AGO Opinions

AGO 2009 No. 2

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Public housing authorities are “public bodies” as defined in RCW 39.10.210(12) and are therefore subject to the provisions of RCW 39.10.

AGO 2009 No. 1

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The Public Works Board lacks the statutory authority to hire, supervise, evaluate, transfer, and fire staff assigned to it by the Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development.

AGO 2008 No. 10

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:00:00 GMT

1. The maximum occupancy cost per square foot provision of subsection (8) of the capital budget authorization for the “Wheeler Block” development applies only to the “office building” component of the proposed project. 2. In calculating the occupancy cost per square foot on the “Wheeler Block” project, the calculation may be performed on both a square foot and a per employee basis, but it is not necessary to perform both calculations on the same structures. 3. The lease rate adjustment that is to be performed based on “level of service” should take into account differences in essential systems and general services that are typically provided to office tenants. 4. The total cost of the “Wheeler Block” facilities to be financed will effectively be limited by a guaranteed maximum price development agreement. 5. With respect to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) certification referred to in the budget authorization for the “Wheeler Block” project, the Legislature assumes that OFM will properly exercise its discretion in making the certification; the law does not permit the state Treasurer to reject the certification as “inaccurate.” 6. A properly drafted financing contract that complies with RCW 39.94 and which is accompanied by (1) a properly drafted Finance Committee resolution and (2) properly drafted transaction and offering documents will not create state indebtedness; the use of 63-20 financing would not change this result. 7. Facilities that are constructed under properly authorized and structured “63-20 financings” do not constitute “public works” under RCW 39.04.

AGO 2008 No. 9

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:00:00 GMT

1. For the purposes of Laws of 2008, ch. 278, § 1(3), a person who offers to purchase a distressed home, and no more, does not thereby become a “distressed home consultant.” 2. For the purposes of Laws of 2008, ch. 278, §§ 2, 3, a real estate licensee would likely become a “distressed home consultant” if the real estate licensee contacts the distressed homeowner’s lender to arrange a “short sale” in which the homeowner’s debt to the lender will be discharged for the amount of the sale price of the home when the sale price is less than the homeowner owes on the loan. 3. For the purposes of Laws of 2008, ch. 278, §§ 2, 3, a real estate licensee becomes a “distressed home consultant” by performing licensed activities in connection with a real estate transaction when the property involved is a “distressed home,” if the licensee (1) solicits the owner; (2) offers to perform a service on the owner’s behalf; and (3) represents that the service will satisfy one or more of the conditions listed in Laws of 2008, ch. 278, § 1(3)(a).

AGO 2008 No. 8

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:00 GMT

RCW 9.41.290 preempts a city’s authority to enact local laws that prohibit possession of firearms on city property or in city-owned facilities.

AGO 2008 No. 7

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:00:00 GMT

1. The board of county commissioners is required to canvass petitions seeking to remove the county seat; the board may not delegate the discretionary elements of the canvassing process. 2. Canvassing of signatures on a petition to remove the county seat by the board of county commissioners is action that must be taken at a properly called meeting as set forth in the Open Public Meetings Act. 3. There is no statutory limit on the amount of time that may elapse between the date that a petition to remove a county seat is signed and the date when the petition is submitted to the county legislative authority. 4. Signatures on a petition to remove the county seat may be withdrawn, and serial petitions adding signatures may be submitted, prior to the statutory deadline for filing any removal petition.

AGO 2008 No. 6

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:00:00 GMT

A city, county, and university have the authority to enter into an interlocal agreement under which the city would contract to use the services of the university’s extension program with the county to provide educational programs and other services concerning the potential effects of climate change.

AGO 2008 No. 5

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:00:00 GMT

1. A county health board may lawfully order the fluoridation of a water supply system owned and operated by a public utility district and located within the county’s jurisdiction. 2. Subject to constitutional requirements, a county health board may lawfully order a public utility district to fluoridate a discrete portion of the PUD’s water supply system. 3. A county health board may enact a regulation requiring the fluoridation of water supply systems generally but, subject to constitutional requirements, a generally applicable regulation is not prerequisite to the issuance of enforcement orders on the subject. 4. A county health board may lawfully order the fluoridation of a water supply system where the order is contingent upon a third-party source of funding for the fluoridation process.

AGO 2008 No. 4

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:00:00 GMT

The licensing exemption provided in RCW 19.28.091(1) applies to any entity employed by a utility to perform the type of work described in the statute, whether the electrical work is performed by the prime contractor directly or by a subcontractor.

AGO 2008 No. 2

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:00:00 GMT

1. RCW 79.64.110(3) allows a school district to transfer surplus state forest land revenue in its debt service fund to a district capital projects fund, to the extent that such funds have not been pledged or are not otherwise necessary to satisfy the district’s bond obligations. 2. For purposes of applying RCW 79.64.110, the Department of Natural Resources and the State Treasurer may be a source of records sufficient to determine how much forest land revenue has been credited to each school district in a given period of time.

AGO 2008 No. 3

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:00:00 GMT

If a taxing district gains voter approval for a multi-year property tax levy lid lift as permitted by RCW 84.55.050 and does not specify that the levy is for a limited period of time or for a limited purpose, subsequent levy lids will be calculated using the actual amount levied by the district in the final year of the period covered by the levy lid lift, adjusted thereafter by the statutory limit factor and by any additional factors applicable under the law.

AGO 2008 No. 1

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:00:00 GMT

1. The Growth Management Act (GMA) does not apply directly to a site-specific decision such as siting a wetlands mitigation bank, although the GMA applies to the development regulations and comprehensive plans. 2. Certification of a wetlands mitigation bank by the Department of Ecology does not legally obligate a county to issue required permits for the bank. 3. The Department of Ecology’s certification of a wetlands mitigation bank does not make the Growth Management Act (GMA) or the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) inapplicable. 4. The substantive provisions of the Growth Management Act (GMA) do not apply to the Department of Ecology’s certification of a wetlands mitigation bank.

AGO 2007 No. 8

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:00:00 GMT

The sales tax deferral program established in RCW 82.60, providing sales and use tax deferrals to investments in “manufacturing” activities in rural counties, does not extend to the activities of Internet companies assisting customers in searching the Internet for data or information.

AGO 2007 No. 7

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:00:00 GMT

When a school district is dissolved and all of its territory is transferred to another district effective August 31, 2007, and when the transferred territory is made subject to excess levies approved by the receiving district before the transfer, the transferred territory is included within the receiving district’s tax base for the levy made in 2008 to be collected in 2009, but not earlier.

AGO 2007 No. 6

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:00:00 GMT

1. Where a combination of cities and fire protection districts enters into an interlocal agreement under RCW 39.34 and forms a nonprofit corporation under the authority of that act to carry out cooperative activities, the corporation would qualify as an “employer” for purposes of the LEOFF Retirement System Plans 1 and 2, to the same extent as the government entities responsible for creating the corporation. 2. Where a combination of cities and fire protection districts enters into an interlocal agreement under RCW 39.34 and forms a nonprofit corporation under the authority of that act to carry out cooperative activities, the corporation would qualify as an “employer” for purposes of the PERS Retirement System Plans 1, 2, and 3, to the same extent as the government entities responsible for creating the corporation.