AGO 1949-51 No. 180.

• Case Date: December 13, 1949
• Court: Washington

Washington Attorney General Opinions 1949. AGO 1949-51 No. 180. December 13, 1949[Orig. Op. Page 1]PRIVATELIABILITY OF STATE FOR SEVERANCE PAY TO EMPLOYEES OF AN OPERATOR UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE STATE.The state cannot legally reimburse an operator under contract with the state for monies paid to employees as severance pay, where such pay was not contemplated in the contract.Honorable A. M. Johnson Director of Labor and Industries Olympia, WashingtonCite as: AGO 1949-51 No. 180Dear Sir: We are in receipt of your letter of November 28, 1949, in which you ask the following question: Can the state legally reimburse an operator under contract with the state for monies paid to employees in the form of severance pay, where severance pay was not contemplated in the contract which provided "the State will not reimburse the operator for any wages or labor costs which shall be over or under the prevailing union scale for the job classification filled by the employees." Our conclusions may be summarized as follows: The state cannot legally reimburse such an operator for monies paid to employees in the form of severance pay. ANALYSIS Article II, section 25, of the Washington Constitution, provides as follows: "The legislature shall never grant any extra compensation to any public officer, agent, servant, or contractor after the services shall have been rendered or the contract entered into, nor shall the compensation of any public officer be increased or diminished during his term of office." (Emphasis supplied) [Orig. Op. Page 2] Since under Amendment 11 to the constitution no monies may be paid out of the state treasury or any of its funds except in pursuance of an appropriation by the legislature, money paid by the state as extra compensation to any agent, servant or contractor after the contract has been entered into falls within the prohibition of section 25, Article II. The contract under consideration provides that the operator should operate three state owned ferries across the Tacoma Narrows, beginning January 1, 1948, until a bridge under construction at that point shall have been completed. The contract between the state and the operator includes the following provisions: "The state will employ and pay the operator on the earliest date possible in the month after the month in which said service is furnished the following...