and 50 percent on a per capita basis to counties and cities according to their share of the state population. Recipient counties and cities must use the funds to implement comprehensive solid waste management plans as required by chapter 70A.205 RCW. The extracted material identifies the state treasurer, counties and cities, users of solid waste services, and solid waste collection businesses as affected parties. The extracted facts do not specify which department has direct collection authority when proceeding against a taxpayer, the exact statutory "effective date of this section" used to calculate the five-year escalation schedule, or other potentially relevant sections of the act; those details are not included in the provided material.

People and businesses that subscribe to solid waste collection services will likely see their bills increase beginning January 1, 2026 as an additional tax phases in up to 2.5% over five years, and collection companies will have added administrative work and cash‑flow responsibilities because they must hold those tax receipts in trust, apply partial payments first to the tax, and remit collections on a tight schedule (tax due from customers within 25 days and from collectors at the end of the tax period). This raises the risk of penalties or financial strain for collectors who mismanage the trust funds and shifts a predictable, ongoing cost onto service users. Counties and cities that meet the eligibility conditions should receive a new, dedicated revenue stream from the portion of the tax above 3.6%, with the state treasurer annually distributing half of the money equally among counties and half by population to counties and cities, and those funds must be used to carry out comprehensive solid waste management plans; because the account is not subject to allotment or required appropriations, eligible local governments are likely to get quicker and more automatic access to money for waste programs. It is unclear from the provided text exactly when the five‑year phase‑in is measured from and which state department has direct enforcement authority, which could affect the timing and oversight of collections and distributions.