Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGLO 1982 NO. 13 >

The State Board of Health, acting pursuant to RCW 9.02.070, may sanction the performance of second trimester abortions in medical facilities other than an accredited hospital where such medical facilities meet standards prescribed by regulations issued by the Board for the safe and adequate care and treatment of patients.

AGO 1989 NO. 14 >

1.The State Treasurer may invest funds contained in the natural resources deposit fund established pursuant to RCW 43.85.130(1)(c), except for funds derived from the sale or disposition of public lands.2.The State Investment Board may invest funds contained in the natural resources deposit fund and derived from the sale or disposition of public lands, and held in a temporary depository, pursuant to RCW 43.33A.010.3.The State Treasurer may, pursuant to RCW 43.84.080, invest funds in the resource management cost account (RCW 79.64.020).4.The State Treasurer may, pursuant to RCW 43.84.090, deduct twenty percent of all income received from the investment of the surplus contained in the natural resources deposit fund and the resource management cost account, except for income from the investment of trust moneys; this income must be apportioned to the appropriate funds pursuant to RCW 79.64.055.5.RCW 43.84.090 does not authorize the State Treasurer to deduct any portion of income received from the investment of trust funds which obtain their revenue from the management of trust lands; the Legislature could authorize such a deduction to the extent consistent with general trust principles. 

AGO 1986 NO. 14 >

(1) The Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, not the Director of the Department of Licensing, has the authority to manage, direct, supervise, and discipline those employees assigned to support the Board's function.(2) The Director of the Department of Licensing does not have the authority to assign duties to these employees other than duties relating to the Board's functions.

AGO 1975 NO. 14 >

Except where covered by a juvenile court order under § 1, chapter 170, Laws of 1975, 1st Ex. Sess., in the case of a juvenile in the custody of the department of social and health services who was not yet 18 when that law became effective, a juvenile who has been adjudged to be a delinquent child under RCW 13.04.010, et seq., and has therefore been committed by the juvenile court under RCW 13.04.095, may not, in view of In re Carson , 84 Wn.2d 969 (1975), continue to be held in custody solely on that basis after attaining the age of 18 years.

AGLO 1978 NO. 14 >

Under the provisions of RCW 23A.40.075 and related statutes, the Secretary of State does not have the legal authority to exercise discretion and restore the privilege of doing business to a corporation which has failed to acquire an annual license fee for three years and which has failed to reinstate within the following two years.

AGLO 1977 NO. 14 >

Legislation requiring the establishment of a program at the University of Washington Medical School giving preferential treatment to Washington residents who are attending or have attended medical schools in certain foreign countries by providing for special admission, transfer, accreditation or clinical training for such students would, if enacted, be constitutionally defensible.

AGLO 1982 NO. 14 >

The Department of Social and Health Services, in its capacity as the state radiation control agency under chapter 70.98 RCW, is authorized by § 2, chapter 201, Laws of 1982 to establish and impose license fees in connection with licenses issued pursuant to RCW 70.98.080.

AGLO 1980 NO. 14 >

(1) It is no longer a function of the secretary of state's office to collect, sort, or systematize statistics relating to agriculture, immigration, labor, manufacturing, mining and other related subjects in order to prepare and publish either a biennial statistical report to the legislature or a "comprehensive report" aimed, generally, at attracting tourists or business activities to the state; however, the secretary of state, as ex officio commissioner of statistics, may continue to seek and collect such statistics for whatever other legitimate public purposes, in unpublished form, they serve and, so long as he does not do so for the purpose of publication at state expense, he may also prepare tables, with narrative abstracts, of such statistics to the extent that the preparation of such tables and narrative abstracts is reasonably necessary in order to effectuate the legitimate public purpose for which the statistics have been collected.

AGO 1974 NO. 15 >

(1) The governing body of a state institution may not, in the exercise of its statutory authority to employ and fix the salaries and duties of the various administrative officers and employees of that institution, provide those officers and employees with the unrestricted use of an automobile owned or leased by the institution for that purpose.  (2) Where the statutory authority of a state institution is to "employ," or "employ and compensate" its necessary officials or employees, that institution may, in the exercise of this authority, contract to provide the unrestricted use of an automobile leased by the institution for that purpose, but it may not so contract in the case of a state‑owned automobile in view of WAC 82-28-200 which provides that state cars shall be used only for official business.

AGO 1986 NO. 15 >

(1) The long-term care ombudsman, under chapter 43.190 RCW, may not reveal the identity of a person who has filed a complaint with the Ombudsman without having first either obtained the written consent of such person or been ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction. (2) The ombudsman may reveal the identity of a complainant to those persons within the Department of Social and Health Services having supervisory responsibility over the Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman. (3) Files maintained by the long-term care ombudsman program may be disclosed to persons outside the office of the long-term care ombudsman if the disclosure is made in such a manner as not to reveal the identity of complainants or residents of long-term care facilities mentioned in such files.