Yesterday afternoon, the chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Ways and Means Committee announced that they have come to an agreement on the 2019–21 operating budget. This means that the Legislature could finish on time on Sunday. However, no details of the budget have been released. Joseph O’Sullivan reports in the Seattle Times,

Lawmakers were still discussing proposals to raise the cap on how much money school districts could collect through local property-tax levies, according to House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington.

Budget writers anticipate releasing the budget on Saturday. As in past years, that would give little time for the public — or even lawmakers — to review the details.

Legislative staff were working quickly to ready the budget, according to Sullivan, with the hope of making it available for 24 hours or more before final votes.

Meanwhile, yesterday the Senate passed ESSB 5998, ESSB 5997, and ESSB 5993.

ESSB 5998 would make the real estate excise tax (REET) rate graduated. A striking amendment was adopted on the floor, but there is no fiscal note for the adopted version. As adopted, the REET rate would be 1.1 percent on the portion of the selling price that is less than or equal to $500,000; 1.28 percent on the portion that is more than $500,000 but less than or equal to $1.5 million; 2.75 percent on the portion that is more than $1.5 million but less than or equal to $3.0 million; and 3.0 percent on the portion that is more than $3.0 million. (The rate on sales of timberland or agricultural land would be 1.28 percent.)

The bill would reduce the revenues from the tax that currently go to the public works assistance account (PWAA) and the city-county assistance account (CCAA), and—compared to the version of the bill that was approved by Ways and Means—it would reduce the amount of revenues that would go to the education legacy trust account (ELTA). (It would increase the amount of revenues that go to the ELTA compared with current law.) Under the bill, from Jan. 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023, 1.7 percent of REET revenues would go to the PWAA, 1.4 percent to the CCAA, 79.4 percent to the general fund–state (GFS), and 17.5 percent to the ELTA. Beginning July 1, 2023, 5.2 percent of the revenues would go to the PWAA, 1.4 percent would go to the PWAA, 79.4 percent would go to the GFS, and 14 percent would go to the ELTA. (A side-by-side of the W&M version of SB 5998 and the House REET proposal is here, and Kriss wrote about the volatility of a graduated REET here.)

ESSB 5997 would change the nonresident sales tax exemption to a refund program. As amended on the floor, it would no longer increase the business and occupation tax rate for travel agents and tour operators. Another approved floor amendment would allow counties to implement deferred finding programs for residents who fail to properly register their vehicles, aircraft, or vessels (and who are thereby not paying Washington’s license fees and taxes). Currently, if vehicles are not properly registered, violators must pay a $529 fine in addition to delinquent taxes and fees, and it is a gross misdemeanor to register a vehicle in another state. Under the bill, if a violator has a valid Washington driver’s license, has registered the vehicle, and has paid a $500 fine within 90 days of a citation, the citation would be dismissed. There is not an updated fiscal note for the bill as passed by the Senate.

ESSB 5993 would increase the hazardous substance tax. Including floor amendments, the bill would change the current tax rate of 0.7 percent of the wholesale value to $1.09 per barrel. (As approved by the Ways and Means Committee, the tax rate would have been $1.39 per barrel.) There is not an updated fiscal note for the bill as passed by the Senate, but it would not impact funds subject to the outlook. Kriss wrote about the proposal as approved by Ways and Means (and the tax’s volatility) yesterday.