Legislation to increase 45-year-old penalty from $100 to $500; enact $1,000 repeat violator penalty

OLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced his proposed bipartisan legislation to increase transparency in government by enhancing penalties for violations of Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA).

Utilities and Transportation Commission to decide penalty following Jan. 12 hearing

SEATTLE — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson urges the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to reject a proposed settlement and impose the maximum regulatory penalty of $11.5 million on CenturyLink for a six-hour 911 outage that left the entire state without critical 911 services. The UTC will hold a hearing on Jan. 12 to consider penalties for the telecommunications company.

"I share the Governor’s frustration at the news of early prison releases.  I also extend my sympathies to all who have been affected.  When public safety is at stake, there is no excuse not to get it right.

"Today, the Department of Corrections released a December 7, 2012 email from an attorney in the Attorney General’s Office to a staff person at the Department of Corrections. This 2012 advice was deeply flawed and failed to emphasize the urgency of addressing this critical issue.    

"In response, I have directed my staff to:

OLYMPIA – Attorney General Bob Ferguson late last night filed a brief with the Washington State Supreme Court urging the justices to uphold a Benton County Superior Court decision ordering a Richland florist to stop discriminating against gay and lesbian customers seeking flowers for their weddings. 

OLYMPIA — In a unanimous, bipartisan vote, the Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee (JLARC) today approved the final version of an independent audit report encouraging the Legislature to renew the state’s Medicaid Fraud False Claims Act (FCA).

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the U.S. Department of Energy have filed what is expected to be the final round of materials in Washington’s lawsuit regarding the cleanup of nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

After a U.S. District Court judge agreed with several key arguments from the Attorney General’s Office in August, both parties submitted updated proposals in November to comply with the judge’s ruling. Yesterday’s filings represent the parties' responses to those proposals.

SEATTLE — In the latest action in a crackdown on illegal assistance to immigrants, Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a lawsuit against an Everett man accused of advertising immigration law services, when he is not an attorney or accredited to provide such services.

Michael Bendzar published at least 73 advertisements in Russian-language publications since December 2013 advertising “immigration services” through his business, Michael’s Office.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced the filing of an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in the United States Supreme Court, supporting President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive actions to reform our country’s immigration system.

The Washington State Attorney’s General Office authored the brief, which was joined by the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Company pushed unneeded drug and genetic testing

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Millennium Health laboratories will pay back $256 million to the states and federal government for illegal revenue gained through a kickback scheme designed to increase the number of laboratory tests it got paid to process. For Washington, this agreement will provide the state $426,000 in Medicaid reimbursement, which will be shared with the federal government.