Dear Friends,
My team and I work hard to solve problems and help Washingtonians every way we can. Often that requires enforcing our laws. Sometimes it means changing them.
Every session my team and I write and propose a slate of legislation that we hope will help Washingtonians. We partner with legislators get these bills through the Legislature and to the Governor’s desk. These bills have a special name. They’re called “Attorney General Request” legislation, and every Attorney General going back to at least Slade Gorton has proposed their own legislative priorities.
We listen to Washingtonians, build strong coalitions and build practical solutions. As a result, we’ve been very successful – and we’re not afraid to take on big challenges!
I have successfully passed nearly 50 Attorney General Request bills into law since taking office. You can find the complete list here.
A few highlights:
- 14 laws improve public safety and support the victims of crime, including legislation dealing with human trafficking, identity theft, sexually violent predators and responsible gun safety reforms.
- 10 laws improve consumer protections, including laws improving data privacy and protecting against data breaches.
- 5 laws improve protections for Washington veterans and military service members.
- 3 laws combat wage theft.
- 2 bills make smart reforms to our criminal justice system, including banning youth solitary confinement.
- 2 laws improve open government, including requiring open government training for elected officials.
- 2 laws involve public health, including increasing the nicotine sale age to 21 and expanding discounts on out-of-pocket hospital costs.
You will notice that virtually all of these laws passed with strong bipartisan support.
This 2024 session was no different. We had a big year! My team worked with the Legislature to get four of our five priority bills to the Governor’s desk.
Once signed, these laws will increase the penalties for price-fixing, create an AI task force, expand benefits for veterans and combat wage theft.
I appreciate the bipartisan group of sponsors for their leadership getting these bills passed. I also want to thank the advocates from organizations across the state who showed their support.
Here are the four bills that passed:
-
Strengthening Antitrust Penalties: House Bill 2072 makes Washington’s penalties for antitrust violations among the strongest in the nation. The maximum civil penalty for price-fixing, collusion and other antitrust violations will now be three times the unlawful gains or loss avoided. Prior to the passage of this bill, Washington’s antitrust penalty lagged far behind other states and did not provide meaningful deterrence for unlawful conduct by large corporations. Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Lake City, sponsored the bill. Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, sponsored a companion bill. Read more here: https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-legislature-get-tough-price-fixing-other-antitrust-violations
-
Expanding Veterans’ Benefits: House Bill 2014 expands state benefits for more than 35,000 Washington veterans. The bill changes state law to ensure veterans who qualify for federal benefits also qualify for state benefits, which include things like admission to state veterans’ nursing homes, veteran preference in state job applications or down payment assistance for a new home. Washington law currently only offers benefits to veterans who were discharged from military service under a very narrow set of conditions. This disproportionately affects veterans who are BIPOC; identify as LGBTQ and were discharged before the military ended its restrictive policies like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell;” survived military sexual assault or had mental health conditions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, sponsored the bill. Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, sponsored a companion bill. Read more here: https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-request-bill-help-more-35000-washington-veterans-access-state
- Preventing Wage Theft:House Bill 2136 helps prevent the “whack-a-mole” enforcement dynamic against intentional wage theft offenders that restart operations under a different company name and continue business as usual after getting caught. This bill applies to businesses that have been sanctioned, including receiving strikes and debarments. Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, sponsored this legislation. Sen. Steve Conway, D-Tacoma, sponsored a companion bill. Read more here: https://agportal-s3bucket.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploadedfiles/Another/Office_Initiatives/2024_WageTheft.pdf
Other bills that passed this year make positive impacts on my office. For example, Senate Bill 5884, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, allows courts to award restitution for individuals affected by environmental crimes. Senate Bill 5427, sponsored by Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, creates a hotline to report hate crimes inside the Attorney General’s Office.
Our legislative advocacy directly impacts our work for Washingtonians. We will continue to seek justice and protect the health and safety of all the people in Washington state. And I will continue to use every tool at my disposal to solve problems and help Washingtonians.
Sincerely,
Bob Ferguson
Washington State Attorney General
|
Other Languages