wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1658 > Original Bill

HB 1658 - History museum funding

Source

Section 1

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    1. Except as provided in (c) of this subsection, a surcharge of five dollars per instrument shall be charged by the county auditor for each document recorded, which will be in addition to any other charge authorized by law. One dollar of the surcharge shall be deposited into a designated fund as required by (b) of this subsection, to be used at the discretion of the county commissioners

, or an advisory board, commission, or program established by the county commissioners for conducting historical preservation activities, for:

    i. The support of operations and capital expenditures of history or heritage museum facilities owned and operated by municipalities or nonprofit organizations recognized by the internal revenue service as described in section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986, as amended; and

    ii. Supporting historic preservation activities authorized by RCW 35.21.395 or 36.32.435.

b. Each county shall establish a historic preservation and programs fund, held by the county treasurer. Moneys from the fund must be used only as provided in (a) of this subsection.

c. A surcharge of two dollars per instrument shall be charged by the county auditor for each document presented for recording by the employment security department, which will be in addition to any other charge authorized by law.

d. For the purposes of this subsection, "history or heritage museum" means a facility open to the public that has, as its primary purpose, the preservation and presentation of the history of the people, land, and state of Washington and the education of the public about this history.

  1. Of the remaining revenue generated through the surcharges under subsection (1) of this section:

    1. Fifty percent shall be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer who shall distribute such funds to each county treasurer within the state in July of each year in accordance with the formula described in RCW 36.22.190. The county treasurer shall place the funds received in a special account titled the auditor's centennial document preservation and modernization account to be used solely for ongoing preservation of historical documents of all county offices and departments and shall not be added to the county current expense fund; and

    2. Fifty percent shall be retained by the county and deposited in the auditor's operation and maintenance fund for ongoing preservation of historical documents of all county offices and departments.

  2. The centennial document preservation and modernization account is hereby created in the custody of the state treasurer and shall be classified as a treasury trust account. State distributions from the centennial document preservation and modernization account shall be made without appropriation.

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