OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s proposal to close a loophole in the Sexually Violent Predator statute to prevent the release of offenders who have not been rehabilitated, passed the state Senate yesterday, 46 to 0.

The bill will address shortcomings in the current law by: (1) making any report or testimony offered by an expert on an offender’s behalf inadmissible unless the offender has participated in the state’s most recent annual review; and (2) defining treatment as the sex-offender specific treatment program at the Special Commitment Center.

OLYMPIA — Today, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s legislation strengthening the state’s data breach notification law passed the state Senate, 47 to 0.

It passed the House of Representatives March 4, 97 to 0. The bill now heads to Governor Jay Inslee for his signature.

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today urged the U.S. Department of Education to immediately relieve the debt burden of thousands of students who attended Corinthian Colleges, joining with several other state attorneys general.

UPDATE:

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s proposal to ban “ticket bot” software has unanimously passed the state Senate, 49 to 0.

House Bill 1091, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D — Sequim, passed the House 98 to 0 on Feb. 16. The Senate version, SB 5456, was sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D — Seattle.

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.