State AG Opinions
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Can a Washington city use its improvement guaranty fund for a district outside city limits, or create a separate water-revenue guaranty?
The AG said the statutory local improvement guaranty fund covered obligations of districts partly or entirely outside a third-class city. The city could not create a separate water-revenue fund to…
Must a Washington county auditor file every map the federal Interior Secretary submits for an irrigation project?
No. The AG read the 1963 amendment to require acceptance of plats showing established farm units, even though federal acreage limits had been repealed, but found no duty under that section to accept…
Could a Washington county pay overtime to a salaried employee for fee-producing work in 1964?
Yes, if the county had authorized and budgeted the extra pay before the work was done. The AG said the fact that the work generated fees did not determine whether overtime compensation was allowed.
Did a Washington cash buyer of livestock need the dealer surety bond before getting licensed in 1964?
Yes. The AG concluded that a livestock cash buyer had to license as a dealer or commission merchant and post the $7,500 bond required at the time, despite the separate cash-buyer definition.
Could Washington school districts put public utility privilege tax payments in a building fund, and did those payments count for operating aid?
The AG said districts could deposit the payments in their general fund, building fund, or both. The payments counted as receipts in the operating equalization formula only to the extent deposited in…
Could a part-time Washington justice of the peace have a temporary replacement, and how was that substitute paid in 1964?
Yes. The AG said a justice court with a part-time justice could designate a pro tempore justice. The substitute’s pay per session day was calculated from the statutory full-time justice salary,…
Did Washington’s 75-acre condemnation limit prevent a school district from buying more land for one community college in 1964?
No. The AG said the limit applied to land taken by condemnation, not land acquired by purchase or another method. A single college could not double the condemnation allowance by having both academic…
Could Washington lease the ocean bed beyond outer harbor lines for oil and gas exploration?
The Attorney General concluded that the state constitution's harbor-line restriction did not bar leasing submerged land beyond the lines for oil and gas exploration. He read the constitutional ban…
Could a Washington water district pay health-plan premiums for employees, dependents, and commissioners?
The Attorney General concluded that a water district could provide group medical coverage for employees and their dependents and pay all or part of its cost. It could not pay premiums for district…
Did Washington's real estate excise tax apply when a parent corporation transferred land to its wholly owned subsidiary for no new stock?
The Attorney General concluded that the transfer was not subject to the one-percent real estate excise tax. Although title moved between separate corporations, the parent received no stock or other…
Could Washington sell property at a federally granted emergency airfield and reserve the proceeds for airfield improvements?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Aeronautics Commission could sell surplus property under state disposal law and establish a special account for proceeds when the federal grant required their use on…
Which 1963 Washington fee schedule applied to shop inspections and used-boiler inspections?
The AG concluded that the new 1963 schedule applied to shop inspections, while the older schedule in RCW 70.79.340 continued to govern inspections of secondhand and used boilers.
Could a Washington high-school student be excused from physical education on a parent’s written request?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 1963 governor’s veto preserved the rule requiring a high school to excuse a student on a parent’s or guardian’s written request, without limiting the grounds for that…
Could a Washington county redefine a real-estate sale to exempt transfers into a corporation partly owned by the transferor?
No. The AG said county commissioners had no delegated power to change the statutory meaning of “sale” or create an exemption for transfers to corporations in which the owner held a specified share…
Could Washington county commissioners rent road equipment to local civil defense organizations?
Yes. The AG said counties could rent road equipment owned by their equipment rental and revolving funds to political subdivisions’ civil defense organizations for civil defense purposes.
Could territory withdraw from the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle under Washington law in 1963?
No. The AG said the metropolitan-municipality statute had no withdrawal or detachment procedure, and changing municipal territory required statutory authority. It therefore did not reach what…
Could Washington’s commerce department prepare a state comprehensive plan and use federal planning funds?
Yes. The AG said 1963 legislation assigned the department state comprehensive planning, including planning under the federal Housing Act, and authorized it to receive and expend federal or other…
Could Washington cities require civil-service police and firefighters to live in the city or retire at a set age?
The AG said cities could not make continued city residence a condition of retaining civil-service police or fire jobs. A city could set a reasonable, nondiscriminatory retirement age for employees…
Did a jointly operated Washington municipal airport board have to seek public bids for work and equipment?
The AG said no state bid law then applied to the joint airport board’s public-work and equipment contracts. The board could negotiate, subject to the governing bodies’ approval where the airport…
Could a Washington city limit fireworks permits to charitable and public-service groups?
No. The AG said state law allowed any adult or group to apply, so a city could not categorically confine permits to those groups. The governing body had to consider each application and decide…
Should a proposed Washington constitutional amendment go on the ballot when its required companion bill failed?
No. The AG said House Joint Resolution No. 4 was expressly conditioned on passage of House Bill No. 56. When that bill failed, the resolution became null and void and the secretary of state should…
Could Washington fisheries rules allow nonmembers to fish a Yakima River stretch bordering the reservation?
The AG said no. It read the 1855 treaty as reserving exclusive fishing rights to the treaty tribes in streams bordering the reservation, including the described Yakima River stretch; a conflicting…
When was alfalfa seed exempt from Washington personal property tax after harvest?
The AG said shipment out of state did not exempt seed already sold to a processor, because alfalfa seed was outside the grain and vegetable exemptions. Seed still owned by its farmer-producer on the…
Could a nonhigh Washington school district’s share of high-school construction exceed its bond capacity?
Yes. The AG said an equitable participation plan could require more than the district could raise by bonds alone; the remainder had to be sought through an excess tax levy submitted to district voters.
Did Washington’s new 30-day marriage-license expiration rule void licenses issued before it took effect?
No. The AG said the 1963 expiration rule applied only to licenses issued after the act’s June 13 effective date; licenses issued earlier were unaffected.
Could Washington’s state auditor allow municipalities to use a cash overage and shortage account?
Yes, if the auditor found the proposed “long and short” account met statutory accuracy and true-account requirements. The AG found no legal bar but left the factual accounting assessment to the auditor.
Could county school superintendents elected in 1962 receive a 1963 legislative salary increase before taking office?
No. The AG said Washington’s constitution barred increasing a county officer’s salary after election, even though the increase took effect before the elected superintendents’ terms began.
Could Washington State Parks accept donated park land inside a city and pay to maintain it?
Yes. The AG said the commission’s donation and management authority was not limited by city boundaries, and state park funds could maintain and operate land donated for state park purposes.
Could privately owned parking areas count as public highways under Washington motor-vehicle laws?
The AG said public use, rather than ownership alone, controlled the motor-vehicle-code definition: a place open to general public vehicle travel could qualify. It noted separately that accident…
Could a governor-appointed trustee sign one group health-insurance contract for all Washington state agencies?
No. The AG said the 1963 statute placed the discretionary contracting authority with each agency’s principal supervising official or governing body, which could not redelegate that responsibility to…
Did Washington’s oil and gas conservation law govern continental-shelf lands off the state coast?
The AG said the law applied between Washington’s coastline and its three-mile western boundary, where the state oil and gas committee administered it. Federally owned outer-shelf lands beyond that…
Was a store prize-card promotion a lottery if customers could earn free punches without buying anything?
Yes, on the described facts. The AG said prize and chance were present, and consideration was present because paying purchasers and nonpaying visitors participated in one inseparable promotion. A…
Did Lincoln County have to keep its civil defense and health offices at the county seat?
No. The AG said neither office had a specific county-seat location requirement, and the general statute requiring furnished courthouse space for county officers did not force those offices to be in…
Who paid detention costs after a Washington state-hospital commitment order but before the ambulance arrived?
The AG said the county was not responsible for that interval. After entry of an immediate hospitalization order, detention was incidental to transportation and its cost followed the statute’s…
Did a Washington county treasurer have to report unpaid property taxes to a mortgagee, and could the treasurer charge?
The AG said the treasurer had to search the tax rolls and report unpaid real-property taxes to a requesting mortgagee without a fee. A negligent search could create liability; a signature was not…
Was real estate excise tax due when a Washington general partnership distributed land to partners on dissolution?
Generally no when the distribution simply fulfilled partners’ statutory rights. The AG said tax could arise if an agreement gave a partner more than an existing right or a partner paid more than…
Did a Washington county education board member lose office by moving to another member district?
Yes. The AG said a member who voluntarily moved out of the district from which elected no longer met the continuing residency qualification and immediately created a vacancy on the county board of…
Could Washington waive or reduce ferry fares for students riding school buses on educational trips?
The AG said the Toll Bridge Authority could not give those students free passage under the governing bond resolution. It could consider a reasonable fare classification and reduction with its…
Could Washington justice courts charge jury, witness, and sheriff fees under the 1961 Act?
Yes, in the manner allowed by the cited fee and cost statutes. The AG said those fees were outside the special definition of court costs in the fine-suspension section and could not be suspended…
Was the 1961 Washington justice court filing cost charged once per complaint or once per criminal count?
The AG said the $4 filing cost applied once per criminal action, regardless of the number of counts. In cases where the cost was part of a convicted defendant’s fine or penalty, it was not an extra…
Would Washington’s proposed 1963 Sunday retail sales restrictions violate constitutional protections?
The AG concluded that Senate Bill 175, if enacted, would withstand the religion, due process, and equal protection objections it examined. The opinion assessed a proposed bill, not an enacted…
Could Washington permanent state funds invest in federally guaranteed FHA debentures?
Yes. The AG said FHA debentures unconditionally guaranteed by the United States for principal and interest qualified as national general-obligation bonds for investment under the statute then…
Did Washington school districts have to pay school directors’ association dues, including past-due amounts?
Yes. The AG said districts had to pay dues under an established schedule, and a county auditor had to transfer district funds upon the association executive committee’s written request for unpaid…
Could a Washington third-class city change the pay of its appointed clerk or attorney while they held office?
Yes. The AG concluded that a third-class city could increase or decrease compensation for its appointed clerk and attorney while they served at the mayor's pleasure, despite wording in the compiled…
How were courtroom space, equipment, and capital costs treated when Washington counties allocated justice-court expenses?
The AG said the excluded 'courtroom or other space' cost meant bare space, whether county-owned or rented, not furniture and other facilities. It allowed capital items to be depreciated and…
Could a Washington city petition itself to annex nearby land that the city owned?
No. The AG said a city could not submit a property-owner annexation petition to itself for its own contiguous land under the statute it considered, even though tax-exempt municipal owners could…
Did a Colville tribal member's store on deeded reservation land owe Washington sales and business taxes in 1963?
The AG's 1963 answer depended on the land's status: it said sales, business-and-occupation, and compensating taxes applied if the deeded store land was unrestricted or sold to non-Indians, but not…
Could Washington pledge its permanent common-school fund or its income to repay school construction bonds?
No. The AG said the fund's principal had to remain permanent and its income was restricted to current school use, so neither could serve as the repayment base for the proposed construction bonds.
Could Washington's insurance commissioner require undefined physician language in disability policies to include foot specialists?
Yes. The AG said the commissioner could notify insurers that an undefined 'physicians and surgeons' requirement had to include treatment by licensed chiropodists within their authorized foot-care…
Could Washington require fruit shipped from other states to meet its grades when federal grades were available?
The AG said Washington could impose its grades on incoming fruit if the shipment was not using federal grades. A state grade that directly conflicted with applicable federal grades chosen for…
Did Washington's older garnishment and law-library fees apply in justice courts reorganized under the 1961 act?
No. The AG said neither the older two-dollar garnishment answer fee nor the one-dollar-fifty law-library fee applied to justice courts organized under the 1961 Justice Court Act.
Could a Washington third-class city buy an employee pension plan from a private life insurer?
No. The AG said the city had authority to offer the identified public retirement systems and buy group insurance, but those powers did not authorize a private insurer's pension program.
Could a Washington cooperative become a business corporation by amending its articles or merging into its corporate parent?
No to both. The AG said changing the cooperative's articles into a general corporation would fundamentally change its character, and the general corporation merger statute did not cover cooperatives…
How were two vacant commissioner seats in a Washington second-class utility district filled under the 1962 law?
The AG said both vacancies had to be filled by a special election within forty days. The winners served the unexpired terms, and the county auditor could set a reasonable petition-filing deadline…
Did the 1961 governor salary increase bar Washington legislators from the 1964 governor's race?
The AG said senators elected in 1960 for terms ending in January 1965 were ineligible to run for governor in 1964 because the office's salary rose during their terms. The 1961 House members and…
Were Washington masseurs exempt from physical-therapy licensing rules when giving therapeutic massage?
No blanket exemption existed. The AG said an unlicensed masseur could not perform treatment falling within a licensed healing art merely by calling it massage, though routine massage without a…
Did teaching in another state's public schools interrupt a retired Washington teacher's pension?
Yes, as to the pension portion. The AG said a retired Washington teacher's public-school teaching in another state suspended pension payments beyond the then-allowed forty-five service days per…
Could a lawyers' stipulation about a deadly weapon replace the court or jury finding needed for a mandatory prison term?
No. The AG said a stipulation by defense and prosecution counsel was not the judge's finding or jury's special verdict required by the then-current deadly-weapon procedure, so the parole board could…
Who had to update Washington's county road-cost figures for 1962 fuel-tax distributions?
The AG said the highway commission and legislative joint fact-finding committee had to review all cost factors together every four years, not only road mileage. Their adjusted figures governed the…
Did county commissioners have to hold a hearing before an annexation election requested by a city resolution?
No. Under the 1961 procedure the AG reviewed, once a review board approved a city-initiated annexation resolution, county commissioners had to set the election without a separate public hearing.
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