Title 42 — Title 42 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND AGENCIES

That no person shall be competent to qualify for or hold any elective public office within the state of Washington, or any county, district, precinct, school district, municipal corporation or other district or political subdivision, unless he or she be a citizen of the United St…

The omission to specify or affirm in *this act any ground of forfeiture of a public office or other trust or special authority conferred by law, or any power conferred by law to impeach, remove, depose or suspend any public officer or other person holding any trust, appointment o…

Except as provided in section 3, chapter 32, Laws of 2010 1st sp. sess., all state elective and appointive officers shall keep their offices open for the transaction of business for a minimum of forty hours per week, except weeks that include state legal holidays. Customary busin…

That the directors, trustees and commissioners of state institutions in this state, serving as such without any compensation, shall not be precluded by reason of holding such offices from receiving compensation for services not official rendered without being procured or brought …

See RCW 48.28.040.

The official bond of a public officer, to the state, or to any county, city, town or other municipal or public corporation of like character therein, shall be deemed a security to the state, or to such county, city, town or other municipal or public corporation, as the case may b…

When a public officer by official misconduct or neglect of duty, shall forfeit his or her official bond or render his or her sureties therein liable upon such bond, any person injured by such misconduct or neglect, or who is by law entitled to the benefit of the security, may mai…

Before an action can be commenced by a plaintiff, other than the state, or the municipal or public corporation named in the bond, leave shall be obtained of the court or judge thereof where the action is triable. Such leave shall be granted upon the production of a certified copy…

A judgment in favor of a party for one delinquency shall not preclude the same or another party from maintaining another action on the same bond for another delinquency.[Code 1881 s 655; 1877 p 136 s 658; 1869 p 153 s 595; RRS s 961.]

In an action upon an official bond, if judgments have been recovered against the surety therein other than by confession, equal in the aggregate to the penalty or any part thereof of such bond, and if such recovery be established on the trial, judgment shall not be given against …

All official bonds required by law of officers shall be in form, joint and several, and made payable to the state of Washington, in such penal sum and with such conditions as may be required by law.[ 1890 p 34 s 1; RRS s 9930.]Notes:Bonds deemed security to state, county, city, t…

Every official bond executed by any officer pursuant to law shall be deemed and taken to be in force, and shall be obligatory upon the principal and sureties therein for any and all breach of the condition or conditions thereof committed during the time such officer shall continu…

Every official bond executed by any officer pursuant to law, shall be in force and obligatory upon the principal and sureties therein, to and for the state of Washington, and to and for the use and benefit of all persons who may be injured or aggrieved by the wrongful act or defa…

Whenever any such official bond shall not contain the substantial matter or condition or conditions required by law, or there shall be any defect in the approval or filing thereof, such bond shall not be void so as to discharge such officer and his or her sureties, but they shall…

The official bonds of officers shall be approved and filed as follows, to wit: The official bond of the secretary of state shall be approved by the governor and filed in the office of the state auditor. The official bonds of all other state officers required by law to give bonds,…

Whenever the sureties, or any one of them, in the official bond of any county or township officer shall die, remove from the state, become insolvent or insufficient, or the penalty of such bond shall become insufficient, on account of recoveries had thereon, or otherwise, it shal…

Should such officer, after due notice, fail to appear at the time appointed, the matter may be heard and determined in his or her absence; if after examination the board of county commissioners shall be of opinion that the bond of such officer has become insufficient from any cau…

Whenever the official bond of any state officer shall become insufficient from any cause whatever, the like proceedings may be had before the superior court of the county in which said state officer holds his or her office with reference thereto: PROVIDED, That such proceedings m…

Every such additional bond shall be of like force and obligation upon the principal and sureties therein, and shall subject the officer and his or her sureties to the same liabilities as are prescribed respecting the original bonds of officers.[ 2012 c 117 s 103; 1890 p 36 s 9; R…

Unless otherwise expressly provided, there shall be at least two sureties upon the official bond of every officer.[ 1890 p 36 s 10; RRS s 9939.]Notes:Corporate sureties: Chapter 48.28 RCW.

In all cases where official bonds are required or may be hereafter required, from state, county, township, or precinct officers, the officer or officers whose duty it is or may be to approve such bonds, shall not accept or approve any such bonds except such bond be that of a sure…

When the penal sum of any bond amounts to more than two thousand dollars, the sureties may become severally liable for portions, not less than five hundred dollars, of such penal sum, making in the aggregate at least two sureties for the whole penal sum.[ 1890 p 37 s 12; RRS s 99…

Release of sureties (1937 act), see chapter 19.72 RCW.

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 5974-S2.SL) ***Every elective office shall become vacant on the happening of any of the following events:(1) The death of the incumbent;(2) His or her resignation. A vacancy caused by resignation shall be deemed to occur upon the effective date of the …

Resignations shall be made as follows: By the state officers and members of the legislature, to the governor; by all county officers, to the county commissioners of their respective counties; by all other officers, holding their offices by appointment, to the body, board or offic…

Whenever any officer resigns his or her office before the expiration of his or her term, or the office becomes vacant from any other cause, and at a subsequent special election such vacancy is filled, the person so elected to fill such vacancy shall hold office for the remainder …

(1) If a vacancy occurs in any partisan elective office in the executive or legislative branches of state government or in any partisan county elective office before the first day of the regular filing period, the position must be open for filing during the regular filing period …

A vacancy on an elected nonpartisan governing body of a qualifying special purpose district, a town, or a city other than a first-class city or a charter code city, shall be filled as follows unless the provisions of law relating to the qualifying special purpose district, town, …

A vacancy on an elected nonpartisan governing body of a special purpose district where property ownership is not a qualification to vote or that is not a qualifying special purpose district defined in RCW 42.12.070, shall be filled as follows unless the provisions of law relating…

Unless otherwise clearly required by the context, the following definitions apply:(1) "Attack" means any acts of aggression taken against the United States causing substantial damage or injury to persons or property in the United States and in the state of Washington.(2)(a) "Cata…

(1) In the event that all successors to the office of governor as provided by Article 3, section 10, as amended by amendment 6 of the Constitution of the state of Washington are unavailable following a catastrophic incident, the powers and duties of the office of governor shall b…

In the event that a catastrophic incident reduces the number of legislators available for duty, then those legislators available for duty shall constitute the legislature and shall have full power to act in separate or joint assembly by majority vote of those present. In the even…

Whenever, in the judgment of the governor, it becomes impracticable, due to an emergency resulting from a catastrophic incident, to convene the legislature in the usual seat of government at Olympia, the governor may call the legislature into emergency session in any location wit…

In the event that a catastrophic incident reduces the number of county commissioners of any county, then those commissioners available for duty shall have full authority to act in all matters as a board of county commissioners. In the event no county commissioner is available for…

In the event that the executive head of any city or town is unavailable by reason of a catastrophic incident to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office, then those members of the city or town council or commission available for duty shall by majority vote selec…

The governor shall, subject to such rules and regulations as he or she may adopt, permit each appointed officer of the state to designate temporary interim successors to the office of such officer.[ 2012 c 117 s 108; 1963 c 203 s 7.]

The legislative authority of each political subdivision, subject to the provisions of this chapter, shall adopt rules and regulations providing for appointment of temporary interim successors to the elected and appointed offices of the political subdivisions.[ 1963 c 203 s 8.]

Whenever, due to a catastrophic incident, or when such an event is imminent, it becomes imprudent, inexpedient, or impossible to conduct the affairs of a political subdivision at the regular or usual place or places, the governing body of the political subdivision may meet at any…

This act shall be known as the "continuity of government act."[ 1963 c 203 s 1.]

(1) Except as provided otherwise in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, all state officers and employees shall be paid for services rendered from the first day of the month through the fifteenth day of the month and for services rendered from the sixteenth day of the month t…

A state payroll revolving account is created in the state treasury, for the payment of compensation to employees and officers of the state and distribution of all amounts withheld therefrom pursuant to law and amounts authorized by employees to be withheld pursuant to law; also f…

The amounts to be disbursed from the state payroll revolving account from time to time on behalf of agencies utilizing such account shall be transferred thereto by the state treasurer from appropriated funds properly chargeable with the disbursement for the purposes set forth in …

The state treasurer shall make such transfers to the state payroll revolving account in the amounts to be disbursed as certified by the respective agencies: PROVIDED, That if the payroll is prepared on behalf of an agency from data authenticated and certified by the agency under …

Disbursements from the revolving account and fund created by RCW 42.16.010 through 42.16.017 shall be by warrant in accordance with the provisions of RCW 43.88.160: PROVIDED, That when the payroll is prepared under a centralized system established pursuant to regulations of the d…

All amounts increasing the balance in the state payroll revolving account, as a result of the cancellation of warrants issued therefrom shall be transferred by the state treasurer to the fund from which the canceled warrant would originally have been paid except for the provision…

The director of financial management shall adopt the necessary policies and procedures to implement RCW 42.16.010 through 42.16.017, including the establishment of paydates. Such paydates shall conform to RCW 42.16.010. The director of financial management shall have approval ove…

No state, county, municipal, or other public officer within the state of Washington, who receives from the state, or from any county or municipality therein, a fixed and stated salary as compensation for services rendered as such public officer shall be allowed or paid any per di…

All officers enumerated in *this section, who are paid a salary in lieu of fees, shall collect the fees herein prescribed for the use of the state or county, as the case may be, and shall pay the same into the state or county treasury, as the case may be, on the first Monday of e…

All fees are invariably due in advance where demanded by the officer required to perform any official act, and no officer shall be required to perform any official act unless his or her fees are paid when he or she demands the same: PROVIDED, This section shall not apply when the…

It is hereby declared by the sovereign people to be the public policy of the state of Washington:(1) That political campaign and lobbying contributions and expenditures be fully disclosed to the public and that secrecy is to be avoided.(2) That the people have the right to expect…