HOUSE BILL REPORT

EHB 1049

BYRepresentatives Locke, Inslee, Appelwick, P. King and Wineberry

Relating to permitting prosecutors to perform certain legal services.

House Committe on Judiciary

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendments.  (19)

      Signed by Representatives Appelwick, Chair; Crane, Vice Chair; Padden, Ranking Republican Member; Belcher, Brough, Dellwo, Hargrove, Inslee, P. King, Locke, R. Meyers, Moyer, H. Myers, Patrick, Schmidt, Scott, Tate, Van Luven and Wineberry.

House Staff:Bill Perry (786-7123)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 24, 1989

BACKGROUND:

Several statutes affect the ability of county prosecutors and assistant attorneys general to perform legal work outside of their regular employment.

Prosecutors in counties of the first class and above (population of at least 125,000) are generally prohibited from the private practice of law and are required to serve full time as prosecutors.  In second, third and fourth class counties (population of from 18,000 to 125,000), the county legislative authority may authorize deputy prosecutors to serve part time and to practice privately.

In the smallest counties (below 18,000 population) there is no prohibition on part time service or the private practice of law.

Assistant state attorneys general are prohibited from any outside paid employment for work as private attorneys.  However, charitable legal work and legal work for family members is expressly exempted from this prohibition.

An Attorney General Opinion has concluded that this combination of statutes means that full time assistant county prosecutors in class four and above counties cannot engage in charitable legal work or legal work for family members.

SUMMARY:

An exception is provided to the general rule that county prosecutors in counties of the fourth class and above may not engage in the private practice of law.  Such prosecutors are not prohibited from doing legal work for their own families or from doing charitable legal work.  However, any such work is deemed to be beyond the scope of the prosecutors' normal employment, but may not conflict with that employment.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Pete Filley, Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    It is hard enough to attract people to be deputy prosecutors without prohibiting them from doing charitable or family legal work.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.