SEATTLE – Attorney General Rob McKenna spoke in opposition today of the IRS’s proposed new rule that would allow tax-return preparers to sell information from individual returns to third parties.

McKenna joined U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Mountlake Terrace, and members of the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and WashPIRG during a bipartisan roundtable event in Seattle with constituents.

SEATTLE – Attorney General Rob McKenna this week filed formal objections to the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed rules that would make it easier for businesses to sell and share personal information included on tax returns.

OLYMPIA – The Attorney General’s Office today announced the state will seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which upheld a lower court ruling invalidating the Initiative 872, the top-two primary initiative.

OLYMPIA - Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced plans to appeal King County Superior Judge Mary Roberts’ June 13 ruling that Initiative 747 is unconstitutional.

“This ruling is disturbing in two ways,” McKenna said. “First, because it overturns the will of the people in approving property tax relief through Initiative 747 and second, because it sets an impossible hurdle for those seeking to exercise their constitutional right to initiative.”

OLYMPIA – Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced that Washington’s Medicaid program will receive $3 million from a multi-state settlement with the manufacturer of the AIDS drug Serostim.

Attorneys General from 42 states and the District of Columbia sued Swiss corporation Serono S.A. and its affiliates, Serono Inc. and Serono Laboratories, both of Rockland, Mass., alleging illegal schemes to market Serostim.

State leases prime space for Attorney General at Fifth Avenue Plaza

SEATTLE – The state of Washington has negotiated a new lease that will save taxpayers $12.6 million and move the Attorney General’s Seattle office to a new downtown location.

The state Department of General Administration, acting on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office, negotiated the new lease for 115,000 square feet of office space in the Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza at 800 5th Ave. in Seattle.

Russell Investment Group, Western Wireless and Microsoft among speakers at Dec. 1 conference in Seattle for business leaders and attorneys

SEATTLE – Businesses can learn how to better meet the challenges of corporate social responsibility this Thursday during the Responsible Corporate Leadership in Washington State conference in Seattle. Presenters include Attorney General Rob McKenna and executives from Russell Investment Group, Western Wireless Corporation, Microsoft, Washington Mutual, Itron, and more.

Washington to Receive $3.5 Million in Multi-State Settlement

SEATTLE – Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced that Washington will receive $3.5 million as part of a multi-state settlement with Reliant Energy Services. The settlement resolves claims that Reliant gouged ratepayers, withheld power and manipulated market prices during the 2000-2001 Energy Crisis.

Olympia – Lawmakers have taken an important step to ensuring open public access to government records, according to Attorney General Rob McKenna.

The Senate and House yesterday passed an earlier version of the Public Disclosure Act bill, leaving out two controversial amendments that the Senate had previously adopted. The bill was introduced by McKenna to strengthen the Public Disclosure Act to make it easier for citizens to obtain public records.

OLYMPIA – The Public Counsel Section of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office today filed testimony with the state Utilities and Transportation Commission objecting to a proposed rate increase by PacifiCorp. Public Counsel expressed concerns that the proposal is an inappropriate attempt to make Washington customers subsidize the power company’s growth in Utah. A public hearing on the proposed rate increase is scheduled for Dec. 1 in Yakima.