The Clark County Council is contemplating a brand new felony justice gross sales tax that wouldn’t require voter approval to be enacted.
The council agreed Wednesday to debate and probably vote on the brand new tax at its Aug. 5 assembly.
The measure is certainly one of a number of choices the council is contemplating to assist pay for the county’s strapped legislation and justice applications, together with the sheriff’s workplace, jail companies, public protection and courts.
The county council has additionally mentioned a property tax levy lid carry, which requires voter approval. Vancouver’s try and cross such a levy to fund legislation enforcement failed in November.
The Washington Legislature accepted a brand new funding mechanism earlier this 12 months that lets cities or counties to undertake a 0.1 p.c gross sales and use tax by June 2028 with out voter approval. (A gross sales tax is paid on the time of sale, whereas a use tax is paid when a product is used if a gross sales tax wasn’t paid.)
Gov. Bob Ferguson made funding public security and felony justice applications a focus of his marketing campaign. And he began out this 12 months’s legislative session demanding lawmakers embrace $100 million within the state finances to assist native legislation enforcement departments rent extra officers.
The felony justice gross sales tax laws, Home Invoice 2015, additionally created a grant program to be created and run by the Washington State Prison Justice Coaching Fee.
The laws stipulates that any native authorities that wishes to cross the brand new gross sales tax is barely capable of impose and accumulate it if the native authorities receives a kind of native legislation enforcement grants.
The federal government should meet a number of standards to qualify for the grant, together with having a commission-certified police chief or sheriff and use-of-force information assortment and reporting.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Workplace hasn’t but decided if it meets the entire necessities, County Supervisor Kathleen Otto mentioned Wednesday.
The tax, if accepted, might solely be used for felony justice functions, like home violence companies and public defender staffing.
If enacted, the county would want to report its tax income utilization to the Affiliation of Washington Cities and Washington State Affiliation of Counties yearly.
