Under Washington State canons of statutory construction, what is the rule regarding absence of implementing rules? Here’s my point of view.
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ABSENCE OF IMPLEMENTING RULES: COURTS GIVE EFFECT TO THE LEGISLATURE’S INTENT
In Washington State, agencies are often authorized to promulgate implementing rules for associated statutes. However, issues can arise where agencies fail to enact such rules.
“[W]ith or without recourse to implementing rules, … court[s] must interpret … [Washington statutes] so as to give effect to the legislature’s intent.” See Kumar v. Gate Gourmet, Inc., 180 Wn.2d 481, 496, 325 P.3d 193 (Wash. 2014).
WHEN SILENCE MEANS SOMETHING MORE
“It is certainly true that an administrative agency’s silence must be deemed significant where it admits of only one reasonable interpretation.” Id. at 494 (footnote omitted) (emphasis added). For example, “where [an] agency historically engaged in comprehensive regulation of certain industry practices, the agency’s silence regarding an affirmative defense based on a violation of those regulations was deemed significant[.]” Id. at 514 n.20 (referencing S. P. Transp. Co. v. Commercial metals Co., 456 U.S. 336, 345, 102 S.Ct. 1815, 72 L.Ed. 2d 114 (1982)).
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