Other LanguagesWhen, within an existing land subdivision established pursuant to either chapter 58.16 or chapter 58.17 RCW, the owner of an individual lot proposes to divide it into a number of smaller lots for the purpose of sale or lease, while such action constitutes a "resubdivision" as defined in RCW 58.17.020(6) and is, thereby, subject to the general provisions of chapter 58.17 RCW relating to subdivisions (AGO 1980 No. 5), the subdivider is not, in addition, required to vacate his existing lot or lots pursuant to chapter 58.11 RCW or alter the plat pursuant to chapter 58.12 RCW; if, however, the vacation of a plat or part thereof entails the vacation of a county road, one or the other of the procedures set forth in chapter 58.11 RCW and chapter 36.87 RCW, respectively, must be utilized.
1. RCW 82.46.075 authorizes a county to impose certain sales and use taxes for the purpose of providing affordable housing for persons of low and moderate income; it does not violate the constitutional provisions against gifts and lending of credit to provide housing assistance to persons or households whose incomes could reasonably be described as “low” or “moderate.” 2. RCW 82.46.075 authorizes a county to develop criteria for eligibility for housing programs funded through the sales tax authorized by the statute; the statute is broad enough to permit a county to provide a preference to public employees if the county can show that such a preference will further the statutory purpose of the program.
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.
The various county boards of equalization and the state board of tax appeals are excluded from the open meetings act when dealing with property tax exemption cases; however, county boards of equalization must conduct open sessions in such cases under RCW 84.48.010.
The provisions of RCW 64.32.110, a section of the horizontal property regimes act (condominiums) of 1963, have no effect on local police power regulations which do not relate to zoning (e.g., building codes) ‑- as distinguished from the pertinent provisions of local zoning codes themselves.
If a given county, during 1976, elects to relinquish fines and bail forfeitures for game law violations and to receive payments in lieu of property taxes instead, as provided for by RCW 77.12.201, and notice of this election is transmitted to the director of the state game department prior to January 1, 1977, the first calendar year during which the county will relinquish said fines and forfeitures and receive payments in lieu of taxes instead will be 1978.
Where the voters of a home rule charter county possesses the general power of initiative, § 19, chapter 49, Laws of 1982, 1st Ex. Sess. requires that the "special initiative procedure" provided for in that section conform to the requirements of the county's initiative procedure.
A county, including a noncharter county, may pay the dues required to maintain optional membership in a professional association on behalf of an officer of the county in those cases where the main object of the expenditure is an anticipated direct benefit to the county such as a subscription to periodicals, services, or other valuable rights of commensurate value; however, a county may not pay those dues in a case where membership in the association is required by law as a prerequisite for holding the office in question.
1. Article 28 of the Washington Constitution (Amendment 78) provides that an independent salary commission shall set the salary for district court judges. With regard to part-time district court judges, the commission has set the salary based on the proportion of full-time work for which the part-time judge is authorized. The county legislative authority determines the proportion of work for which the part-time district court judge is authorized. 2. Prior to 1991 the commission had not established a salary for part-time district court judges. Amendment 78 provides that salaries in effect in 1987 shall remain in effect until changed by the commission. Thus, part-time district court judge salaries were set pursuant to RCW 3.58.020 until 1991 when the commission changed the salary. At that time, the salaries were properly set by the commission. 3. RCW 3.46.060 provides that a nonattorney can seek election as a district court judge under certain circumstances. A nonattorney district court judge can seek reelection if he or she is a registered voter of the district court district, and has been elected and has served as a district court judge. A nonattorney district court judge with these two qualifications can seek reelection even if the population of the district is between 5,000 and 10,000.
(1) A county, city or town may not, in the exercise of its police power, enact a general prohibition against the sale or possession of handguns, at any time or place, within the limits of its territorial jurisdiction because such an ordinance would have the effect of prohibiting conduct which state law, instead, sanctions and regulates. (2) A county, city or town may not require the presentation of a concealed weapons permit as a condition to the sale of handgun ammunition because of an express statutory preemption by the state, in RCW 70.74.201, of the regulation, in general, of small arms ammunition. (3) A county, city or town police power ordinance prohibiting the possession of firearms, including handguns, on public or private school grounds or college campuses within its territorial jurisdiction would be valid because such an ordinance would not be in conflict with state law under the applicable, judicially enunciated, test.