Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 1971 NO. 9 >

The notice requirements of RCW 58.17.080 relating to the filing of a preliminary plat of a proposed subdivision adjacent to or within one mile of the municipal boundaries of a city or town do apply to a proposed subdivision which is located totally within a certain city but is also located within one mile of the municipal boundaries of some one or more other cities or towns.

AGO 1986 NO. 9 >

A police civil service commission does not have statutory authority under chapter 41.12 RCW to investigate allegations of misconduct in the performance of police duties made by a citizen against an individual police officer. 

AGO 1988 NO. 9 >

1.  !ih*If a city or town police officer arrests a person for a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor violation of state law within the city or town limits and delivers that person to county authorities for prosecution, the county has no authority to charge the city or town for booking, jailing, or prosecution of the person, unless the city or town has agreed by contract to assume some of those costs.2.  The Court Improvement Act of 1984 (Laws of 1984, Chapter 258) does not require cities and towns to agree to reimburse counties for costs of booking, jailing, or prosecution where the city or town chooses to charge persons for violations of state law, even where the city or town could have chosen to prosecute for parallel violations of city or town ordinance.3.  Where a city or town has repealed a portion of its municipal code, defining a crime or crimes equivalent to offenses listed in RCW 46.63.020, but has not reached agreement with the county for apportionment of costs associated with those offenses, the county may not unilaterally assess costs against the city or town.  The county may bring court action to force the city or town to meet its obligations under the Court Improvement Act of 1984 (Laws of 1984, Chapter 258), and may be entitled in appropriate cases to recoup portions of costs incurred since the effective date of the Act.

AGO 1991 NO. 9 >

Chapter 90.70 RCW authorizes the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority to make recommendations regarding the protection of wetlands.  However, chapter 90.70 RCW does not empower the Authority to set minimum standards for wetlands protection or to require local governments to adopt the Authority's recommendations.

AGO 1982 NO. 9 >

(1) Under the provisions of § 6, chapter 8, Laws of 1982, 1st Ex. Sess., the Administrator for the Courts is required, in 1983, to compile a report covering crime victims' compensation penalty assessments paid, or due, during calendar year 1982.(2) A crime victims' compensation penalty assessment is to be paid pursuant to RCW 7.68.035(3), as amended by chapter 8, Laws of 1982, 1st Ex. Sess., upon forfeiture of bail where the offense with which the defendant was charged is either (a) a crime defined by state law which is punishable, thereunder, as a felony or a gross misdemeanor, or (b) a crime defined by a city ordinance which is punishable thereunder as a gross misdemeanor and which, in addition, covers conduct which is the same, or substantially the same, as conduct which is defined to be criminal by state law.(3) A crime victims' compensation penalty assessment is to be imposed under RCW 7.68.035(1), as amended, when an accused individual is found guilty of having committed any crime defined by either a state statute or a county or city ordinance, including ordinary misdemeanors, with the exception of those motor vehicle crimes expressly referred to in subsection (2) of the statute, whether defined by state statute or by a substantially similar municipal ordinance.(4) The penalty assessment provided for by RCW 7.68.035(1), as amended, is applicable in the case of a conviction, on or after March 27, 1982, of a crime committed prior to the date.(5) If a person is found guilty of a number of separate counts contained in the same criminal information, each of which represents a separate and distinct crime, a penalty assessment is to be imposed under RCW 7.68.035(1), as amended, on the basis of each such count.(6) A crime victims' compensation penalty assessment is not to be imposed, under RCW 7.68.035, as amended, on an alleged juvenile offender who has undergone diversion proceedings pursuant to chapter 13.40 RCW.

AGO 2000 NO. 9 >

1.  A municipality lacks authority to expend lodging tax revenues for the support of a tourism-related facility in which the municipality has no ownership interest.  2.  A municipality may expend lodging tax revenues for the support of a tourism-related facility in which the municipality has a joint interest; the degree of support must be proportional to the extent of the municipality’s ownership interest in the facility.

AGO 1955 NO. 10 >

A statute enacted by the state legislature providing that the city council may determine by ordinance whether certain city officials shall be elective or appointive would not constitute an invalid delegation of legislative power under Amendment VII of the Washington Constitution.

AGO 1995 NO. 10 >

1.  The term "tourist expansion" as used in RCW 67.28.210 refers to activities designed to increase tourism and tourist activity in a given geographical area.   2.  RCW 67.28.210 does not generally permit counties or cities to use tax revenues generated thereunder for the production or resale of shirts containing the logo of an annual community event; however, the proviso added to the statute by Laws of 1995, Ch. 290, section 1 does permit the proceeds to be used for advertising and promotional materials, which might include promotional shirts, where the conditions set forth in the proviso are met.   3.  RCW 67.28.210 governs the expenditure of revenues authorized by its language; RCW 35.21.700 is a more general statute covering expenditure by cities of other available revenues.

AGO 2003 NO. 10 >

Under RCW 82.02.020, a city may lawfully (1) require an owner seeking a building permit to install sidewalks assuming the city can meet the standards set forth in the statute for imposing such a condition; and (2) offer owners the option of deferring the installation of sidewalks for a reasonable time; and (3) at the end of the deferral period, offer owners several options, including the option of paying the city a specified portion of the cost of installing sidewalks, the money to be used for right-of-way improvements in the city.

AGO 1989 NO. 10 >

1.The 1985 amendments to chapter 2.42 RCW, codified as RCW 2.42.110 through .180 [2.42.180], relate only to interpreter services for the hearing impaired.2.The pre‑1985 portions of chapter 2.42 RCW, codified as RCW 2.42.010 through 2.42.050, apply only to interpreter services for persons with speech defects or non-English speaking cultural backgrounds, except that RCW 2.42.050 applies also to interpreter services for the hearing impaired.3.With respect to criminal proceedings, the government whose officer is responsible for initiating the proceeding, usually the county, is responsible for the cost of providing the interpreter as defined in RCW 2.42.040.