The bill creates a new chapter in Title 82 RCW establishing a tax credit program allowing qualifying light and power businesses to receive credits for cash contributions to local recipients: school districts that host a qualifying renewable energy project or nonprofit organizations that serve those communities. It is a new law that creates a tax credit (up to 75% of an approved contribution), sets administrative procedures (applicants must get Department of Revenue approval before contributing; the department must rule within 45 days and approves on a first-in-time basis), requires electronic filing, and imposes a statewide credit cap of $5,000,000 per calendar year and a per-business cap of $250,000 per calendar year. The chapter is administered under RCW 82.32 (with RCW 82.32.808 not applying) and expires December 31, 2036. The bill establishes timing and procedural requirements: applications must be submitted between January 1 and July 1 for contributions in that calendar year (the department may extend the deadline under conditions not specified here); approved contributions must be paid to recipients by October 1 with proof of payment due by October 15, or the approved credits are forfeited and made available to new applicants. Contributions made from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2034, are eligible to earn credits. Credits may be claimed on returns for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026 and ending on or before December 31, 2035; no credit may be claimed for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2036. The bill also amends RCW 28A.325.030 to require school districts that receive funding under the new chapter to deposit proceeds into a subaccount of their associated student body program fund and permits use of those proceeds for any allowable purpose of that fund. Defined terms in the bill include applicant, contribution, department, qualifying light and power business, recipient, and renewable energy project; the text references existing statutory definitions for "person" and "light and power business." Important context not provided in the extracted facts includes the specific new chapter number in Title 82, the bill’s effective date, the precise statutory definitions in the referenced RCWs, and the department-prescribed application form or any additional application content requirements.

If enacted, the law would create a time-limited tax incentive that makes it cheaper for electric utilities that own new wind or solar projects inside a school district to give cash to that district or to local nonprofits, because the state will allow a tax credit equal to most of the approved contribution up to set caps. Practically, qualifying utilities would likely redirect some money to local school associated student body funds or community nonprofits, reducing their state tax bills (but still bearing some net cost because only a portion of the contribution is credited), while school districts and nonprofits would see a new revenue source with rules requiring the money be placed in a specified student body subaccount and usable under existing student-fund rules. The Department of Revenue, county treasurers, and school officials would take on new administrative tasks to process applications, track approvals, and enforce strict deadlines (applications must be filed early in the year, payments and proof are due by October/October 15, and missed deadlines forfeit credits), and the program has yearly and per-business caps that could leave some planned donations unsupported if the statewide $5 million limit or a $250,000 per-business limit is reached. Important details needed to understand full impact are missing from the text provided, including the bill’s effective date, the specific new chapter number, and the exact statutory definitions used for “person” and “light and power business.”