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PO Box 40100
Olympia, WA 98504-0100
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The Government Compliance and Enforcement Division provides legal services to 30 state agencies, boards and commissions including three elected officials. Its clients protect citizens by regulating health care providers, insurers, liquor and marijuana establishments, gambling, ethics, campaign finance, and financial institutions. The division advises on issues related to anti-discrimination laws, audit and whistleblower programs, the insurance industry, and numerous Secretary of State (OSOS) programs including Archives, the Washington State Library, and registration of corporations and charities. The division also provides Attorney General representation on state and local records committees.
The division provides a full range of representation to its clients, including at the administrative, state superior court, federal district court and federal and state appellate court levels. It is divided into two sections whose functions are described below:
The Advice and Compliance Section provides legal advice to eight state agencies, including two state-wide elected officials, the State Auditor and Insurance Commissioner. This advice includes issues that are uniquely within the scope of their constitutional and statutory responsibilities. Legal advice requested often relates to general issues affecting government agencies, such as administrative law, federal preemption of state laws and regulations, investments, contracts, finance, public records, and ethics in government service. In addition, advice is often sought regarding the specific statutes establishing the agency's programs and responsibilities. Attorneys for the Insurance Commissioner also handle enforcement proceedings, rate hearings, insolvency proceedings, public disclosure requests, and health care litigation. Attorneys for the Auditor’s Office provide advice on legal compliance issues related to state and local government financial audits and state whistleblower investigations, monitor recovery efforts when fraud is reported, and handle enforcement actions that may arise from the audit process. Two attorneys from the section also are appointed as members of the State Records Committee and Local Records Committee, which are charged with approval of public record retention schedules establishing how long public records must be retained prior to destruction.
The Litigation Section is comprised of three teams who primarily prosecute cases at the administrative and state superior court level and on appeal of violations of campaign, discrimination, minority contracting, banking and securities, liquor, gambling, lottery, cigarette tax, and ethics laws, as well as allegations of misconduct and violations of the Uniform Disciplinary Act for health care providers licensed by a state board or commission. The section also handles Indian Gaming Compact advice and litigation, drug seizure litigation, and RICO/money laundering cases. Finally, section attorneys act as the Counsel for the Environment on matters related to the siting of state energy facilities.
Public Safety Enforcement Actions: The division opened 278 cases that involved violations of the state liquor and tobacco, gambling, horse racing, lottery, financial institutions, insurance and health care provider licensing laws. The division also opened 148 advice matters, many of which applied to this enforcement work.
Division Judicial Review and Appellate Work: The division handles cases on judicial review from the administrative proceedings, as well as appeals of state and federal trial level decisions. This fiscal year, 36 such cases were filed and defended by division staff.