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 1996 tribal electronic gaming initiative require a 60 percent vote?
Yes. The AG said the initiative would newly authorize gaming devices treated as lotteries under the state constitution, requiring 60 percent approval. The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act did…
How did Washington’s trust duties limit management of federal land grants and county forest transfer lands?
The 1996 AG opinion treated federal grant lands as separate trusts governed by the statehood Enabling Act, while forest board transfer lands formed a statutory trust the Legislature could alter. DNR…
When did a Washington county auditor have to record a deed or trust document, and could a trust avoid property taxes?
In 1996, the AG said auditors had to record qualifying documents that facially affected title once form, fee, and treasurer stamp requirements were met. Merely creating a trust did not erase…
Could a Washington public school include a prayer in its graduation ceremony if students planned the program?
The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that a public school could not make prayer part of its official commencement program, even when students chose it. Quiet, unplanned prayer that did not disrupt…
Could a Washington school district fund optional employee benefits before offering all five basic benefit types?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that a district had to offer some form of medical, dental, vision, group term life, and long-term disability coverage before spending district funds on…
Could a Washington liquor wholesaler offer retailers free or discounted nonalcoholic products?
No, under the tied-house interpretation assumed in the 1996 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that a narrow statutory exception allowed certain beer and wine wholesalers to sell nonliquor food…
Could laid-off sheriff’s deputies transfer to a city police department formed years after incorporation?
Not under the 1993 transfer statute in the facts examined in 1996. The Attorney General concluded that a city incorporated before that statute did not trigger transfer rights merely by later ending…
Could a Washington homeowner use a homestead or “allodial title” declaration to stop property-tax foreclosure?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that recording an allodial-ownership declaration did not exempt land from property taxes, and a homestead declaration did not bar foreclosure for unpaid…
Could Washington landowners develop an old recorded plat without review under the 1969 subdivision law?
It depended on when and how the plat was approved. The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that a pre-1937 recorded plat had not received land-use approval and could not simply bypass current review,…
Could a Washington winery or brewery become a state liquor vendor solely to sell its own distilled spirits?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that the Liquor Control Board’s vendor power was meant to provide a state-store equivalent where no state store existed, not a product-limited outlet for a…
Could Washington fish officials close an unguarded water diversion or require old guards to be upgraded?
In 1996 the Attorney General said the director could close a diversion after proper notice and 30 days without a required guard, but lacked a direct administrative order power to compel…
Who paid employer benefit contributions for Washington superior court judges: the state or counties?
The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that the state and the counties each owed half of the employer contributions for the specified superior-court-judge benefits, absent a contrary legislative…
Could the public inspect Washington juvenile-court files in a student truancy case?
No, under the law examined in 1996. The Attorney General concluded that juvenile-court truancy files were confidential, subject only to the access exceptions in the juvenile-record statutes. The…
Could a Washington city or county pay employees bonuses for meeting performance goals?
Yes, the AG concluded, if the local government set an incentive program and definite performance goals before the covered work. After-the-fact bonuses for past services were barred by constitutional…
Did an intervening Washington special session end the legislature's chance to override a governor's veto?
The AG concluded that it did not. For a bill vetoed after adjournment, lawmakers could consider an override at the special session or wait until the next regular session; the opinion did not decide…
Could Washington police use drug forfeiture proceeds for patrol work that also addressed other crimes?
Yes, if the work had a close, demonstrable connection to controlled-substance enforcement. The AG said incidental benefits for other policing did not disqualify it, but general policing without that…
Could a Washington city use hotel tax money to make and sell shirts promoting a community festival?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that most cities and counties could not use hotel/motel tax for festival shirts merely because the shirts promoted tourism. A narrow civic-festival proviso or…
Was a special election required when a Washington municipal judgeship became vacant midterm?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a separate municipal court vacancy was filled by appointment for the rest of the term, without a midterm election. A vacancy on the district court bench…
Could a Washington public college place student teachers at a religiously affiliated school?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that placement at a school found to be pervasively religious would violate the constitutional rules then discussed, even for secular teaching. The opinion said…
Could a Washington public utility district pay a commissioner extra for serving as board president or secretary?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a public utility district commissioner could receive only the compensation authorized for commissioners, even when serving as president or secretary. The…
Was a Washington arena partly exempt from property tax when a city owned a minority share with a private company?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the jointly owned Tri-Cities Coliseum qualified for neither a full nor a partial public-property exemption. The city held a 49 percent beneficial…
Did Washington’s constitution require property to be assessed at its full market value for property tax?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the constitution did not itself require assessment at 100 percent of true and fair value, although a statute then did. The constitution required uniform…
Did Washington cities have to replace appointed municipal judges with elected judges as soon as the 1995 law took effect?
No. The Attorney General concluded that appointed municipal judges could finish existing terms ending in 1998. A later same-year opinion clarified how midterm vacancies were filled.
Could a Washington public school let a student religious club meet in the same rooms as other clubs?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that Washington’s constitution allowed equal access for a voluntary student religious club in a neutral school forum. The district could recognize the club for…
Did extra vacation leave count as a salary increase under Washington’s 1993–95 college budget restriction?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that extra vacation leave was valuable compensation but not a salary increase under the budget restriction at issue. It ordinarily changed neither the fixed…
Could Washington agencies embargo every food product from an area near a nuclear accident?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that Agriculture and Health could not embargo all products solely because they came from a modeled food-control area. The laws examined required a…
Could a Washington county treasurer charge mosquito and weed-control programs for collecting assessments?
Under the 1994 statutes, the AG said the treasurer could charge a cost-based fee for collecting a mosquito district's special assessments, but not for county-levied noxious-weed assessments or…
Who kept Washington superior-court transcript fees: the reporter, clerk, or county?
The 1994 AG opinion said official reporters could keep transcription fees in addition to salary, while clerks had to deposit their fees in the county treasury. Terms for electronic recorders were…
Did a Washington gun-store employee need a dealer license and a background check to sell firearms?
Under the 1994 law, the AG said the employee needed fingerprinting and a background check but generally did not need a separate dealer license when selling for a licensed dealer. A business selling…
Could a crab fisher qualify for Washington's 1995 coastal license after replacing a historically eligible vessel?
The AG's preferred reading was no. The vessel meeting the historic participation test had to remain designated on the qualifying 1994 license when the fisher sought the 1995 limited-entry license; a…
What could Washington freeholders put in a city-county charter, and could they campaign for it with public resources?
The AG said elected city-county freeholders could not switch to a county-only charter. A city-county charter could define retained cities' powers, all county voters could vote on it, and public…
Could a Washington deer or elk damage claim exceed the cap by going to the Legislature?
The AG concluded that it could not under the 1994 statutes. The $2,000 per-claim cap applied both to Fish and Wildlife settlements and to claims later sent through the Risk Management Office for…
Could Washington Labor and Industries forbid recording a workers' compensation medical exam?
Yes. The AG concluded that the department's authority over claim examinations covered a handbook instruction barring recording by workers or accompanying people, and that the instruction did not…
Did a divorce-decree modification filed in another Washington county carry a new-case filing fee?
No. Under the 1994 statutes, the specific modification fee applied in either county and was shared with the state. A separately enacted fee for extending a judgment was not subject to that…
Did Washington public university faculty have a legal right to collective bargaining in 1994?
No. The AG found no legal right to require bargaining. A four-year university board could voluntarily negotiate with representatives of faculty who chose them, but could not impose those terms on…
How did Washington counties divide superior court filing fees between the state and law libraries?
Under the 1994 statutes, counties first sent 46% of specified filing-fee receipts to the state. From the remaining county share, they calculated a $12 law-library contribution for each new civil or…
Did a Washington public-works bidder have to use the subcontractors named in its bid?
Generally yes. The AG read the listing law to require the major subcontractors the bidder actually intended to use. After award, the contract controlled substitutions; the statute itself supplied no…
Could a Washington legislator send a publicly funded reply when a constituent had not explicitly asked for one?
Yes, when the constituent's communication implied a request for a relevant response. The AG also concluded that House or Senate rules could not override the statutory limits on mailings at public expense.
When a Washington city annexed most of a fire district, did it take over the district's firefighter pensions?
No, under the partial-annexation situation the AG examined. Although general assets and a proportionate share of ordinary liabilities transferred, the dedicated firefighter pension fund and related…
Did a Washington school district's retiree health subsidy count toward its current employees' compensation limit?
No. In 1994, the AG concluded that the retiree subsidy did not count as current-employee compensation for the statutory limit. Districts had discretion over its funding source, making that choice a…
Could a Washington county force federal or state agencies to follow county procedures for land use and environmental decisions?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that a county generally could not impose its own land-use or environmental procedures on federal or state agencies. Federal law or state law could expressly or…
When someone had two Washington health insurance policies, did the second insurer have to pay its full policy amount?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that the amended statute allowed a secondary insurer to credit amounts paid by the primary insurer, whether the secondary policy was individual or group…
Could Washington’s elected-official salary commission cut an official’s pay during the current term?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that the commission could not reduce an elected official’s salary during that official’s current term. If it missed a deadline for a new schedule, the last…
Could Washington’s budget office set travel reimbursement rules for state judges, and could those rules differ from other agencies’ rules?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that the Office of Financial Management could set travel rules for the state judicial branch and could vary expense allowances when justified. The mileage rate…
Could a Washington school district issue bonds without a voter vote to buy or replace school buses?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that bonds issued under RCW 28A.530.080 without a vote could pay for new or replacement buses when the proceeds went to the transportation vehicle fund. Bonds…
Could the Washington State Auditor require legislators to keep complete telephone records for an audit, and could the public see them?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that the Auditor could require complete legislative telephone records for an audit. Records held by the Auditor were protected during the audit but generally…
Could a Washington district court bring in a temporary judge just to handle an overloaded docket?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that excess workload alone did not authorize a district judge pro tempore while the regular judge remained available. The opinion also distinguished the…
Could a Washington public port district provide marine pilotage service to vessels arriving at its port?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that a port district lacked authority to provide pilotage service. Its statutory powers covered port facilities and related handling services, but did not…
Could Washington’s marine safety office buy a rescue tug and charge passing vessels to pay for it?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that the office could acquire and operate a tugboat for its oil-spill emergency response system, but could not impose a vessel fee to fund it. The Legislature…
Did Washington’s school firearm restriction cover a stadium only while a school had exclusive use of it?
The Attorney General concluded in 1994 that the cited firearm restriction covered an area while a public or private school had sole possession, control, or use of it. A brief exclusive use could…
Could a Washington health officer detain, test, or treat someone suspected of having tuberculosis?
The AG concluded that the statutes authorized detention, testing, isolation, and necessary treatment in the circumstances described, including a patient who stopped treatment and might again become…
Could a Washington public university require an apprenticeship program before a contractor could bid on a public works project?
No. The AG found no statute authorizing that prebid condition. It distinguished excluding a contractor before bidding from evaluating the lowest bidder’s responsibility after bids were received.
Could a Washington public university share staff and resources with its fundraising foundation, and who owned the donations?
The AG said a university could exchange services for consideration from a private fundraising nonprofit. Ownership of each gift followed the donor’s intent; gifts made to the university could not…
Could Washington Ecology ban outdoor burning of materials that the statute did not list?
Yes, if the unlisted material normally emitted dense smoke or obnoxious odors; the AG also recognized authority over toxic emissions. Ecology could not turn the statutory odor test into a ban on…
If Washington voters passed Initiatives 601 and 602 together, which tax and spending rules would control?
Before the vote, the AG concluded that some provisions would conflict if both measures passed, including their limits and reserve-fund rules. It could not say which initiative a court would prefer:…
Could Washington's Health Care Facilities Authority buy a hospital facility and lease it to a public hospital district?
Yes, if the lease or purchase terms fully reimbursed the Authority's costs. The AG allowed project-specific participant fees and other identified nonstate funds for acquisition, but said…
Could a Washington irrigation district recover attorney fees when foreclosing an unpaid assessment?
Yes, the AG concluded. The delinquent-assessment lien included reasonable attorney fees, and the district could seek them through the foreclosure process. The opinion rescinded an earlier AG answer…
Did Washington's executive conflict-of-interest law cover legislators serving on the State Investment Board?
Yes, when they acted as board members. The AG said elected officials were outside that act in their ordinary elected roles but within it when serving on the State Investment Board, because the…
Could a Washington official use leftover campaign money to pay for unreimbursed office expenses?
No. The AG said Initiative 134 removed that use of campaign funds, including surplus funds. An official could seek separate contributions specifically for office expenses, which the opinion said…
Could a Washington county charge an extra booking fee for a person serving jail time on weekends?
The AG said a county could not add that fee to a sentence for a state crime. For a county-ordinance offense, a court could impose it under a county ordinance, subject to limits including the…
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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.