Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

Since 2013, 49 bills proposed by the Attorney General have passed the Legislature and become law. As an elected official, the Attorney General can request legislation. This legislation must be sponsored by a member of the Legislature and go through the normal legislative process, the same as any other bill. Successful Attorney General request bills range from strengthening criminal statutes to helping veterans find legal help, and banning dangerous, military style weapons to making it easier to punish human traffickers. 

Click here to view our legislative priorities for the 2024 session

Successful legislation requested by the Attorney General's Office: 2013-Present 

Bill Number Subject Effect Prime Sponsor Companion Sponsor Final Vote
2013 Legislative Session
ESB 5484 Assault in 3rd degree/courthouse safety Creates an enhanced criminal penalty for assaults that occur in or around Washington courthouses. Senator Adam Kline (D-37) Representative Roger Goodman (D-45) 40-9; 83-10
2014 Legislative Session
ESB 5964 Open Government Trainings Act Requires all elected officials in the state to receive training on Washington's open government laws, and renew that training every term. Senator Joe Fain (R-47) Representative Gerry Pollet (D-46) 45-2; 66-31
SB 6208 Pension Poacher Prevention Act Protects retired servicemembers from scams targeting their pensions.  Senator Andy Hill (R-45) Representative Kevin Parker (R-6) 48-0; 97-1
SHB 2171 Veterans, military personnel Creates the Washington Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, mirroring the federal Act's consumer protections for active duty military and extending those to the National Guard. Representative Tina Orwall (D-33) Senator Steve Hobbs (D-44) 47-0; 97-0
2015 Legislative Session
ESHB 1078 Data breach security  Updates Washington's data breach notification law to include clear timelines, contact information, notice to the Attorney General, and accountability measures.  Represenative Zachk Hudgins (D-11) Senator John Braun (R-20) 47-0; 97-0
HB 1090 Finan. fraud, identity theft Reuathorizes and expands the Financial Fraud and Identity Theft Task Forces. Representative Steve Kirby (D-29) Senator Joe Fain (R-47) 48-0; 97-0
SSB 5059 Patent Troll Prevention Act Protects Washington small businesses from "patent trolls'" deceptive demand letters.  Senator David Frockt (D-46) Representative Laurie Jinkins (D-27) 41-6; 94-3
EHB 1091 Ticket Bots Creates a violation of the Consumer Protection Act for the use of software to supervent the security measures on a ticket sellers' website, and to sell ticket "bots" for that purpose. Senator Kevin Van de Wege (D-24) Representative Brad Klippert (R-8) 49-0; 94-1
HB 1059 Sexually violent predators Strengthens Washingtons' sexually violent predator statute. Represenative Susan Fagan (R-9) Senator Mike Padden (R-4) 46-0; 87-6
2016 Legislative Session
SB 6171 Open Public Meetings Act civil penalties Doubles the personal civil penalty for violations of the Open Public Meetings Act, and includes an enhanced penalty for repeat violations. Senator Pam Roach (R-31) Representative Drew Stokesbary (R-31) 49-0; 72-25
SB 6156 Medicaid false claims act Reauthorizes Washington's Medicaid False Claimst Act, a key tool used to identify and combat health care fraud. Senator Ann Rivers (R-17) Representative Laurie Jinkins (D-27) 48-0; 96-1
SSB 6360 Traffic fines consolidation Establishes a Task Force in the Attorney General's Office to look into a process for consolidating traffic fines from multiple jurisdictions to reduce barriers to payment. Senator Steve O'Ban (R-28) Representative Laurie Jinkins (D-27) 49-0; 95-2
2017 Legislative Session
SSB 5022 Washington Student Loan Transparency Act Provides students with additional information about their student loans every time a new financial package is approved, including estimated monthly payments. Senator Barbara Bailey (R-10) Representative Tina Orwall (D-33) 49-0; 91-7
SHB 1055 Military members/pro bono Creates the Office of Military and Veteran Legal Assistance in the Attorney General's Office. Represenative Christine Kilduff (D-28) Senator Steve O'Ban (R-28) 49-0; 95-0
SB 5030 Human Trafficking statute of limitations Extends the statute of limitations for human trafficking and crimes involving the commercial sexual exploitation of minors. Senator Jeannie Darneille (D-27) Representative Mike Pellicciotti (D-30) 49-0; 97-0
SHB 1079 No-contact order/human trafficking Creates a unique no-contact order for survivors of human trafficking. Representative Tina Orwall (D-33) Senator Mike Padden (R-4) 48-0; 98-0
SSB 5301 Wage theft/ Responsible bidder criteria Adds wage theft violations to the state responsible bidder criteria to prevent government contracts from going to intentional wage theft violators.  Senator Mark Miloscia (R-30) Representative Zack Hudgins (D-11) 46-3; 63-33
ESHB 1153 Vulnerable persons/crimes Combats elder abuse by creating the crime of Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Person.  Represenative Roger Goodman (D-45) Senator Barbara Bailey (R-10) 47-0; 92-4
2018 Legislative Session
E2SSB 6029 Student Loan Bill of Rights Improves consumer protections around student loans and creates the Washington Student Loan Advocate. Senator Marko Liias (D-21) Representative Tina Orwall (D-33) 35-13; 87-11
SB 6053 Medicaid false claim penalty Aligns the civil penalty for Medicaid fraud to the federal False Claims Act penalty without requiring rule-making.  Senator Karen Keiser (D-33) Representative Cindy Ryu (D-32) 47-0; 98-0
HB 2271 Sexually violent predators Strengthens Washingtons' sexually violent predator statute by avoiding unconditional release trials when they are not warranted.  Represenative Dick Muri (R-28) Senator Manka Dhingra (D-45) 49-0; 98-0
HB 1056 Military/consumer protection Strengthens consumer protections for active duty military by adding cell phone payments, cable and wireless bills, and gym memberships to the WA Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Representative Christine Kilduff (D-28) Senator Michael Baumgartner (R-6) 49-0; 98-0
SSB 6051 Medicaid fraud control unit Grants the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with original criminal jurisdiction over Medicaid fraud. Senator Manka Dhingra (D-45) Representative Roger Goodman (D-45) 48-0; 96-2
2019 Legislative Session
EHB 1074 Tobacco & vapor products/age Increases the sales age for tobacco and vapor products to 21.  Representative Paul Harris (R-17) Senator Patty Kuderer (D-48) 66-30; 33-12
HB 1490 Hanford workers/cancer Provides Hanford workers exposed to hamful vapors who get cancer with access to workers' compensation benefits they earned.  Representative Timm Ormsby (D-3) Senator Karen Keiser (D-33) 67-29; 39-8
HB 1066 Debt collection complaints Bans "pocket service" -- the deceptive debt collection practive of serving Washington consumers with a lawsuit before it is filed with the court. Representative Christine Kilduff (D-28) Senator Manka Dhingra (D-45) 31-17; 59-37
ESSB 5035 Prevailing wage laws Increases civil penalties for prevailing wage violations, requires interest on prevailing wage recoveries, and closes a loophole by defining "unpaid wages." Senator Rebecca Saldana (D-37) Representative Mike Sells (D-38) 34-15; 59-36
SHB 1071 Personal information Strengthens Washington's data breach notification law by shortening timelines and expanding the definition of personal information to include, among other elements, email and social media passwords. Representative Shelley Kloba (D-1) Senator Joe Nguyen (D-34) 46-0; 96-0
SHB 1739 Firearms/undetectable, etc. Bans the sale and manufacture of untraceable and undetectable "ghost guns".  Representative Javier Valdez (D-46) Senator Manka Dhingra (D-45) 30-18; 55-41
2020 Legislative Session
2SHB 2277 Youth solitary confinement Bans youth solitary confinement in Washington. Representative Strom Peterson (D-21) Senator Claire Wilson (D-30) 36-13; 76-20
2021 Legislative Session
SSB 5025 Consumer Protection Improvement Act Increases the maximumum penalties for consumer protection and antitrust violations and creates an enhanced penalty for violations that target protected classes.  Senator Christine Rolfes (D-23) (no companion)  30-19; 57-41
E2SSB 5259 Law enforcement data Directs the Attorney General's Office to partner with a 4-year college to create a public database of all police use of force incidents in Washington. Senator T'wina Nobles (D-28) Representative Roger Goodman (D-45) 46-2; 97-1
2022 Legislative Session
ESSB 5078 Large capacity magazines Bans the sale, manufacture, import, and distribution of magazines with the capacity to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Senator Marko Liias (D-21) Representative Strom Peterson (D-21) 28-20; 55-42
2SSB 5793 State boards, etc./stipends Provides state agencies with allowance to provide stipends for individuals with relevant lived experience who serve on agency boards, commissions, task forces, and advisory groups. Senator Claire Wilson (D-30) (no companion)  32-17; 67-31
SHB 1616 Charity care Provides discounts on out-of-pocket hospital costs for 4 million Washingtonians, including free care for more than 2 million.  Representative Tarra Simmons (D-23) (no companion)  31-17; 65-33
SHB 1725 Missing indigenous persons alert Creates the Missing Indigenous Person Alert system. Representative Debra Lekanoff (D-40) (no companion)  46-0; 98-0
2023 Legislative Session
SB 5163 Medicaid fraud false claims Eliminates the sunset on the whistleblower provisions of the Medicaid False Claims, a key tool used to combat health care fraud. Senator Ann Rivers (R-17) (no companion)  48-0; 95-3
ESHB 1051 Robocalls & telephone scams Protects Washingtonians from scam robocalls by creating a Consumer Protection Act violation for robocalling Washingtonians on the "do not call" registry, and other protections. Representative Mari Leavitt (D-28) (no companion)  48-0; 96-0
ESHB 1329 Utility shutoffs/heat Protects Washingtonians from having their water, electricity and other utilities shut off during extreme heat due to late payment. Representatie Sharlett Mena (D-29) Senator Joe Nguyen (D-34) 29-20; 64-31
SHB 1177 MMIWP Cold Case Unit Creates a cold case unit in the Attorney General's Office focused on cases involving missing and murdered indigenous persons.  Representative Debra Lekanoff (D-40) Senator Manka Dhingra (D-45) 48-0; 97-0
SSB 5087 Defects and omissions Abolishes the death penalty and other laws ruled unconstitutional and unenforceabel by the courts. Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-43) Representative Tina Orwall (D-33) 34-14; 58-39
SHB 1240 Assault weapons sales ban Bans the sale, manufacture, import, and distribution of military-style assault weapons. Representative Strom Peterson (D-21) Senator Patty Kuderer (D-48) 28-21; 56-42
SSB 5078 Firearm Industry Responsibility and Gun Violence Victims' Access to Justice Act Requires the gun industry to put in place responsible controls to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous and prohibited individuals, with accountability provisions.  Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-43) Representative David Hackney (D-11) 26-20; 57-41
ESHB 1155 My Health My Data Act Prohibits the sharing and selling of sensitive personal health data without informed consent.  Representative Vandana Slatter (D-48) Senator Manka Dhingra (D-45) 27-21; 57-40
E2SSB 5199 Newspaper publishers/tax Provides newspaper printers and publishers with tax-relief in the form of an exemption from the B&O tax. Senator Mark Mullet (D-5) Representative Gerry Pollet (D-46) 47-1; 89-7
2024 Legislative Session
E2SSB 5838 Artificial Intelligence Convenes a task force comprised of tech industry professionals, business representatives, community advocates, labor, educators, students, and more to discuss generative artificial intelligence and make recommendations to the legislature. Senator Joe Nguyen (D-34) Representative Travis Couture (R-35) 30-19; 68-28
SHB 2072 Antitrust Penalties  Increases the maximum penalty for price-fixing, illegal collusion, and other antitrust violations to three times the illegal gains or loss avoided. Representative Darya Farivar (D-46) Senator Yasmin Trudeau (D-27) 59-37; 29-20
SHB 2136 Wage Theft Help prevent the “whack-a-mole” enforcement dynamic against intentional wage theft offenders that restart operations under a different company name and continue business as usual after getting caught. Representative Timm Ormsby (D-3) Senator. Steve Conway (D-29) 93-4; 46-3
2SHB 2014 Veterans Benefits Aligns state eligibility requirements for veterans’ benefits and protections with federal VA requirements for receiving monetary benefits, opening up state benefits to more than 35,000 veterans. Representative Mike Volz (R-6) Senator John Lovick (D-44) 97-0; 49-0