HB 2896 — Concerning the use of surplus property for public benefit.

H-4310.1HOUSEENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2896State of Washington66th Legislature2020 Regular SessionByRepresentatives Ryu, Santos, and MorganRead first time 01/29/20.Referred to Committee on Housing, Community Development & Veterans.AN ACT Relating to the use of surplus property for public benefit;

The inventories with revisions must be provided to the department by ((November 1st))April 1, 2021, and then by April 1st of each year.(2) The department must combine the inventories received pursuant to subsection (1) of this section with the inventory received pursuant to RCW 47.12.064 and consolidate inventories into two groups:

The department shall provide a recommendation, based on this grouping, to the office of financial management and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature by December 1st of each year.(3) Upon written request, the department shall provide a copy of the inventory of state-owned and publicly owned lands and buildings to parties interested in developing the sites for affordable housing.(4) The department shall annually publish the inventory of state-owned and publicly owned lands and buildings and the inventory received pursuant to RCW 47.12.064 on its web site.

Upon written request, the department shall provide notice of publication of the inventoryinventories to parties interested in developing the sites for affordable housing.(5) As used in this section:(a) "Affordable housing" means residential housing that is rented or owned by a person who qualifies as a very low-income, low-income, or moderate-income household or who is from a special needs population, and whose monthly housing costs, including utilities other than telephone, do not exceed thirty percent of the household's monthly income.(b) "Very low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose income is at or below fifty percent of the median income, adjusted for household size, for the county where the affordable housing is located.(c) "Low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose income is more than fifty percent but is at or below eighty percent of the median income where the affordable housing is located.(d) "Moderate-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose income is more than eighty percent but is at or below one hundred fifteen percent of the median income where the affordable housing is located.(e) "Affordable housing development" means state-owned real property appropriate for sale, transfer, or lease to an affordable housing developer capable of:(i) Receiving the property within one hundred eighty days;

Any transfer, lease, or other disposition of property authorized under this section must be consistent with existing locally adopted comprehensive plans as described in RCW 36.70A.070.(4) This section is deemed to provide a discretionary alternative method for the doing of the things authorized herein, and shall not be construed as imposing any additional condition upon the exercise of any other powers vested in any state agency, municipality, or political subdivision.(5) No transfer, lease, or other disposition of property for public benefit purposes made pursuant to any other provision of law prior to June 7, 2018, may be construed to be invalid solely because the parties thereto did not comply with the procedures of this section.(6) The transfer at no cost, lease, or other disposal of surplus real property for public benefit purposes is deemed a lawful purpose of any state agency, municipality, or political subdivision, for which accounts are kept on an enterprise fund or equivalent basis, regardless of the primary purpose or function of such agency.(7) The transfer, lease, or other disposal of surplus municipal utility property at less than true and full value or at no cost for public benefit purposes shall be deemed a lawful tax imposed by a city or town specifically for public benefit as defined in this section and shall not be subject to the provisions of or limitations imposed under RCW 35.21.865 and 35.21.870.(8) This section does not apply to the sale or transfer of any state forestlands, any state lands or property granted to the state by the federal government for the purposes of common schools or education, or subject to a legal restriction that would be violated by compliance with this section.(((8)))(9)section.(((8)))(9)(a) ForEach purposescity with a population of thisgreater section:(a)than "Publicfive benefit"hundred meansthousand affordablelocated housingin fora low-incomecounty andwith verya low-incomepopulation householdsof asgreater definedthan inone RCWmillion 43.63A.510,five andhundred relatedthousand facilitiesthat transfers, leases, or usesotherwise disposes of surplus public property for a public benefit purpose pursuant to this section must submit a biennial report to the relevant committees of the legislature containing information regarding each property that ((support)):was transferred, leased, or otherwise disposed of.

The report must contain the following information:(i) A list identifying each property that was transferred, leased, or disposed of pursuant to this section and each entity that received the property;

and(ii) The number of units of affordable housing that were developed on each property that was transferred, leased, or disposed of pursuant to this section.(b) The first report required by (a) of this subsection must be submitted by January 1, 2022.

Subsequent reports must be submitted every two years thereafter.(10) For purposes of this section:(a) "Public benefit" means affordable housing for low-income and very low-income households as defined in RCW 43.63A.510, and related facilities or uses that ((support)):