Washington Code 49.94.030 – Attorney general’s enforcement powers — Penalties
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
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(1) The state attorney general’s office shall enforce this chapter. Its powers to enforce this chapter include the authority to:
Terms Used In Washington Code 49.94.030
- Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(a) Investigate violations of this chapter on its own initiative;
(b) Investigate violations of this chapter in response to complaints and seek remedial relief for the complainant;
(c) Educate the public about how to comply with this chapter;
(d) Issue written civil investigative demands for pertinent documents, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony as required to enforce this chapter;
(e) Adopt rules implementing this chapter including rules specifying applicable penalties; and
(f) Pursue administrative sanctions or a lawsuit in the courts for penalties, costs, and attorneys’ fees.
(2) In exercising its powers, the attorney general’s office shall utilize a stepped enforcement approach, by first educating violators, then warning them, then taking legal, including administrative, action. Maximum penalties are as follows: A notice of violation and offer of agency assistance for the first violation; a monetary penalty of up to seven hundred fifty dollars for the second violation; and a monetary penalty of up to one thousand dollars for each subsequent violation.
[ 2018 c 38 § 4.]