AGO News Releases With Topic: Youth

In a move to protect Washingtonians who depend on federal U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, Attorney General Nick Brown has joined 20 other attorneys general in suing the agency for attempting to impose unconstitutional and unlawful conditions on the agency’s programs, grants, and agreements.

A federal court said on Thursday that it would rule for Washington, 20 other states, and the District of Columbia, turning back an unlawful attempt by the Trump administration to pressure health care providers into ending transgender health care for youth with gender dysphoria.

Attorney General Nick Brown and 15 other state attorneys general filed a motion on Tuesday asking a federal court to enforce its previous order requiring the U.S. Department of Education to halt the unlawful discontinuation of congressionally approved school mental health grants.

The U.S. Department of Education’s demand for data on admissions and outcomes of college and university students, broken out by race and sex, violates the law and puts student privacy at risk, according to a new lawsuit filed by Attorney General Nick Brown and a coalition of 16 other attorneys general. 

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Senate today approved a bill to reduce youth access to vapor products, in a 37-6 vote. The bill combines multiple proposals, including agency request legislation from Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Governor Jay Inslee.

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.

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s agency-request bill to raise the state’s legal smoking age to 21 passed a key legislative hurdle today. The House Health Care & Wellness Committee approved the bill in a bipartisan 12 to 3 vote.

OLYMPIA — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson today urged legislative action on bills to regulate vapor products and to raise the legal age for tobacco products to 21, citing new reports underscoring the danger of tobacco and other nicotine products.

OLYMPIA — Washington has long been at the forefront of the fight to protect youth from the dangers of smoking. Continuing that leadership role, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a bill that would make the state the first to raise the legal age for purchasing and possessing tobacco and vapor products to 21. The harmful consequences of tobacco are clear. Smoking kills 8,300 Washingtonians every year, and $2.8 billion in health care costs are directly attributed to tobacco use in the state. Washington state taxpayers pay nearly $400 million in taxes to cover state government expenditures caused by smoking. According to a recent report by the U.S. Surgeon General, over 100,000 of today’s Washington youth are projected to die prematurely due to the effects of smoking.

SEATTLE – Attorney General Bob Ferguson has invited attorneys from around the state to meet with him about volunteering to provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children.