Other LanguagesOLYMPIA…Attorney General Rob McKenna announced today much of his 2008 legislative agenda continues to survive the legislative session.
Identity Theft:
Bills giving ID theft victims more tools in the fight to clear their names are now one step close to the Governor’s signature.
House Bill 2637, which allows records provided by out-of-state businesses to be authenticated by affidavit rather than in person in criminal cases, has passed both houses and now heads to the Governor’s desk.
HB 2637, sponsored by Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, was recommended by the Law Enforcement Group against Identity Theft (LEGIT). LEGIT was a workgroup convened after McKenna’s 2005 ID Theft Summit formed to identify ways to better ensure successful identity theft prosecutions and reduce the number of crimes that occur in Washington.
Senate Bill 5878 incorporated two proposals requested by the Attorney General’s Office, one requiring police reports for victims of identity theft and the other clarifying that each act prohibited by the identity theft statute is a separate unit of prosecution. The bill, prime-sponsored by Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, passed the House of Representatives 95-0 on Tuesday.
Mortgage foreclosure fraud:
House Bill 2791, sponsored by Sen. Pat Lantz, D-Gig Harbor, helps reduce foreclosure rescue schemes, including those with an option to allow the original homeowner to buy or lease back the property. The bill has passed the Senate, 39-6.
Spyware:
Substitute House Bill 2879, prime-sponsored by Speaker Pro Tempore Jeff Morris, D-Anacortes, has passed in the Senate 48-0. The bill corrects loopholes and weaknesses in Washington’s Computer Spyware Statute, RCW 19.270.
Shared leave program:
Substitute Senate Bill 6500, sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, has passed both houses and is on its way to the Governor’s desk. The bill allows victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking to qualify for shared leave under the state employee shared leave program.
Cell phone directories:
Second Substitute House Bill 2479, prime-sponsored by Rep. Dawn Morrell, D-Puyallup, has passed in the Senate 48-0. The bill incorporates legislation requested by the Attorney General’s Office to require consent from cell phone subscribers before publishing their wireless number in a directory.
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Media Contact: J. Ryan Shannon, Media Relations Manager, (360) 753-2727