OLYMPIA – Attorney General Rob McKenna today thanked the state Legislature for unanimously approving an important law that provides Washington residents with a new tool to protect themselves from potential identity theft and financial destruction. Substitute Senate Bill 5826 passed unanimously in both sides of the Legislature.

OLYMPIA…The state of Washington led 37 other states, the District of Columbia and Commonwealth of  Puerto Rico today in submitting a “friend of the court” brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the authority to recover costs in the voluntary clean-up of contaminated sites.

OLYMPIA…Each year more than 565,000 cases of elder abuse are reported in the United States, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse, but it is estimated as many as 5 million elders are mistreated each year.

Attorney General Rob McKenna, Social and Health Services Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams, state legislators and the state long-term care ombudsman Wednesday will discuss legislation and other proposals to protect vulnerable adults in Washington.

OLYMPIA – Two of Attorney General Rob McKenna’s requested bills were approved by the Legislature after unanimous votes today and will be delivered to Governor Chris Gregoire for signing. The bills help protect seniors from trust mill scams and create a new tool to punish abusers who strangle their victims.

Olympia – Attorney General Rob McKenna will visit Cashmere High School on Thursday, and Cascade High School in Leavenworth on Friday as part of the on-going schedule of school visits in his “Operation:  Allied Against Meth” campaign.

OLYMPIA –  Attorney General Rob McKenna and Gov. Chris Gregoire today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court decision in a critical challenge to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the federal Clean Air Act.

Washington was one of 12 states, led by Massachusetts, to file the case in October 2003 challenging the EPA's refusal to initiate rulemaking under the federal Clean Air Act to limit emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, from motor vehicles.

OLYMPIA - The Washington State Supreme Court today ruled that the Department of Corrections (DOC) has the authority to collect payments for Legal Financial Obligations from all inmates, including those sentenced to death or life without parole.

Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) include money for court costs, court appointed attorneys and restitution for victims as a result of their felony convictions. Payments are deducted from the funds received by inmates.

OLYMPIA -- Washington’s Law Enforcement Group Against Identity Theft, better known as LEGIT, today announced Washington’s first statewide shred-a-thon. Events at 29 locations statewide will help raise awareness of identity theft prevention and assist the public in keeping sensitive documents out of the hands of crooks.
 

 Olympia… Secretary of State  Sam Reed and Attorney General Rob McKenna announced today a settlement has been reached in the federal court lawsuit filed by the Brennan Center for Justice in New York City.

The Secretary of State’s Office was sued in May 2006 for requiring that the identity of each voter registration applicant be verified before a person can become a registered voter and vote, as outlined in Washington State law.

VANCOUVER — A loan officer convicted of stealing more than $44,000 from homeowners as part of a program to pay off their mortgages today received an exceptional sentence of 68 months incarceration, $70,600 in restitution and a $10,000 fine, Attorney General Rob McKenna announced.

The Financial Crimes Unit of the state Attorney General’s Office brought charges against J. Anthony Hansen, 42, of Tacoma, in August 2005 at the request of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions.