OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced the filing of an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in a federal appellate court, as he continued to lead an expanding coalition of states in support of President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration policy. The brief was filed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas v. United States, a legal challenge by Texas and other states to the President’s immigration reforms.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today expressed his disappointment with the House Finance Committee for drastically altering Ferguson’s agency-request legislation to raise the smoking age to 21.

Applauds President Obama’s push for federal reforms

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today applauded President Obama’s recent push on a proposal to reform federal payday lending rules, while encouraging state legislators to reject a bill that purports to do the same thing.

$1,000 penalty; $1 for costs and fees per Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s request

SEATTLE — A Benton County Superior Court judge ruled today that a Richland florist will pay a $1,000 penalty and $1 in costs and fees to the state for discriminating against a same-sex couple seeking to buy wedding flowers in 2013.

Nebraska and Oklahoma challenging Colorado legalization initiative

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a “friend of the court” brief today in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court to reject a challenge to Colorado’s marijuana laws. If the court takes up the case, it could threaten not just Colorado’s law, but also the regulatory structure for marijuana established by Initiative 502 in Washington state.

PORT ORCHARD — A Kitsap County jury has decided that repeat sex offender Rick Allen Monroe is a sexually violent predator and must be confined in the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

In the interest of public safety, prosecutors from Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit have been fighting since October 2009, to prevent Monroe’s release into the community.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson will testify before the House Finance Committee tomorrow regarding his agency-request bill to raise the smoking age.

House Bill 1458 passed the House Health Care & Wellness Committee in a bipartisan 12-3 vote on Feb. 17, and was referred to the Finance Committee.

SPOKANE —The Washington Attorney General’s Office filed a petition last week in Spokane County Superior Court seeking to civilly commit a sex offender and prevent his release into the community.

Travis Fields, 37, was convicted of two sexually violent offenses: attempted first-degree child molestation in 1993, and second-degree child molestation in 2008. Fields was sentenced to seven years, three months in prison for the 2008 conviction.

OLYMPIA — Premera/Blue Cross today announced it has been the target of a major data breach.

The breach affected Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and its affiliated companies, Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions, Inc. It impacts millions of individuals in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

Seattle landlord accused of consumer protection violations