Media Advisory: Governor to take action on three AG request bills Tuesday

OLYMPIA…Attorney General Rob McKenna will join Gov. Chris Gregoire at 10 a.m. Tuesday in her executive conference room as she signs a bill they jointly requested to improve public notice in eminent domain cases and takes action on two of his other attorney-general request bills:

• House Bill 1458 requires government entities to directly notify property owners of public meetings at which eminent domain decisions regarding the property owners’ land are being made.  Specifically, it requires a government entity considering the acquisition of specific properties by eminent domain to:
  • Send a certified letter (costing $4.64) to the property owner of record on the county tax rolls, notifying him or her of the open public meeting to decide the issue; and
  • Publish a short newspaper legal notice before the meeting.

This bill and its companion were sponsored by more than 90 legislators.

• House Bill 1114 (prime-sponsored by Rep. Jay Rodne, R-Snoqualmie) protects vulnerable adults from trust mill scams by making it illegal for anyone other than an attorney or a professional employed by an attorney to market legal estate distribution documents such as living trusts and wills. A revocable living trust – not to be confused with a living will – allows a person to control distribution of his or her estate by transferring ownership of property and assets into a trust. A companion measure was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle.
• Senate Bill 5228 (prime-sponsored by Kline) protects Washington businesses, state agencies and individual consumers by amending the antitrust statute to codify the Attorney General’s common law authority to pursue monetary claims on behalf of indirect purchasers (businesses, agencies, and individuals) harmed by violations of antitrust law.  In the last six years, the AGO has recovered nearly $48 million in monetary relief for those indirectly harmed by antitrust violations.   Examples include:
  – $6.2 million in the Vitamins multi-state litigation, which involved vitamin price-fixing allegations.
  – $1 million (with an additional $520,000 for state agencies) in the Mylan multi-state litigation, which involved allegations of anti-competitive drug-pricing.

  A court recently challenged the AG’s authority to protect indirect purchasers so this new law will allow the office to continue the practice.

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For more information contact, Janelle Guthrie, Communications Director, Office of Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna