WASHINGTON ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Washington Attorney General issues formal published
opinions in response to requests by the heads of state agencies,
state legislators, and county prosecuting attorneys. When it
appears that individuals outside the Attorney General's Office
have information or expertise that will assist in the preparation
of a particular opinion, a summary of that opinion request will
be published in the state register. If you are interested in
commenting on a request listed in this volume of the register,
you should notify the Attorney General's Office of your interest
by August 8, 2001. This is not the due date by which comments
must be received. However, if you do not notify the Attorney
General's Office of your interest in commenting on an opinion
request by August 8, 2001, the opinion may be issued before your
comments have been received. You may notify the Attorney
General's Office of your intention to comment by calling (360)
586-4218, or by writing to the Solicitor General, Office of the
Attorney General, P.O. Box 40100, Olympia, WA 98504-0100. When
you notify the office of your intention to comment, you will be
provided with a copy of the opinion request in which you are
interested; information about the Attorney General's Opinion
process; information on how to submit your comments; and a due
date by which your comments must be received to ensure that they
are fully considered.
The Attorney General's Office seeks public input on the following opinion request(s).
01-06-07
Request by Honorable Tim Sheldon, Senator, 35th
District
1. May a county use revenues derived from the local option
sales and use tax program for rural counties, authorized under
RCW 82.14.370, to finance any or all of the following costs
related to public facilities: (1) Capital facilities costs,
including acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, alteration,
expansion, or improvements of public facilities; (2) costs of
development and improvements for the public facilities; (3)
project-specific environmental costs; (4) land use and permitting
costs; (5) costs of site planning and analysis; and (6) project
design, including feasibility and marketing studies and plans,
and debt and revenue impact analysis? 2. Does the requirement in
RCW 82.14.370(3) that a public facility must be listed as an item
in an officially adopted county overall economic development
plan, or the economic development section of a county's
comprehensive plan, or the comprehensive plan of a city or town
located within the county for those counties planning under the
Growth Management Act (GMA) mean that the public facility must
have an economic development purpose such as permanent private
sector job creation or retention (beyond the jobs created
directly in constructing a project)? 3. Is the answer to
question 2 the same for those counties that do not have an
adopted overall economic development plan and do not plan under
the GMA, where RCW 82.14.370(3) requires that the public
facilities must be listed in the county's capital facilities plan
or the capital facilities plan of a city or town located within
the county? 4. If the answer to question 3 is yes, what is the
standard, if any, by which a county must determine whether a
public facility has an economic development purpose?