(1) By January 1, 2014, the office of financial management shall compile, maintain, and periodically update an inventory of all fees imposed by state agencies and institutions of higher education pursuant to statute or administrative rule. At a minimum, the inventory shall identify the agency or institution collecting the fee, the purpose of the fee, the current amount of the fee, the amount of the fee over the previous five years, and the statutory authority for the fee. The office of financial management may aggregate or consolidate fee information when there is commonality among the fee payers or the purposes for which the fee is paid.
(2) To facilitate the fee inventory under this section, each state agency and institution of higher education shall report the information required under subsection (1) of this section to the office of financial management and shall update the information at least every two years.
(3) The fee inventory under this section shall be incorporated into the state expenditure information website maintained by the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee under RCW 44.48.150.
(4) The office of financial management shall convene a work group consisting of representatives from the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, the office of regulatory assistance, the department of licensing, the department of labor and industries, the department of transportation, and the department of health to develop a process to facilitate more frequent updates to the inventory and to recommend changes to increase public accessibility.
(5) For purposes of this section, "fee" means any charge, fixed by law or administrative rule, for the benefit of a service or to cover the cost of a regulatory program or the costs of administering a program for which the fee payer benefits. "Fee" does not include taxes; penalties or fines; intergovernmental charges; commercial charges; pension or health care contributions or rates; industrial, unemployment, or other state-operated insurance programs; or individualized cost recoveries.
(6) The requirements in this section are suspended during the 2019-2021 and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia.
[ 2021 c 334 § 974; 2013 c 63 § 1.]
NOTES:
Conflict with federal requirements—Effective date—2021 c 334: See notes following RCW 43.79.555.