This act reenacts and amends RCW 43.160.020 and amends RCW 82.14.370. It changes statutory definitions used in the public facilities funding chapter, including a defined meaning of “rural county” (any county with population density fewer than 100 persons per square mile; a county with density 100 or greater with no city over 45,000; or a county smaller than 225 square miles) and definitions for terms such as “public facilities,” “broadband,” “frontier county,” “economic development purposes,” and “affordable workforce housing infrastructure or facilities.” The act also amends the county sales and use tax authority in RCW 82.14.370. It expressly authorizes a rural county’s legislative authority to impose a limited county sales and use tax for financing public facilities that serve economic development purposes, for construction of affordable workforce housing infrastructure or facilities, and for financing positions in economic development offices. It keeps tax rate limits (not to exceed 0.09 percent, with historical special limits noted for certain density ranges), requires counties to consult with cities, towns, port districts, and the associate development organization when implementing the tax, prohibits use of proceeds for new justice system facilities, and imposes time limits on collection (generally no more than 25 years from first imposition with a specific extended expiration for certain counties that imposed the tax before August 1, 2009). The act adds procedural and reporting requirements: counties collecting the tax must file an annual report to the state auditor within 150 days after fiscal year close detailing projects, positions, providers, and amounts spent, and the state auditor must publish a publicly accessible report (with a standardized expenditure form) by December 31, 2024 using reports filed beginning in 2024 based on 2023 expenditures. Affected entities include the Department of Commerce, the Community Economic Revitalization Board, the Office of Financial Management (which determines population densities), the Office of the State Auditor, counties, cities, towns, port districts, associate development organizations, and qualifying providers for affordable workforce housing. The extracted text does not show a governor’s signature, an effective date, the OFM population listings, or the full text of cited external statutes.

If enacted, rural counties as defined by the office of financial management would be able to levy a small local sales and use tax (capped generally at 0.09%) to pay for public facilities aimed at economic development, affordable workforce housing infrastructure, and staffing for economic development offices. Counties choosing this option would need to consult with cities, towns, port districts, and the county’s associate development organization when setting it up, and they would face ongoing reporting requirements: an annual submission to the state auditor within 150 days after each fiscal year describing projects, positions, providers, and amounts spent. The Department of Revenue would collect the tax on the county’s behalf, and the state auditor must publish a standardized, publicly accessible report on county project and expenditure information beginning with reports covering 2023 expenditures. The people and organizations most affected are county governments ineligible or eligible as “rural” by OFM’s population-density lists, local cities/towns and port districts consulted during implementation, qualifying nonprofit and public housing providers who can receive funds for workforce housing projects, and the state auditor and Department of Commerce for oversight. Counties that adopt the tax could gain a steady revenue stream for job-related infrastructure and housing projects but would take on added administrative costs and transparency obligations; projects cannot include new justice system facilities and the tax is subject to statutory time limits. The text provided does not show a governor’s signature or an effective date, and it relies on OFM’s population listings and other cited statutes that are not included here, so precise timing and which counties ultimately qualify remain unclear.