K. Kyle Thiessen
Code Reviser
PO Box 40551
Olympia, WA 98504-0551
Re: Request for Consent to Decodify Title 289 of the
Washington Administrative Code
Dear Mr. Thiessen:
This is in response to your letter of April 27, 2006,
expressing your conclusion that Title 289 of the Washington
Administrative Code, relating to standards for the operation
of county and city correctional facilities, should be
decodified, and requesting the consent of the Attorney General
to take that action. As your letter explains, RCW 34.05.210(6) provides in part:
With the consent of the attorney general, the code
reviser may remove obsolete rules or parts of rules from
the Washington Administrative Code when:
...
(b) The adopting agency ceases to exist and the rules are
not transferred to a successor agency.
Our review of the history of Title 289 WAC and related
statutes confirms your understanding that rules relating to
local jail standards initially were promulgated under the
authority of the Jail Commission. Laws of 1977, 1st Ex.
Sess., ch. 316, § 5. The duties of that agency with respect
to such rules subsequently were transferred to the Corrections
Standards Board. Laws of 1986, ch. 118, § 2. The Corrections
Standards Board, in turn, ceased to exist on January 1, 1988.
Laws of 1987, ch. 462, § 21. We have located no provision
transferring responsibility for the rules in Title 289 WAC to
a successor agency. Rather, since 1988, RCW 70.48.071 has
required counties and cities to adopt standards for their own
correctional facilities. Laws of 1987, ch. 462, §§ 17, 24.
For these reasons, the Attorney General concludes that the
requirements of RCW 34.05.210(6) are satisfied, and thus,
consents to decodification of Title 289 of the Washington
Administrative Code.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Maureen A. Hart
Solicitor General