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.
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Did Washington’s 1971 senior property tax exemption pass to an owner’s heirs or buyer?
No. The AG said the exemption was personal to the qualifying claimant. If that person died or sold the home before the tax became payable, heirs or other new owners did not receive the benefit.
Could a Washington deputy sheriff keep the job and join PERS if ineligible for the law-enforcement pension on medical grounds?
Yes, under the conditions in the 1971 opinion. The medical standard limited entry to the law-enforcement pension, not employment or civil-service rank. A deputy otherwise eligible for PERS had to…
Did Washington counties have to seek bids for small road contracts under the 1971 law?
Yes. The AG said road work done by contract required competitive bids regardless of a project’s cost. Day labor was an alternative for projects within the then-applicable cost cap, but equipment…
Could a fourth-class county prosecutor also serve on a third-class city council in that county?
The AG said yes under the 1971 law. It found no statutory bar and concluded a court would likely regard the two offices as compatible.
Could a Washington senior homeowner qualify for the 1971 property tax exemption despite earnings that reduced Social Security benefits?
No. The AG said the separate Social Security earnings test disqualified an applicant even if total income fell below the amount used to calculate a full exemption. Later federal changes would not…
Did Washington’s 1970 abortion law let physician assistants perform abortions?
No. Under the law then in force, the AG said the exception from older criminal statutes covered licensed physicians and a pregnant woman following such a physician’s directions, but did not extend…
Could Washington’s game commission regulate imported wild animals bred in captivity?
Yes. The AG concluded that the commission could regulate importation and commercial breeding and sale of animals wild by nature, even if they were nonnative or born in captivity, subject to…
Could Washington’s secretary of state keep minor-party nominating-certificate signers confidential by rule?
No. The AG concluded that the secretary could not use a rule to make the names and addresses on filed minor-party nominating certificates confidential when statutes made those election records…
Could Washington keep issuing occupational driving permits after the governor vetoed their replacement law?
Yes. The AG concluded that the governor’s veto of the proposed replacement also defeated its dependent repeal, leaving the existing occupational-license statute in effect.
Did Washington’s 1971 lower interest rate apply to property taxes already delinquent?
Yes. The AG concluded that the reduced rate applied to eligible delinquent real-property taxes when payment was tendered on or after the amendment took effect, even if the taxes had become…
Which games at a Washington agricultural fair escaped criminal gambling penalties under the 1971 law?
The AG distinguished pure skill games from gambling and found conditional criminal exemptions for qualifying bingo, raffles and amusement games. It treated electronic horse-racing devices as chance…
Could Washington put a British Columbia traffic conviction on a resident’s driving record?
The AG said yes. The motor vehicle department could record a properly reported British Columbia violation and consider it in licensing decisions, even though the interstate driver-license compact…
Did a Washington prosecutor who endorsed an involuntary mental-health commitment petition have to appear at the hearing?
The AG said yes. By endorsing a petition after investigating it, the prosecutor took on a duty to appear and support it at the commitment hearing under the law then in force.
Did Washington cities have to share county costs for keeping voter-registration records?
The AG said yes. Costs could include filing equipment, supplies and clerical work, with each city’s share calculated by precinct and by registered voters in split precincts.
Did Washington subdivision rules apply when one owner rented five mobile-home or camper sites on short terms?
The AG said yes. Dividing land into at least five sites for monthly mobile-home rentals or daily and weekly camper rentals met the statute’s lease-based subdivision definition, even without selling…
Could a Washington city use its old firefighters’ pension fund for contributions, leave pay, or medical costs under the newer system?
The AG allowed the old fund to pay specified hospitalization and medical costs, but not employer contributions or disability leave under the newer retirement system. Separate old-system disability…
Under Washington’s 1970 abortion statute, did a husband’s temporary absence or a marital separation affect the consent requirement?
The 1971 AG read “residing with” as a shared marital home, not continuous physical presence. Consent was required despite a temporary employment absence, but not when the couple lived apart after a…
Could a Washington disability board try a limited return to duty before deciding retirement, and grant a second leave if it failed?
The AG allowed a limited conditional return when the medical exam was inconclusive. If the same disability persisted, the member did not receive a second six-month disability leave; disability…
Could a Washington utility district privately sell revenue bonds to its own employees at a lower interest rate?
The AG said it could if commissioners found district benefit, but it could not sell to officers who supervised the issuance. The statute also allowed a private sale instead of competitive bidding.
Could Washington prison officials regulate inmates’ hair and beards for identification or health?
The AG said the statute permitted, but did not require, rules for convicted felons when identification, cleanliness or health justified them in the department’s judgment. It did not hold that every…
How many signatures did a 1971 petition need to recall an elected King County officer?
The AG said signatures had to equal 25 percent of votes cast for all candidates for that office at the preceding election. King County’s newer class AA label did not raise the threshold to 35 percent.
Could a student register to vote near a Washington school if they intended to make that place home?
The AG said yes if the student actually intended to remain there permanently or indefinitely for an appreciable time. Attendance alone did not establish voting residence; a proposed statute…
Did a city have to notify a neighboring Washington town of a subdivision plat located entirely inside the first city?
Yes, if the proposed subdivision lay within one mile of the neighboring city or town. The AG said being wholly inside another city did not create an exception to the preliminary-plat notice rule.
Could Washington county commissioners approve a rezoning after planners recommended denial without holding their own hearing?
No. The AG said commissioners had to hold a noticed public hearing before granting a rezoning contrary to the planning commission’s recommendation.
Could Washington’s governor restore voting rights lost after a federal or out-of-state felony conviction?
The AG said yes when Washington’s Constitution disqualified the person. It treated most federal and out-of-state felonies as disqualifying, except an offense with a Washington counterpart that was…
Did Washington’s out-of-state corporate campaign restriction apply to a company licensed to do business in the state?
The AG said yes if the corporation’s principal office, or a majority of its members or stockholders, was outside Washington. A certificate to transact business in Washington did not remove it from…
Could Washington legislators change a certified initiative before enacting it or pass a competing substitute?
The AG said legislators had to enact or reject an initiative to the legislature without changing its text. A substitute on the same subject went to voters alongside the original; an enacted…
In 1971, did a Washington minor need a court appointed guardian to consent to a pregnancy termination?
The AG read the 1970 referendum to permit an unmarried minor’s own consent together with a parent’s consent as legal guardian, provided no other guardian had been court appointed and the act’s other…
Could a Washington assessor put a permanently fixed mobile home on the property tax roll without the owner asking?
Yes. The AG said a mobile home meeting the statute’s permanent placement conditions could be assessed as real property on the assessor’s own initiative; an owner’s request was not a prerequisite.
Could a Washington public agency ask bidders to choose a retainage investment option before awarding a works contract?
No. The AG said the contractor’s choice to leave retained payments with the public body or place them in investment escrow arose after award. A public body could neither demand that choice in bids…
Could a Washington school district replace public retirement coverage with a union pension for regular employees?
No. The AG said eligible noncertificated school district employees had to be covered by the public employees’ retirement system even if they belonged to a union with its own plan. The district…
How did Washington’s AG say the legislature should redraw districts after the 1970 census?
The 1970 AG said Washington had to complete congressional and legislative redistricting before the 1972 electoral cycle. It urged districts as close to equal population as practicable, with the…
Could the public use wet and dry sand on Washington’s Pacific coast, including Quinault Reservation beaches?
The 1970 AG concluded that long-established custom supported public use of wet and dry sand on Washington’s Pacific coast. It expressly excluded beaches within the Quinault Reservation and did not…
Could a Washington county vacate a shoreline road if its side, rather than its end, touched the water?
The 1970 AG said the shoreline-road restriction covered both side and end contact with salt or fresh water. It treated contact with the ordinary high tide or high water line, marked by vegetation,…
Could Washington county commissioners remove a community mental health supervisor without the program board’s approval in 1970?
Yes. Although the board had to approve the appointment, the 1970 AG said the county commissioners could remove the supervisor without its concurrence because the governing law fixed no term and…
Could a Washington city spend federal Model Cities grant money on approved programs without violating the state gift clause?
The 1970 AG said Article VIII, section 7 did not bar a city’s expenditure of these restricted federal program funds. It also said RCW 35.21.660 authorized cities to carry out the federal contracts,…
Could a Washington county block a surface mine after the state issued a permit under the 1970 act?
The 1970 AG said no under the act as then passed. After its January 1, 1971 effective date, a local permit alone would not authorize covered surface mining, while a state permittee operating within…
What taxes did Washington impose when reforestation land left its special classification in 1970?
The 1970 AG said the owner owed a yield tax on timber remaining at declassification plus a make-up amount for the tax savings from classification. Those obligations applied whether the owner or a…
Could a Washington public works contractor invest retainage under the 1970 law if the contract was already signed?
No. The 1970 AG said the new contractor option to put retainage in escrow and invest it applied only to contracts executed on or after the law’s May 14, 1970 effective date.
Did Washington’s 1970 cigarette excise tax apply to sales on Indian reservations?
The 1970 AG gave four jurisdiction-dependent answers. It applied the tax to retailers and purchasers on reservations under full state jurisdiction, to non-Indians on limited-jurisdiction…
Could a funeral-home owner run for Washington county coroner in 1970 and take office in 1971?
The 1970 AG said an owner or employee could run, and an incumbent could finish the existing term. In the affected county classes, the person could not start a new term in January 1971 while still…
Could Washington remove its 1970 voting-age amendment from the ballot after Congress passed an eighteen-year-old voting rule?
No. The 1970 AG said the secretary of state lacked authority to remove the duly proposed amendment, the new federal law’s reach in state elections faced a constitutional question, and the proposal…
Did a Seattle-era police pension member lose eligibility under the old plan when transferred to Washington’s new system in 1970?
No. The 1970 AG said a first-class-city officer contributing to the old chapter 41.20 plan on March 1, 1970 kept eligibility for benefits under that chapter, even though membership transferred to…
Who paid a Washington county police and firefighter disability board’s expenses in 1970, and who chose medical coverage?
The 1970 AG put board operating and applicant-examination costs in the county current expense fund, with a specified emergency-budget route available. The board designated available hospital and…
Could Washington close an area to commercial fishing while leaving sport fishing open in 1970?
Yes, if the closure served conservation, protection or proper management of fisheries. The 1970 AG said closing commercial fishing solely to promote sport fishing would not meet that condition.
Could a Washington city or county later require plats for five-acre subdivisions after the 1969 platting law took effect?
Yes. The 1970 AG said a city, town or county could later adopt an ordinance applying the platting law to subdivisions with no dedication and no lot smaller than five acres. The ordinance did not…
Could Washington cities and counties tax liquor sales that were subject to the ordinary state sales tax in 1970?
Yes. The 1970 AG said the new local sales tax covered liquor sales subject to the ordinary 4.5% state sales tax, despite the older liquor-tax restriction. Sales subject instead to the special state…
Where did Washington traffic safety penalty assessments go after the 1970 amendments?
The 1970 AG split the route by the violated law. A justice court assessment for a state-law violation went through the county treasurer and auditor’s distribution formula; an assessment for a city…
Could a Washington county zone fee patent land inside an Indian reservation under the 1970 AG opinion?
Yes, under the jurisdictional analysis the AG gave in 1970 for fee patent land free of federal restrictions on alienation. The AG distinguished federally held trust or restricted land, which the…
Who controlled elevators in state and county buildings inside a Washington city with an older elevator code in 1970?
The state Department of Labor and Industries did, according to the 1970 AG. A city with a qualifying pre-1963 elevator code retained jurisdiction over conveyances in its own and private buildings,…
Could a Washington employer cite women-only hour and lifting limits to deny a woman a job under Title VII in 1970?
No, if Title VII covered the employer. The AG said conflicting Washington hour and work-condition restrictions could not justify refusing to hire or promote women solely because of sex; the employer…
Could a small Washington noncharter code city create local initiative and referendum rights by ordinance in 1970?
No. For the noncharter mayor-council city described in the opinion, the 1970 AG said the legislature had not granted those powers and the city council could not create them by ordinance. The…
Did Washington counties have to offer two health plans to police and firefighters under the 1970 retirement law?
For general employee coverage under the 1970 law, counties still had to offer a choice of plans through at least two carriers. For coverage provided specifically to law enforcement and firefighter…
Does a Washington state employee receive a vacation payout when transferring to a public university job?
Under the law considered in 1970, no. The employee carried accrued annual leave to the higher education position, whether classified or exempt; a classified transferee could also face the new…
Could Washington city voters file a charter city petition while a noncharter code city proposal was pending?
No. The AG said a petition proposing a different city classification could not be accepted while an earlier noncharter code city reclassification proceeding remained pending. A statutory exception…
Did Washington’s insurance tax preemption shield brokers and solicitors from city business taxes?
No. The AG said the 1969 preemption for insurers and “their agents” covered insurer appointed agents, but did not bar city excise or privilege taxes on brokers and solicitors acting in those roles.
Did Washington’s 1970 city bidding law cover insurance and ordinance codification contracts?
Yes. The AG read “services” in the bidding statute to include liability and casualty insurance and ordinance codification, so second through fourth class cities had to seek bids when either contract…
When did Washington’s 1970 AG opinion require Miranda warnings during a temporary police stop?
The AG said a temporary stop required specific, articulable facts but less than probable cause. Its 1970 reading called for Miranda warnings before further interrogation once officers had probable…
Could Washington plat approval depend on drainage releases from landowners outside the subdivision?
No. The AG said the 1969 platting law barred a city, town, or county from requiring damage waivers from owners of land outside a proposed subdivision as a condition of plat approval.
Could Washington public utility and port districts build irrigation systems for farmland reclamation in 1969?
The 1969 AG said a public utility district could develop an irrigation distribution system for agricultural reclamation, while a port district lacked that authority. The state reclamation fund could…
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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.