Washington Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Washington, with full citations and the original source on every page.
Is a construction project on leased public land that is funded entirely by a private nonprofit a 'public work' under Washington law, requiring competitive bidding and prevailing wages?
Maybe. The Washington AG concluded that the public-works classification is highly fact-specific. A privately funded project on leased public land is *very likely* a public work if the private entity r…
When a Washington juvenile court clerk gets a request from the Office of Public Defense or the Office of Civil Legal Aid for dependency or termination case records, does the clerk have to provide them, and can the clerk require those agencies to file a notice of appearance first?
Yes to providing the records, no to the notice-of-appearance requirement. The Washington AG concluded that RCW 13.50.010(13) and (14) obligate court clerks (as the actual custodians of court records) …
Can a Washington city or county use its hotel-motel (lodging) tax revenues to repay revenue bonds issued to finance affordable workforce housing built within one-half mile of a transit station?
Yes. The Washington AG concluded that RCW 67.28.160(1) (amended in 2015) specifically authorizes any municipality to pledge lodging tax revenues to repay revenue bonds for affordable workforce housing…
Can a Washington prosecutor remove a law enforcement officer's name from the office's potential impeachment disclosure (Brady) list, and what circumstances justify removal?
There is no authority for removing an officer's name from a Brady list based simply on the passage of time. Other circumstances (a 'pending' status investigation that exonerates, or new information th…
Can Washington county commissioners enact midterm increases to their own health insurance contributions, cash-in-lieu payments, or convert health benefits to cash before their next term begins?
Possibly to the first, no to the other two. The Washington AG concluded that midterm increases to the cost of a health-benefit plan that meets RCW 41.04.180 are not constitutionally barred (because RC…
If I own an assault weapon under Washington law and want to sell it through a pawn shop to someone out of state, can I, and can the pawn shop legally complete the transfer?
Yes, all three pieces work, with the usual licensing strings attached. AGO 2024 No. 4 says: (1) an assault-weapon owner who is legally authorized to transfer the weapon can sell it to a properly licen…
After January 1, 2025, can a small Washington county still ask its elected prosecutor to also serve as the county coroner, or did the 2021 statute end that arrangement?
It ended the arrangement. AGO 2024 No. 3 says that once the 2021 amendments to RCW 36.16.030 took effect on January 1, 2025, small counties (under 40,000) lost the statutory authority that historicall…
Can a Washington county run its own basic corrections officer training academy and certify its corrections officers, or does that have to go through the state Criminal Justice Training Commission?
Statute would let a county run the training, but right now, in practice, no. AGO 2024 No. 2 says RCW 43.101 authorizes the Criminal Justice Training Commission to approve county-run basic corrections …
If a Washington superior court judge is sitting as a visiting judge in another county, can they hold the hearing in their own home courthouse, appear remotely, and bring along their own court commissioner?
The default answer is no, with two real exceptions. AGO 2024 No. 1 says that a visiting superior court judge ordinarily must travel to the county being visited and hold the hearing there, and that the…
If a pawnshop took someone's assault rifle as collateral on a loan, does the 2023 Washington ban let the pawnshop give the rifle back when the loan is paid, and what happens if the loan defaults?
Returning is fine; selling is mostly not. AGO 2023 No. 5 says SHB 1240's ban on manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering to sell assault weapons does not bar a pawnbroker from retu…
Does Washington's 2023 assault-weapon law (SHB 1240) cover rim-fire rifles like a .22 caliber semi-auto, or only center-fire rifles?
Sometimes yes. AGO 2023 No. 4 says some rim-fire semi-autos are covered. The statute, RCW 9.41.010(2)(a), defines an 'assault weapon' to include any of 62 named firearms (some of which come in rim-fir…
Can a Washington city or county shut down an existing mobile home park by rezoning the area, even when the rezoning is meant to protect a nearby military base under the Growth Management Act?
No. AGO 2023 No. 3 says that RCW 35.63.161, RCW 35A.63.146, and RCW 36.70.493 (cities, code cities, counties) flatly prohibit a local government from ordering the removal or phased elimination of an e…
Can a Washington school district run its own health clinic on campus, lease space to one, or use district funds to advertise it?
It can host but not run one. AGO 2023 No. 2 says a Washington school district still has no statutory authority to operate or establish a health clinic itself. But under RCW 28A.605.040 (added in 2010)…
After Washington's 2021 and 2022 police-reform laws, can an officer use physical force when rendering emergency aid, can an officer use a chokehold to save a life, and how strictly should courts read the law's words like 'available' and 'appropriate'?
Force during emergency aid is sharply limited; chokeholds remain banned but officers have a defense; and the words mean what they ordinarily mean. AGO 2023 No. 1 says officers cannot use physical forc…
Can Washington's Commission on Judicial Conduct adopt a rule letting it ask the state Supreme Court to temporarily suspend a judge who's been charged with a felony or has a serious disability, before completing the full disciplinary process?
Probably not. AGO 2022 No. 4 says the Commission on Judicial Conduct most likely lacks the authority to write a rule allowing it to recommend a judge's interim suspension before completing the article…
In Washington, when does a building plan have to be stamped by an architect, when can an engineer stamp it, and who decides?
There is no bright-line rule. AGO 2022 No. 3 says Washington law lets engineers stamp design documents that draw on engineering education and the mathematical and physical sciences, and lets architect…
Does Washington's Open Public Meetings Act require the Eastern Washington University faculty academic senate to hold its meetings in public?
No, on these facts. AGO 2022 No. 2 says the EWU Academic Senate is not subject to the Open Public Meetings Act because (1) the Board of Trustees did not create it (the faculty did), and (2) it does no…
After Washington's 2021 police-reform law (E2SHB 1310), when can a police officer use physical force on someone, and does that include reasonable-suspicion stops or taking a person to a mental-health hold?
Force is sharply restricted. AGO 2022 No. 1 says E2SHB 1310 likely makes its list of permissible uses of force exclusive: officers may use physical force only to (1) protect against criminal conduct w…
Can the Washington State Board of Accountancy discipline a CPA who works for the State Auditor for things they did as part of their job?
Probably not. The AG concluded that RCW 18.04.350(12), which says nothing in the Public Accountancy Act prohibits any act or words by a public official or employee in the performance of duties, likely…
Does a Washington fire protection district have to provide fire and emergency services on a tribal reservation, and how are fees set?
Yes. Once a fire protection district draws boundaries that include reservation land, it must serve everyone and everything inside those boundaries, including tax-exempt tribal property. The district c…
Can a licensed engineer in Washington stamp and sign architectural drawings to submit for a building permit?
No, not anymore. The AG concluded that since the 2010 amendments to RCW 18.08.410, engineers no longer fit any exemption that allows stamping architectural drawings. Doing so is potentially unlicensed…
Are state, county, and city elected officials in Washington 'employees' under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, and do they have to pay PFMLA premiums?
Yes to both. AGO 2021 No. 1 concluded that elected officials at the state, county, and city level qualify as 'employees' under Washington's Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) and that PFMLA pre…
Can a Washington physical therapist or occupational therapist co-own a clinic with a physician, chiropractor, or other health care professional?
No. Under the Professional Service Corporation Act, the 21 health care professions listed in RCW 18.100.050(5)(a) (medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, optometry, etc.) can co-own one professional serv…
Can a Washington pharmacist actually diagnose a patient under a collaborative drug therapy agreement, and can a physician or physician assistant authorize a pharmacist to do so?
Yes, in limited circumstances. RCW 18.64.011(28) lets a pharmacist initiate or modify drug therapy under written guidelines and protocols established by a prescriber. The AG concluded that this author…
Is a federally licensed firearms dealer, manufacturer, or importer who repairs guns considered a 'federally licensed gunsmith' exempt from Washington's universal background check rule when receiving and returning a customer's firearm?
Yes, with limits. A person licensed as a 'dealer' under 18 U.S.C. § 923(a) is a federally licensed gunsmith when engaged in the business of repairing or modifying firearms. A licensed manufacturer or …
Can legal aid lawyers visit migrant farm workers at the labor camps where they live, even if the employer who owns the camp tells them to leave?
Yes, in most cases. The AG concluded that migrant workers in labor camps are tenants with the right to invite guests, and that even uninvited legal advocates have First and Fourteenth Amendment rights…
Does a Washington school district have to put construction management or related design-phase services out for competitive bid if it routes the contract through an educational service district?
Yes, once the project's estimated cost reaches $100,000. The AG concluded that construction management, value engineering, constructability review, and building commissioning all qualify as 'other wor…
Under Washington's amended landlord-tenant statute, when can a service member terminate a residential lease, and what is the effective date of that termination?
Service members could clearly terminate after retirement or separation if their pre-service home of record was 35+ miles from the rental, and termination was generally effective on the date specified …
Can a sitting Washington county commissioner or councilmember be appointed by their own county legislative body to fill a vacant state legislative seat?
Yes. The AG reversed a series of opinions issued from 1965 to 1987. The Washington Constitution sets only two qualifications for state legislators (citizenship and being a qualified voter in the distr…
When both the Washington governor and lieutenant governor are out of state at the same time, who has the legal authority to act as governor?
The elected governor still does. The constitution and statutes line up the lieutenant governor as acting governor when only the governor is gone, but neither extends the line of succession to other of…
Can a joint self-insurance pool pick the lawyer who defends a Washington county against a tendered claim, without the elected county prosecutor's consent?
Generally no. Defending the county and advising county officials are core constitutional and statutory functions of the elected prosecuting attorney. The pool's authority under RCW 48.62.031(4)(b) to …
Can a Washington county refuse to release electronic property tax records to a commercial requestor because the records can be sorted to display owner names?
Yes. The Public Records Act bars an agency from giving access to 'lists of individuals' for commercial purposes (RCW 42.56.070(8)). The AG concluded that this prohibition reaches electronic records th…
Could a state require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to release their tax returns as a condition of appearing on the ballot?
Probably yes, though the AG flagged the analysis as a close call. The Presidential Qualifications Clause likely is not violated because tax disclosure is not the kind of inherent qualification (citize…
Could Washington physician assistants and advanced registered nurse practitioners perform pre-viability aspiration procedures within their scope of practice?
Yes. The 2019 Washington AG opinion read the Reproductive Privacy Act together with the physician assistant and advanced registered nurse practitioner statutes to allow PAs and ARNPs to perform pre-vi…
Can a Washington local clean air agency regulate odors from cannabis production facilities, including by setting standards stricter than the state's, and what procedures must it follow?
Yes. Local clean air agencies have broad statutory authority to regulate odors as 'air contaminants' under the Clean Air Act, can set rules stricter than state standards, and need not wait for the Dep…
Who qualifies for paid sick leave under Washington's Initiative 1433, by when does an employer have to allow accrued leave to be used in 2018, and does the 40-hour carryover rule apply to front-loaded leave?
Same employee definition as the rest of the Minimum Wage Act (RCW 49.46.010(3)). Employees who had been with the employer for 90 days as of January 1, 2018, were entitled to use leave on that date. An…
Can a Washington city or county LEOFF Plan 1 disability board reimburse a retired law enforcement officer or firefighter for state-authorized medical marijuana, and could that put the jurisdiction's federal funding at risk?
Yes to reimbursement, qualified yes on federal funding. The AG concluded that LEOFF Plan 1 disability boards have discretion to fund medical services beyond the statutory minimums when medically neces…
Do the limits in RCW 54.28 on city utility taxes (including the carve-out from 'gross revenue') restrict a First Class city's authority under RCW 35.22.280(32) to tax investor-owned utilities?
No for investor-owned utilities, yes for public utility districts. The AG concluded that a First Class city's general business-licensing authority in RCW 35.22.280(32) supports a utility tax on invest…
Could a Washington city, county, or school district let 17-year-olds vote in local elections, and could the legislature authorize that by statute?
No to both. The AG concluded that Article VI, section 1 of the Washington Constitution sets mandatory qualifications for voting in 'all elections,' including a minimum age of 18. A local measure or a …
Does Washington have to enforce a domestic violence protection order issued by another state's court or by an Indian tribal court, and does the order have to be registered first?
Yes to enforcement and no to registration. Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2265) and the Washington Foreign Protection Order Full Faith and Credit Act (RCW 26.52) require Washington courts and police to hono…
Can the Washington State Auditor audit UW Physicians, the nonprofit corporation that provides medical services through the University of Washington School of Medicine?
Likely yes. The AG concluded that the University exercises so much control over UW Physicians (UWP) that a court would treat it as the functional equivalent of the University for state-auditor purpose…
Can a Washington school district count a full day of parent-teacher conferences as one of the 180 required school days, or does it need a waiver from the State Board of Education?
The AG concluded that a full day of parent-teacher conferences likely counts as a 'school day' under RCW 28A.150.220(5)(a), so no waiver is required. The AG flagged the question as close enough that a…
Are Washington's Ferry Advisory Committees and the Ferry Advisory Executive Committee subject to the Open Public Meetings Act?
The local Ferry Advisory Committees yes, because their advice is a legally required step before the Department of Transportation can change fares or service levels. The Ferry Advisory Executive Commit…
Can a Washington mosquito control district charge state-owned property a special assessment for mosquito-control work?
No. The AG concluded that a mosquito control district has no power to assess state property, because RCW 17.28.255 does not expressly include state-owned land and Washington courts require an express …
Does a Washington school board member or city council member break the law by sharing what was discussed in a properly closed executive session?
Yes, with conditions. The AG concluded that the Open Public Meetings Act creates a duty of confidentiality for information learned in a properly convened executive session, when the information falls …
Could the Washington legislature combine the independent Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials with another state agency, and could the Commission hold its required public meetings entirely by telephone conference call?
Yes to both, with conditions. Combination is allowed only if the Commission's constitutional 'independence' in setting salaries is preserved and any composition change passes by two-thirds vote. Telep…
Who controls the unclassified (exempt) positions in a Washington county sheriff's office, the sheriff or the county commissioners, and who sets the salaries?
Authority is split. The county commissioners create positions, fund the sheriff's office, and set compensation. The sheriff selects which authorized positions are unclassified, sets job titles and job…
Did Washington's Initiative 200 (RCW 49.60.400) bar all race- or gender-conscious measures in state contracting?
No. The 2017 Washington AG opinion concluded that Initiative 200 prohibited only 'reverse discrimination' in which the State used race or gender to pick a less-qualified contractor over a more-qualifi…
Does a Washington county lose its eligibility for state Rural Arterial Program fuel-tax funds if it spends county road levy money on traffic prosecutions, court costs, indigent defense, jail, or coroner services?
Likely yes for all five categories. Incarceration and coroner activities are not 'highway purposes' under Article II, section 40 of the state constitution. Costs of traffic prosecution, defense, and a…
Are Washington optometrists allowed to use a corneal burr (a small drill used to remove rust rings from the eye)?
It depends on what the burr does in a specific use. The AG concluded that if a corneal burr removes or penetrates eye tissue to treat disease or enhance cosmetic appearance, that is ophthalmic surgery…
Are Washington physical therapists allowed to perform 'dry needling' (insertion of solid filiform needles into trigger points to treat pain and movement impairments)?
No. The AG concluded that dry needling did not fall within the statutory scope of physical therapy practice in RCW 18.74. The opinion did not take a policy position on whether dry needling should be a…
Does a Washington city or county create 'debt' under the constitutional or statutory debt limits when it enters a performance-based energy contract that includes a lease-purchase agreement with a non-appropriation clause?
Probably not for the constitutional debt limit, but probably yes for the statutory debt limit. The AG concluded a non-appropriation lease likely does not create constitutional debt under Department of…
Can a Washington noncharter code city change its city-council election system from at-large general elections to district-based general elections to avoid violating the federal Voting Rights Act?
Yes, but only on a strong evidentiary record. State law (RCW 35A.12.180) requires general elections at large in noncharter code cities, but the AG concluded a city may deviate when it has a strong bas…
Browse Washington opinions by topic
Attorney general opinions in Washington are written by the Washington Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.