Last week Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson hosted his pre-session business roundtable. This annual event provides an opportunity for the AG to share his legislative priorities and hear from the business community about their priorities and how we can work together to improve our state. About 32 folks participated in the event.
The AG and his team discussed their budget request, which includes funding to bolster the recently formed Organized Retail Crime Task Force by adding more prosecutors, investigators, and a data analyst. WR strongly supports this request and commends the AG for taking a proactive approach to addressing this growing problem.
The AG plans to introduce ten request bills. He and his team need to secure sponsors for the bills to be considered by the legislature. Some of the measures discussed included:
- The Robocall Scam Protection Act to prevent unknowing consumers from becoming a victim of ID theft or other financial crimes
- Mandatory warranties for used cars selling for over $700 and no more than 20 years old or over 125,000 miles
- The Consumer Health Information Protection Act
- Data privacy
- Extreme heat utility shutoff moratorium
- Medicaid Fraud Whistleblower Protection
- Gun industry liability and assault weapon regulations
- The process of the state Supreme Court submitting defects and omissions corrections for existing laws in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW’s)
The AG introduced his lead assistant AGs who are tasked with providing support for his legislative package as well as supporting the new and returning members of his Legislative and Policy team. WR thanks the AG for holding these productive exchanges and looks forward to working closely with him and his team on areas of mutual concern.
