This bill creates a new state treasury account called the laboratory accreditation account and amends existing law to create an air pollution control account and an air operating permit account. It requires that specified receipts from fees be deposited into those named accounts, limits expenditures from each account to amounts appropriated by the Legislature, and restricts spending to developing and implementing the specified chapters and RCWs cited in the bill. The bill adds a new section to chapter 43.21A RCW and amends RCW 70A.540.130 and RCW 70A.15.1010 to effect these changes. The bill also authorizes the Department of Ecology and local authorities to assess and collect fees needed to recover direct and indirect costs of implementing the referenced chapter(s), requires fees collected by the department to be deposited into the air pollution control account, and directs the department to distribute portions of moneys in that account to local authorities based on the jurisdiction’s air quality problems, implementation costs, and other available funding. Session and procedural dates in the extract: prefiled 01/07/26, read first time 01/12/26, and referred to the Committee on Appropriations. Missing from the provided text are the actual fee schedules or amounts, the full text of RCW 43.21A.230 and the amended chapters, and definitions or procedural details for terms such as “local authorities” and “permit program sources.”

If enacted, the department and local air authorities will get new, dedicated state treasury accounts that hold fee revenue for lab accreditation and air pollution work and can only be spent for those programs after the legislature appropriates the money. Practically, that means fees charged under the cited laws can be earmarked for implementing air pollution and lab accreditation activities and used to fund local air program work based on measured need, program costs, and other available funding, but those dollars will not flow automatically and could be delayed or limited by the annual appropriation process. The groups most affected are the Department of Ecology, local air authorities, laboratories subject to accreditation fees, and regulated sources that may see new or increased fee assessments to recover program costs. Agencies gain clearer authority to recover direct and indirect costs through fees and a more predictable funding stream when appropriations are made, while regulated entities may face higher fees; however, exact fee levels, who counts as a “local authority,” and the detailed distribution and collection procedures are not provided in the excerpt, leaving important implementation details unclear.