This bill amends existing law (RCW 82.42.090) to change how moneys from aircraft fuel taxes are handled and allocated. It requires that amounts the director collects from the aircraft fuel excise tax be transmitted to the state treasurer and credited to the aeronautics account, and specifies that money in that account may be spent only after appropriation and only for aviation-related purposes. It also requires that amounts collected from consumers or users of aircraft fuel under the use tax or retail sales tax be transmitted to the treasurer and distributed so that from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027 an amount equivalent to a 0.5 percent tax is credited to the aeronautics account, and beginning July 1, 2027 an amount equivalent to a 1.0 percent tax is credited to the aeronautics account, with an amount equivalent to 6.5 percent minus that credited amount going to the state general fund. The act takes effect July 1, 2026. The bill also creates procedural reporting requirements for the Department of Transportation’s aviation division. Beginning July 1, 2026 the aviation division must track additional funds awarded for airport projects through the airport aid grant program and report annually to the legislature’s transportation committees for 2026–2031 and thereafter as needed, including project descriptions, state grant amounts from the aeronautics account, federal matching funds, and local sponsor matching funds. At the end of each biennium’s fiscal close beginning June 30, 2027, the aviation division must report to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, House Appropriations Committee, and the transportation committees an estimate of funds returned to the general fund, taking into account sales and business and occupation taxes generated by the funded projects. Type of change: modification of existing tax distribution law and creation of new administrative reporting procedures; it adjusts allocation percentages and imposes transmission and appropriation restrictions. The amendment references RCW 82.42.020, RCW 82.12.020, and RCW 82.08.020. The extracted text does not define "the director" or provide details of the airport aid grant program, the origin or broader context of the 6.5 percent reference, or other statutory text that may be necessary for full interpretation.

Starting July 1, 2026 the state will begin directing a new, dedicated share of taxes tied to aircraft fuel sales into the aeronautics account: an amount equal to 0.5% of the applicable tax base for one year, rising to an amount equal to 1.0% thereafter. Those monies can only be spent on aviation projects after the legislature appropriates them, so airports and aviation programs are likely to see a more steady, earmarked source of state grant funding while the state general fund will get a correspondingly smaller share of those fuel-related tax receipts. The Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division will have new tracking and reporting responsibilities—annual reports on each grant’s state, federal, and local contributions for 2026–2031 (and as needed after) and biennial reports estimating tax revenue returned to the general fund—meaning more administrative work for DOT. Local airport sponsors may benefit from increased state grant availability but will still need to provide matching funds; the text does not specify precise dollar amounts, how the “equivalent to” percentages are calculated, or full details of the airport aid grant program, so the exact budgetary effect is unclear.