State AG Opinions
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Which financial interests did Washington public officials have to disclose under the 1965 ethics law?
The AG read the 1965 law to cover direct interests above its stated value threshold in enterprises regulated by a qualifying state agency. Covered interests included deposits, stock, and bonds; a…
Did a county treasurer charge an investment fee on school district refunding bond proceeds in 1966?
Yes. When the proceeds were placed with the county or municipal treasurer for investment before bond redemption, the AG said the general investment service fee applied because the refunding bond law…
Did Washington county commissioners have to approve a visiting judge's expense claim?
No. The AG said a visiting judge's sworn expense statement followed a special statutory payment route through the county clerk and auditor, without county commissioner audit or approval.
Could a Washington candidate hold office after a deferred felony sentence and dismissal of the charge?
Yes, if otherwise qualified. The AG said a court dismissal under RCW 9.95.240 after successful probation released the person from the conviction's penalties and disabilities, including the loss of…
South Dakota's 1963 law paid a state quarters allowance to National Guard enlisted members with dependents during the 'annual active duty training period' if they weren't getting the federal allowance. Could a guardsman get multiple payments in a year? Did the payment cover service schools, basic training, or advance/rear detachment service? Or only summer camp?
Only one quarters payment per annual training period, and only for the formal annual training (commonly called Summer Camp, Summer Field Training, or ANACDUTRA). Service schools, basic training, and…
What did “true and fair value” mean for Washington property-tax assessments in 1965?
The AG defined it as market value: the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, neither compelled to act. An assessor had to consider all reasonable factors that could affect that…
How was Washington’s real estate excise tax measured when one joint contract buyer sold an interest to the other buyers?
The AG said the taxable selling price included the amount paid for the departing buyer’s equity plus that buyer’s proportional unpaid contract balance. It did not matter that the original seller had…
Could Washington’s conservation director fund a port district’s flood-control project under the 1965 state participation law?
No. The AG said the governing statute listed the local entities eligible for state participation and did not include port districts.
Could a Washington drainage district and neighboring town contract for upkeep of ditches carrying town runoff?
The AG said the district could contract for the town to contribute to ditch maintenance. The town’s own authority depended on the specific services and contract terms providing a benefit within its…
Could Washington county road funds pay for a building on courthouse grounds for road equipment and the county engineer?
Yes. The AG treated both equipment housing and the engineer’s office as proper county-road purposes, assuming suitable arrangements with the county’s current-expense fund for the ground space.
Could a Washington school board reduce or cancel a voter-approved excess levy if its stated purposes could not be achieved?
Yes. The AG said the board could reduce or rescind the levy when its purposes were unattainable, or only part of them could be achieved, by adopting a resolution and presenting it to county commissioners.
How did Washington counties have to divide federal forest payments between schools and roads under the 1965 law?
The AG said at least half had to benefit public schools and the rest went to county roads. Commissioners had discretion over school-purpose allocation, but road snow removal and bridge repair could…
Did a sole escrow agent or partnership with no employees or officers need a commercial blanket bond under Washington’s 1965 law?
No. The AG said that bond protected an applicant against misconduct by employees or officers, so the requirement did not apply to an individual or partnership with none. The applicant still had to…
Did the 1965 Washington escrow-registration exemption for title insurance companies also cover ordinary title companies?
No. The AG said the statute named title insurance companies, while title companies were a separate class and were not included in that registration exemption.
Did a Washington escrow agent’s local representative need separate registration under the 1965 escrow law?
No, if the representative acted for a registered or exempt escrow agent under that agent’s continuing supervision, with the agent financially responsible and paying the representative. The AG…
Did Washington’s AG approve Seattle’s 1965 voluntary student transfers to reduce racial imbalance and transportation reimbursement?
The AG considered Seattle’s described transfer plan constitutionally defensible. It said transportation for transferring students could qualify for state reimbursement even without districtwide…
Could Washington let a private insurance broker decide and place all state insurance and official-bond purchases in 1965?
No. The AG said the purchasing decisions required discretion assigned by law to the director of general administration, and that discretion could not be handed wholesale to a private agent, broker,…
Could a Washington school board member work as a consultant for a migrant day-care program administered by the member’s district?
Yes on the facts the AG considered: an independent community advisory committee controlled hiring, removal, and pay, while the contract liability stayed within the cited statutory exception. The…
Could a Washington township use a January 1965 levy vote to satisfy an election requirement enacted that May?
No. The AG said the township’s earlier vote could not satisfy the new statute’s election requirement because the statute had not yet taken effect when the vote occurred.
Did Washington have to keep its OASI contribution money physically separate, and could the governor delegate investment of its surplus?
The AG said the fund’s money had to be separated physically as well as in the books. The governor could authorize the state finance committee to invest surplus OASI contributions under the cited…
Could Washington transfer eligible university permanent-fund assets for university bonds and construction despite commingled land proceeds?
The AG said eligible proceeds received before the 1965 act’s effective date could be transferred under its limits. Commingling did not bar transfer if eligible and restricted sources could be…
Which insurers could Washington use for state employees’ nonscheduled-flight death coverage under its 1965 law?
The AG said the state could buy the authorized accidental-death coverage from insurers licensed for that type of policy. Although those insurers could issue accidental death and dismemberment…
Could a Washington diking district improve a stream or build flood-control works outside its boundaries in 1965?
Yes, for the works considered. The AG said the district could improve an overflowing stream channel and build an upstream floodwater-retarding structure outside its borders, and operate a pump that…
Did Washington’s real estate excise tax apply when a borrower deeded property to the lender in lieu of foreclosure and immediately bought it back?
The AG said the borrower’s deed to the lender was exempt, but the lender’s contract resale to the former borrower was taxable. Treating both steps as one overall foreclosure-avoidance agreement did…
Could Washington’s Department of Institutions administer the federal mental-health and disability-facility construction programs in 1965?
Yes. The AG said Washington’s 1965 law authorized participation, and the governor’s designation empowered the department to administer the state plan. The governor could also direct the advisory…
When Washington set a 1965 property-tax levy limit, could a district count taxes it could have levied in 1964 but did not?
No. The AG read the preceding-year revenue factor as the amount the district actually levied in 1964, even if it used less than its available millage. The full limit also included the other factors…
Did a Washington lawyer-legislator have to name private clients in the first 1965 ethics income report?
The AG said the legislator had to report a qualifying law firm but not ordinary individual clients under the income provision, because the lawyer was not their employee. The initial report covered…
Were all county justice-court fines deducted before allocating court operating costs in 1965?
No. The AG said all justice-court fees credited to the county current expense fund reduced expenses first. The county’s share of fines and forfeitures then contributed only proportionately, on the…
Could different teacher groups each claim formal representation rights before a Washington school board in 1965?
No. The AG said the organization winning a majority election held the statutory right to meet, confer, and negotiate for all certificated employees, and its membership had to be open to all eligible…
Could Washington hospital and fire districts use public funds for ambulance service in 1965?
Yes for hospital and fire protection districts, the AG said. It treated ambulance service as part of hospital service and reaffirmed an earlier fire-district opinion, but declined to answer for…
Who had to certify an irrigation district’s payment claims under Washington’s 1965 audit law?
A designated auditing officer had to authenticate and certify claims before payment. The AG said the 1965 uniform law superseded the older claimant-verification procedure, while the district board…
Could Washington invest university and college permanent funds in the full teachers’ retirement investment list in 1965?
No, to the extent the funds came from educational grant lands. The AG said the state constitution limited those university, agricultural, normal-school, and scientific-school funds to general…
Could a Washington county finance committee choose banks or deposit amounts for the treasurer in 1965?
No. The AG said the treasurer had discretion to designate eligible depositories and decide the amounts placed in each. The finance committee could make consistent implementing rules but could not…
Could a Washington irrigation district pay annual dues to the state reclamation association in 1965?
No. The AG found no express or implied authority to make general-support payments for the association’s promotional work. It did not decide whether the payments would also be unconstitutional gifts.
How did a Washington drainage district assess maintenance after an originally assessed parcel was split in 1965?
The AG said district commissioners set each current parcel’s amount. Absent a new benefits determination or alternative funding method, they used the original court-jury benefits; a uniformly…
Could Washington state parks permit transmitters, power lines, or fire lookouts on park land in 1965?
Generally yes, the AG said, through the commission’s statutory powers and discretion. But the opinion did not approve any specific parcel; legal restrictions on that land and the proposed use still…
Could a Washington agency offer employee medical coverage only where a carrier served or only to union members in 1965?
A single plan excluding employees by geography or organization membership was impermissible. The AG said a limited plan could be one of several contracts if substantially equivalent coverage was…
Could a countywide utility district keep serving an area after a Washington city annexed it in 1965?
Yes. The AG said the district could continue electric service in the annexed territory even though the city also had authority to serve it. Because of that answer, the AG did not decide a…
Did a nonresident service member owe Washington trailer excise tax or license fees in 1965?
The AG said a qualifying house trailer was exempt from the state excise tax if not used in a trade or business. The federal relief law did not waive Washington’s trailer licensing fee when the…
Could a Washington county assessor raise every assessment by one percentage without inspecting every parcel in 1965?
Yes, within the then-applicable value ceiling. The AG said an assessor could make a uniform percentage adjustment without inspecting all property that year, even if records showed assessed values…
Could a Washington state college pay trustees $40 per meeting on top of expenses in 1965?
No. The AG said trustees could be reimbursed for authorized expenses, but the proposed extra $40 attendance payment was compensation that the legislature had not authorized.
Could a Washington parole-board chair remain chair after the appointing governor’s term ended in 1965?
The AG said the chair designation lasted only through the appointing governor’s term. The member still retained the separate fixed board term unless removed for cause under the governing statute.
Could a Washington city pay its county sheriff under a contract to provide city policing in 1965?
No. The 1965 AG found no express or implied state authority for the proposed city-county contract reimbursing the county for sheriff personnel and services, while separately noting the sheriff’s…
Were seed peas held by a seed company exempt from Washington property tax in 1965?
Under the contract described, yes for the original-producer exemption: the company owned the crop throughout and the AG treated it as the producer. Seed peas grown for planting did not qualify for…
Did Washington’s 1965 city-law changes alter Enumclaw’s municipal court judge’s status?
No. The AG said the general recodification made no substantive change, and the amended police-court statute did not govern Enumclaw because it had elected a municipal court under the 1961 Justice…
Did a Washington goods-in-transit tax exemption require a specific out-of-state customer order in 1965?
No. The AG said no firm order or fixed destination was needed when goods entered Washington or the affidavit was filed. The specific exempt goods still had to be identifiable as those later shipped…
Did earlier city improvement assessments survive foreclosure of a later irrigation district assessment in 1965?
Yes. The AG said an earlier local improvement district assessment lien of a third-class city had priority over a later irrigation and rehabilitation district assessment; foreclosure of the later…
What civil claim limit applied to a part-time Washington justice of the peace who was an attorney in 1965?
The AG said the $500 monetary-jurisdiction limit applied to a part-time justice, even if that justice was an attorney. The higher $1,000 limit required both attorney qualification and full-time service.
How did Washington’s 1965 school salary appropriation measure required raises?
The AG said each district was to reach the specified average raises for certificated and noncertificated staff if funds were available for all district functions. The percentages applied to each…
Did Washington school districts owe retirement contributions for noncertificated employees’ earlier service in 1965?
Yes. The AG said districts entering the state employees’ retirement system had to contribute for eligible employees’ service dating from April 1, 1949, but could spread the additional payments over…
Could a Washington county commission appoint one of its members as county auditor in 1965?
No. The AG said the board could not appoint a sitting member to the auditor vacancy. A prearranged resignation solely to receive that appointment did not cure the problem; the opinion left other…
Could boaters attach anchor buoys to state oyster-lease tidelands in 1965?
The 1965 AG said members of the public could not attach anchor buoys that interfered with the oyster lessee’s primary cultivation rights. The lease did not automatically eliminate public navigation rights.
Did a Washington bill referred to voters in 1966 need the governor’s approval before the election?
No. The 1965 AG said that if both houses passed the congressional-redistricting bill with its referral clause intact, it could go to the 1966 election without the governor’s approval because the…
Could a Washington school district buy multiyear insurance and pay premiums annually in 1965?
Yes. The 1965 AG said a school board could contract for fire, theft, and liability coverage over several years with annual premiums. It viewed each payment as a condition of coverage, not a binding…
Could Jefferson County help pay for a bridge entirely inside Clallam County in 1965?
No. The AG said the proposed Coon Creek bridge was entirely in Clallam County and neither the creek nor road formed the county boundary described in the joint-construction statute.
How was pay set for Washington’s adjutant general and assistant adjutants general in 1965?
The 1965 AG said each officer on active duty received the pay and allowances in the federal schedule for the officer’s rank, grade, and years of service. The governor’s authority over certain fixed…
Which district determined eligibility for a Washington legislative vacancy appointment after 1965 redistricting?
The old district. The 1965 AG said an appointee filling an unexpired term had to belong to the predecessor’s party and live within the district as it existed when that predecessor was elected or appointed.
Could a Washington port district buy ferries and lease them to the state ferry authority using revenue bonds?
Yes. The 1965 AG said a port district could buy ferries, lease them to the Washington Toll Bridge Authority, and issue bonds payable solely from the lease revenue.
Could one house pass a Washington bill in the regular session and the other in a special session?
No. The 1965 AG said a governor-convened special session was a new session. A bill needed introduction and separate passage by both houses during that same session, even if it kept its old number or…
Could a Washington sheriff add processing charges to the concealed weapon license fee in 1965?
No. The AG said the statute fixed the license fee at $1 and supplied no authority to add charges for handling, mailing, or record searches; it separately noted a different provision for noncitizen…
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