This bill creates a new excise tax chapter in Title 82 RCW that imposes a tax on the pooling, banking, and sale of surplus zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits verified by the Department of Ecology, beginning for purposes of model year 2024 program implementation. The rates set in the bill are: 2 percent of the sales price for ZEV credits sold to another manufacturer; 10 percent of the average ZEV credit price for credits banked by a manufacturer (treated as sold and taxed for each year they remain banked); and for pooled credits generally 10 percent of the average price, but beginning with implementation for model year 2025 the pooled-credit tax becomes 50 percent of the average price unless a manufacturer meets a specified delivery-rate condition, in which case the pooled-credit tax is 10 percent. The bill creates reporting and administrative procedures: the Department of Ecology must transmit specified manufacturer ZEV credit activity to "the department" by October 31 each year; manufacturers must report transaction prices to the department by October 31; the department must calculate an average ZEV credit price for each model year, publish it (and that published average is final), and beginning November 1, 2026 calculate individual manufacturers’ tax liabilities and notify manufacturers no later than January 31 following the reporting year (with a special allowance to notify for both 2024 and 2025 by January 31, 2027). Individual transaction price data are designated confidential proprietary information and must be aggregated by calendar quarter before public disclosure. Chapter 82.32 RCW generally applies to administration of the tax, the department may adopt rules, and penalties and interest under chapter 82.32 RCW apply to unpaid liabilities; RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 do not apply to this act. The bill includes an exemption from the tax for any manufacturer that banks or sells credits in an amount below credits associated with 25,000 vehicles in a model year (this exemption does not apply to pooled credits). Proceeds are allocated 70 percent to the state general fund until June 30, 2027 and beginning July 1, 2027 70 percent to the carbon emissions reduction account, with additional allocation details cut off in the provided text. The act amends RCW 42.56.270 to expand and enumerate categories of confidential financial, commercial, and proprietary information (including certain ZEV credit transaction information) exempt from public disclosure. The act applies to ZEV credits banked, sold, or pooled after the act’s effective date, contains a severability clause, and takes effect immediately. The record is incomplete in several respects: the name of the department responsible for receiving Ecology’s data and calculating tax liabilities is referred to only as "the department" in some extracts; the full allocation schedule for tax proceeds listed in Sec. 4(5) is cut off; and the text of Section 3 and some other sections referenced are not included in the provided facts.

If enacted, the law creates a new excise tax on monetizing surplus zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits: 2% of the sale price when sold to another manufacturer, 10% of the average credit price for credits banked each year they remain banked, and a pooled-credit tax that is generally 10% but rises to 50% beginning with model year 2025 unless a manufacturer meets a specified delivery-rate condition (the text does not define that condition). Manufacturers must report transaction prices to a state department (with the Department of Ecology verifying credits and transmitting activity data) by October 31 each year, the state will calculate and publish an average credit price and assess tax liabilities (with penalties and interest for unpaid amounts), and confidentiality protections prevent disclosure of individual transaction prices while allowing aggregated quarterly release. Revenue is directed 70% to the state general fund until June 30, 2027 and 70% to the carbon emissions reduction account thereafter. The groups most affected are passenger car, light duty and medium duty vehicle manufacturers participating in Washington’s ZEV program: they will face new payments that reduce revenue from selling or banking credits, added compliance and reporting duties, and a higher tax risk if they pool credits (starting in 2025) unless they meet an undefined delivery-rate test. Small manufacturers that bank or sell credits tied to fewer than 25,000 vehicles in a model year are exempt from the bank/sell tax (but not from pooled-credit taxes). Several implementation details are unclear from the provided text—most notably which state department administers the tax in full, the exact delivery-rate condition that affects pooled-credit taxation, and the full allocation list for tax proceeds—so some administrative and fiscal impacts remain uncertain.