AGLO 1972 No. 66.
| Case Date | August 22, 1972 |
| Court | Washington |
Washington Attorney General Opinions
1972.
AGLO 1972 No. 66.
August 22,
1972[Orig. Op. Page 1]PRIVATEHonorable Daniel
B. Ward Chairman, Economic Assistance Authority
General Administration Building Olympia, Washington 98504Cite as: AGLO 1972 No. 66(not official)
Dear Sir:
By letter previously acknowledged you have requested the opinion
of this office regarding the eligibility of the "Expanded Swinomish Indian Fish
Company Project" for a grant of state funds under the provisions of the
economic assistance authority act of 1972 - chapter 117, Laws of 1972, 1st Ex.
Sess.
In our opinion, for the reasons set forth in the following
analysis, we believe that the grant in question would be legally defensible if
made.
ANALYSIS
Your question arises by reason of an application which has been
submitted to the economic assistance authority by the Swinomish Indian tribal
council for a grant of state funds in the amount of $361,598.00 to finance the
expansion of an existing fish processing plant located on the Swinomish Indian
reservation in Skagit county, Washington. From our examination of the
application and supporting documents, it appears that this facility is,
essentially, a commercial fish processing plant owned and operated by the
Swinomish Indian tribe under the control of its tribal senate. The basic
function of this plant is to process raw fish which have been caught by
Swinomish Indian fishermen and to sell the resulting fish products at retail to
the general public at an outlet located within the plant itself. All profits of
the operation inure to the benefit of the entire tribe in accordance with
certain provisions contained in the tribal charter. See, in particular, PP 5
(e) and 8 thereof.
The basis for this application for state financial assistance, as
noted in your letter, is chapter 117, Laws of 1972, 1st Ex. Sess. By this
enactment the legislature created the economic assistance authority as a state
agency and charged it with responsibility for the administration of a program
of financial assistance in implementation of
[Orig. Op. Page 2]
the following declaration of policy, as set forth in § 1 of
the act:
"It is declared to be the public policy of the state of
Washington to direct financial resources of this state toward the fostering of
economic development through the stimulation of investment and job opportunity
in order that the general welfare of the inhabitants of the state is served.
The legislature further finds that reducing unemployment as soon as possible is
of major concern to the economic welfare of the state.
"It is further declared that such economic development should be
fostered through provision of investment tax deferrals, construction of public
facilities, the insurance of industrial mortgages, and technical assistance;
that expenditures made for these purposes as authorized in this chapter are
declared to be in the public interest, and to constitute a proper use of public
funds, and that an economic assistance authority is needed which shall effect
such development of economic opportunity."
Of the three categories of economic assistance contemplated by
the act - i.e., public facilities' grants or loans; investment tax deferrals;
and industrial mortgage insurance - we are here concerned only with the first.
In order to fund these grants or loans for the remainder of the 1971-73 fiscal
biennium the legislature has appropriated the sum of $20,000,000 pursuant to
§ 47, chapter 155, Laws of 1972, 1st Ex. Sess...
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