SB 5272, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D–Olympia), makes changes to funding 911 communication systems and distributions of those funds to cities. Under current law, counties may levy a sales and use tax with voter approval to fund costs associated with emergency communication systems and facilities. SB 5272 increases the maximum tax rate from 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent.
The bill also changes how the funds are distributed to cities. Under current law, if a county has a population of more than 500,000, in which any city with a population over 50,000 operates an emergency communication system and facilities, the county must enter into an interlocal agreement with the city to determine distribution of revenue prior to submitting the authorizing ballot to the voters.
The bill makes the following changes to this provision:
- Changes the county population threshold from 500,000 to 1,500,000; and
- For counties with a population of more than 1,500,000, within which there is a city over 50,000 that operates emergency communication system and facilities: the county must enter into interlocal agreements with its cities with populations over 50,000 regarding revenue distribution, if a city is part of a regional communication system or operates the communication system independently.