ESSB 6050 (2005)

In 2005, ESSB 6050 created the City-County Assistance Account (CCAA) and also required a JLARC review of account distributions. The CCAA began providing funding to local governments after the repeal of the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET). Using a 2006 timeframe, the report compares distribution from the City-County Assistance Account to the formula that previously distributed MVET funds to local governments for sales tax equalization.  The report concludes that a majority of CCAA funds are distributed to low tax base jurisdictions as they would have been under the former MVET funding for equalization. The report provides two recommendations: 1) The Legislature should make a technical correction related to the timing of distributions, and 2) the Department of Revenue should report on how CCAA funding interacts with other state funds provided to mitigate streamlined sales tax losses.