Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 2013 NO. 5 >

   

  1. A local taxing district other than a school district may use
    timber tax revenues distributed under RCW 84.33.081(2) only to pay debt
    services related to capital bonds authorized under RCW 84.52.056. 
  2. RCW 84.33.081(2) does not specify the manner in which a taxing district applies timber tax revenues to the debt service. 
  3. In the year in which a taxing district fully pays off its capital
    bonds issued pursuant to RCW 84.52.056, its use of timber tax revenue
    distributed pursuant to RCW 84.33.081(2) is not restricted to any
    particular purpose.
AGO 2012 NO. 6 >

1.  The legislative authority of a charter county has the authority to suspend the county treasurer from office under RCW 36.29.090.  RCW 36.29.090 authorizes the legislative authority to suspend a county assessor-treasurer from his or her duties as treasurer, but not from duties as assessor.    2.  For purposes of RCW 36.29.090, an action based upon “official misconduct” is a civil or criminal lawsuit alleging official misconduct and would include recall petitions, criminal prosecutions, and civil actions on required bonds posted by county treasurers to ensure the faithful performance of their duties.    3.  The legislature may, by general law, authorize the legislative authority of charter counties to suspend county treasurers or treasurer-assessors from their duties so long as the legislature’s action does not violate constitutional limitations generally applicable to legislative actions.

AGO 1996 NO. 12 >

1.  Under current Washington case law, a county auditor or similar recording officer has a ministerial duty to record a document purporting on its face to affect title to real estate located within the jurisdiction, if the document is presented for recording and the appropriate fee is tendered. 2.  “Non-statutory abatements" are not documents purporting to affect title to real property, and county officers have no duty to record such documents. 3.  A county auditor or similar officer lacks authority to decline to record a document presented for recording, and otherwise qualifying to be recorded, based on doubt that the entity purporting to record the document has been lawfully created or constituted. 4.  County auditors and recording officers have no duty to record documents purporting to establish "trusts;" such documents are not among those listed in statute as recordable. 5.  Conveyance of real estate to a "Massachusetts trust" or other "business trust"  does not affect the property tax liability for the real estate. 6.  Conveyance of real estate to a private trust, in which the grantors and their family members or other designees are among the beneficiaries of the trust, does not affect the property tax liability for the real estate. 7.  Where the owners of real estate transfer title to a trust or business organization without any change in the beneficial ownership of the property, the transfer is not a "sale" as defined in RCW 82.45.010 and is exempt from excise tax. 8.  A county auditor or similar officer is prohibited from recording real estate transfer documents until the County Treasurer has affixed a stamp reflecting either that the taxes have been paid or that none are due. 9.  A county treasurer or other officer has no authority to require that documents offered for recording be first submitted to the Prosecuting Attorney, the Department of Revenue, or the Attorney General's Office for review and comment, except that a county officer has a reasonable time to consult with the Prosecuting Attorney for advice concerning his or her duties.

AGO 1994 NO. 15 >

1.  Current law requires county treasurers to remit to the state treasurer 46 percent of all superior court filing fees covered by RCW 36.18.020 before calculating any amounts due to the county or regional law library fund.  2.  After remitting the state's share of superior court filing fees to the state treasurer, county treasurers are required by RCW 27.24.070 to deposit an amount in the county or regional law library fund equal to $12 times the number of civil or probate fees paid in connection with the filing of a new matter.

AGO 1957 NO. 40 >

The county treasurer may hold up payment of a warrant if he believes such payment will be illegal; he may not split the warrant, paying the concededly valid portion only, but must obtain from the county auditor a new warrant in the correct amount.

AGO 1961 NO. 69 >

(1) The investment service fee payable to the county treasurer under chapters 123 and 254, Laws of 1961, can be imposed only upon investments authorized by governing bodies of municipal corporations subsequent to the effective dates of the acts. (2) Chapter 123, Laws of 1961, does not amend § 1, chapter 29, Laws of 1945 (cf. RCW 28.51.120) to allow investment income from school building fund investments to be credited to any other fund than the building fund of the district, nor to permit the county treasurer, rather than the board of directors of a school district, to select the type of investment in which building funds may be invested. (3) The provisions of chapters 123 and 254, Laws of 1961, require payment of the specified investment service fee on school district building fund investments, after termination of the investment when the interest or earnings becomes available to the district. (4) Chapter 123, Laws of 1961, is by its terms applicable to school districts only.  The only effect of chapter 254, Laws of 1961, upon the investment powers and duties of water districts is the requirement that the investment service fee be charged against water district fund investments made by the county treasurer in savings and loan associations and in short term United States government securities.

AGO 1961 NO. 70 >

There is no state law which prohibits a political party in this state from endorsing a candidate in the primary election since such "endorsement" of a political party cannot exclude others from filing for the same office at the primary as a candidate of the same political party.

AGO 1961 NO. 74 >

The additional pension benefit provided under § 2, chapter 286, Laws of 1961, for supreme and superior court judges who serve more than eighteen years in the aggregate is not payable to a judge who had retired from service under RCW 2.12.010 prior to June 8, 1961.

AGLO 1973 NO. 90 >

The offices of county treasurer and district court judge are incompatible public offices.

AGO 1953 NO. 94 >

Treasurer: 1. Cannot refuse to distrain where facts require; 2. May charge realty in addition but not as alternative; 3. Is subject to penalty for non-feasance [[nonfeasance]]on statutory complaint; 4. Is personally liable in addition for loss to county through his non-feasance [[nonfeasance]]in civil action by prosecuting attorney; 5. May be compelled to perform duty by mandamus after demand and refusal, by prosecutor, citizen, or in extreme case by attorney general or governor.