Other LanguagesOLYMPIA — The Attorney General’s Office today issued Attorney General’s Opinion 2016 No. 1 in response to an inquiry from Senator Pam Roach (R — Auburn). The Opinion, which does not advocate a policy position, finds that a non-charter code city in Washington can adopt a district-based general election procedure to avoid a potential violation of the federal Voting Rights Act under circumstances that the Opinion describes.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today welcomed the approval of his bill to update the Open Public Meetings Act by the House State Government Committee. Ferguson’s agency-request legislation would modernize the penalties for knowingly violating the Act’s requirements from $100 to $500, roughly in line with inflation since the law was enacted in 1971. The bill also adds an increased penalty of $1,000 for repeat knowing violations.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that his office has asked a court to grant summary judgment and penalize the Grocery Manufacturers Association for GMA’s intentional subterfuge in an effort to elude state campaign-finance laws. Ferguson also asked the court to unseal “confidential” GMA documents in the landmark case.
OLYMPIA — The Attorney General’s Office today filed comments in the environmental review of a proposed crude oil terminal in Vancouver. The comments, filed by the AGO’s Counsel for the Environment, question whether the risk of train derailment may be higher than the current estimate and raises concerns that the state of first responder readiness to address potential oil spills and fires is not sufficiently understood.
OLYMPIA — Tomorrow, a state appeals court in Tacoma will hear a challenge to the state's voter-approved recreational marijuana law.
OLYMPIA — A Stuart Elway poll released today shows an overwhelming 65 percent of Washingtonians support raising the sale age of tobacco to 21. This result shows clear public support for Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s proposal to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco and vapor products to 21.
MOUNT VERNON — A Skagit County jury has determined that sex offender Gregory Coley is a dangerous predator and must remain 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 (SVP) Unit have been fighting since 2013 to prevent Coley’s release into the community.
OLYMPIA — The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a case that could allow President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive actions to reform our country’s immigration system finally to move forward. In Washington alone, about 105,000 people could move into the legal workforce if President Obama’s plan took effect, increasing the state’s tax revenues by an estimated $57 million over the next five years.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Kirkland car dealership will pay $74,000 to resolve allegations it sent out thousands of promotional mailers mimicking official recall notices.
OLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has proposed a bill to establish a one-year lobbying prohibition for former high-ranking state officials. The update to state ethics laws would also require disclosure of where former officials are employed after state service.