Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 1981 NO. 1 >

(1) The immunity from civil liability which is granted by RCW 46.61.508 to hospitals and their personnel administering blood tests in accordance with RCW 46.20.308 (implied consent) is not dependent upon the ultimate lawfulness of the accused person's arrest or a later court determination that the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the accused had been driving or was in actual physical control of the motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor.(2) The question of possible civil liability by the arresting agency under such circumstances is not dependent upon RCW 46.61.508, and the possibility of liability on the basis of a hospital's negligence in administering the blood test would be dependent upon ordinary principles of tort law as between the plaintiff driver and the defendant county or other arresting agency.

AGLO 1981 NO. 2 >

(1) A tavern operator holding appropriate state liquor licenses who is, himself, over twenty-one years of age may not be denied the continuation or reissuance of those licenses by the State Liquor Control Board solely on the ground that he is married to a female who is under twenty-one. (2) Under those circumstances, however, the wife‑-if employed as the tavern bookkeeper‑-would be unable to legally enter the tavern premises in the course of her employment.

AGLO 1982 NO. 11 >

The Washington State Liquor Board may sell, through state liquor stores and agencies, unopened liquor which has been lawfully confiscated by the Board or by other governmental agencies.

AGLO 1975 NO. 11 >

Sales of intoxicating liquor on Indian reservation lands covered by 18 U.S.C. §§ 1154 and 1161 must be in accordance with both the provisions of state law and any tribal ordinances governing the subject.

AGO 1970 NO. 13 >

Under the provisions of chapter 94, Laws of 1973, counties and cities of this state are authorized to impose a local sales tax upon those sales of liquor (as defined in RCW 66.04.010 (16)) which are also subject to the 4.5% state sales tax imposed by chapter 82.08 RCW, notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 66.08.120.

AGO 1979 NO. 16 >

1. The phrase "cost of providing courtroom or other space" as used in RCW 3.62.050 does not include the cost of providing all of the items enumerated in RCW 3.58.050. 2. Same :  RCW 3.62.050 does not expressly or by necessary implication distinguish between the cost of space provided in county facilities and space provided by contract elsewhere. 3. In computing the cost of providing justice court facilities other than space, for the purpose of apportioning such cost among governmental units, a county may depreciate items which are classified as capital outlay and amortize its costs, (in accordance with a schedule prescribed by the state auditor (RCW 43.09.200)) so as to be reimbursed over a period of time.

AGO 1980 NO. 17 >

While a city or a town which adopts an ordinance defining and establishing as a municipal offense the crime driving while intoxicated must do so in terms identical to the statutory provisions of RCW 46.61.502, it is not also required to fix the same penalties for a violation as are fixed by the provisions of RCW 46.61.515.

AGLO 1979 NO. 19 >

Consideration of the applicability of RCW 66.28.010 to a certain factual situation involving a married couple of which the wife is the owner of a small grocery store in connection with which she holds retail beer and wine licenses while the husband, in turn, is a salaried truck driver for a beer distributor which holds various wholesale liquor licenses.

AGLO 1981 NO. 23 >

In view of the subsequent enactment of RCW 66.08.120, a part of the 1933 State Liquor Code, a county may not lawfully grant a "retail license" to an establishment selling liquor pursuant to the territorial statute codified as RCW 67.14.040.

AGLO 1980 NO. 24 >

Such samples of liquor as are furnished to the State Liquor Control Board under RCW 66.28.040 are the property of the state of Washington.