Adds a new section to chapter 43.185C RCW establishing annual planning, reporting, audit, and eligibility requirements for entities (grantees and subgrantees) receiving funds through homeless housing and assistance grant programs administered under that chapter. This is a new statutory requirement, not an amendment of an existing specific provision included in the extracted facts. The bill requires grantees and subgrantees to submit annual plans by December 1, 2027, and each December 1 thereafter, specifying the forecasted number of people expected to be helped out of homelessness with the grant funds and the anticipated spending per individual to move a person into housing. It directs the state auditor to perform an annual performance audit of all such grant programs, evaluating authorized use of funds, ratios of service to administrative spending, compliance with the new section, and whether grantees meet plan goals. By December 1, 2027, the auditor and the department must determine the information required for audits; minimum information includes expenditure documentation (receipts) and metrics on number helped, amount spent per person to move into housing, and length of time individuals remained housed. Grantees and subgrantees must submit the required information to both the department and the state auditor by June 1, 2028, and every six months thereafter, and the auditor must deliver an annual report of findings and recommendations to the appropriate legislative committees by December 1, 2028, and each December 1 afterward. The bill creates enforcement and eligibility consequences: entities that fail to submit required plans or information, have audit findings of spending on unauthorized purposes or misappropriation, or are found not in compliance with the section are ineligible to apply for or participate in the department’s grant programs under this chapter. The department must include these requirements in grant agreements and may prevent funding if requirements are not met. All requirements imposed on grantees are passed through to subgrantees, grantees are responsible for monitoring subgrantees, and a grantee is noncompliant if any of its subgrantees are noncompliant. The extracted facts do not identify the specific department named in the statute, the particular programs under chapter 43.185C RCW that are covered, which legislative committees will receive the auditor’s report, or a clear start date for when the state auditor’s recurring performance audits begin beyond the planning and reporting deadlines; the full texts of chapter 43.185C RCW and RCW 43.01.036 are not provided in these facts.

If enacted, organizations that receive state homeless housing and assistance grants will have to set annual numeric goals and cost targets and then regularly document and report who was helped, how much was spent per person, receipts, and how long people stayed housed. The state auditor will run yearly performance audits of these grant programs, check whether money went to approved purposes and compare service spending to administrative costs, and issue an annual report with recommendations. Missing the December 1, 2027 plan deadline or the June 1, 2028 (and then every six months) reporting deadlines, or having audit findings of unauthorized spending or noncompliance, will make a grantee or subgrantee ineligible for future grants and the department will be required to block funding through grant agreements. This will most directly affect grantees and their subgrantees, who will likely face higher administrative work and recordkeeping costs, greater monitoring responsibilities (grantees are held responsible for their subgrantees), and the real risk of losing access to department grant money if they fail to meet deadlines or have adverse audit findings. The department administering the grants must enforce these rules and coordinate with the state auditor, and the auditor must define required information by December 1, 2027 and start producing annual reports by December 1, 2028. Important specifics are unclear in the text provided, including exactly which department and which specific programs are covered, which legislative committees receive the auditor’s report, and when the auditor’s regular audits are intended to begin.