Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 1998 NO. 1 >

1. When the term of employment of a community college president expires, and the college's Board of Trustees wishes to re-appoint the same president for an additional term, the Board may not increase the president's salary by any amount greater than permitted in the current budget pursuant to RCW 28B.50.140(3). 2. A community college Board of Trustees and the college president may mutually rescind an existing employment contract before it expires, and enter into a new contract with new duties and a different compensation, but increases in compensation are limited to those authorized in the current budget pursuant to RCW 28B.50.140(3). 3. Community college presidents are entitled to the deferred compensation benefits provided to other state employees; changes in these benefits are potentially subject to statutory limitations on increases in compensation.

AGO 1973 NO. 1 >

Under § 24 of Initiative No. 276, requiring periodic reports of the financial interests of candidates and elected officials (except President, Vice‑President and precinct committeemen), a candidate or elected official who is an attorney must include in his report:   (a) The names of all clients from whom he received any compensation during the reporting period for preparing, promoting, or opposing legislation, rules, rates, or standards, together with the amounts of such compensation; and  (b) The names of all of his own governmental, corporate or other business clients from whom he received compensation of $500 or more during the reporting period, together with the approximate amount of such compensation (as described in § 24 (2)) and the consideration therefor; and  (c) If a member of a law firm, the names of all of the firm's governmental, corporate or other business clients from whom the firm received $500 or more during the reporting period ‑ and the consideration therefor; and (d) The name of any "clients" by which the candidate or elected official-attorney was actually employed as a salaried employee during the reporting period.

AGO 1999 NO. 1 >

1.  A person who is elected to an unexpired term on a city council may not constitutionally receive, during the unexpired term, any changes in compensation previously enacted by the council during that term.

AGLO 1980 NO. 2 >

The failure of a newly elected county clerk to execute and furnish an official bond pursuant to RCW 36.16.050 does not cause a vacancy in the office to exist pursuant to RCW 42.12.010; instead, such omission merely bars the newly elected clerk from qualifying and, thus, continues the term of his or her predecessor who, however, may, by resigning or refusing to serve, cause a vacancy to come into existence.

AGLO 1977 NO. 2 >

Because of the definitions of certain key terms in RCW 80.50.020(17) it is not possible to determine in advance of the commencement of operation whether a certain proposed project of the Mobil Oil Company in Whatcom county will be such as to be subject to a requirement of site certification under the provisions of chapter 80.50 RCW (the state siting law).

AGO 1965 NO. 2 >

If the legislature at its present session were to enact a law increasing the salaries of legislators effective for the terms commencing in January, 1967, the passage of such a law would not render the members of the legislature ineligible to seek re‑election [[reelection]].

AGO 1961 NO. 2 >

A statute providing that the state superintendent of public instruction shall be subordinate to the state board of education and be subject to its direction in matters pertaining to the public schools would be unconstitutional.

AGO 1968 NO. 2 >

(1) The judge with whom an application for an occupational driver's license is filed, rather than the director of the department of motor vehicles, has the initial responsibility to determine the eligibility of an applicant to be issued an occupational driver's license. (2) The director of the department of motor vehicles may review a court order for the issuance of an occupational driver's license in light of the department's own records to see if there has been compliance with both the procedural and substantive requirements of RCW 46.20.380 and 46.20.390. (3) Proof of the financial responsibility of an applicant for an occupational driver's license must be filed before a judge can issue an order for the issuance of an occupational driver's license. (4) A person who has been convicted for the first time of a particular offense relating to motor vehicles which requires the mandatory suspension or revocation of his driver's license, other than negligent homicide or manslaughter, is eligible for issuance of an occupational driver's license even though he has previously been convicted of other offenses relating to motor vehicles, also requiring the mandatory suspension or revocation of a driver's license, so long as at least one year has elapsed since his last previous conviction of such an offense; conversely, if the immediate conviction does not constitute the applicant's first conviction of the particular offense, he is not eligible for such a driver's license.

AGLO 1982 NO. 2 >

The department of Social and Health Services is not authorized to provide and pay for tax deferred annuities for those employees of the department eligible for such annuities pursuant to § 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code;  however, those employees may be covered by the state deferred compensation program authorized by RCW 41.04.250-41.04.260.

AGO 1972 NO. 2 >

(1) The Washington state parks and recreation commission has the authority, under RCW 43.51.680, to regulate the times and places where automobiles may be driven on and along the ocean beach highways designated and established under RCW 79.16.130, RCW 79.16.160 and RCW 79.16.170. (2) The parks commission, in the exercise of this authority, may not totally exclude vehicular traffic from all such beaches at all times.