Tomorrow, a bill that would provide for religious objection to an autopsy is scheduled for a hearing. I’ll be covering this hearing for TVW tomorrow. Today, I spoke with the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Adam Kline about this bill and a bill related to fraud punishment that he is behind.

Q: What prompted you to take up the issue of religious objection to autopsy? 

Kline: Well, the issue was brought to us actually. A tourist a few months ago, in the fall was climbing Mount Rainier. The gentleman … died on Mount Ranier. Could have been any number of causes, people die on Mount Rainier with amazing frequency. … An orthodox rabbi suggested to the King County [medical examiner] that respect should be given to the fact that the orthodox follow the Jewish tradition of burying the dead with dignity and quickly … that’s tradition, and it does have a basis in the Torah. I understand that there are various religious traditions have this, it’s not just Jews; there are others… I believe Muslims believe the same way. I respect that, but at the same time we have to balance that with the authority, not just of the medical examiner, but of the prosecutor. … Whenever there is any death at all, law enforcement understands that most deaths are not foul-play, but we have to look. There has to be some examination … you have to look. In the vast majority of cases, there is no foul-play, but you can’t bury the body until you make that inquiry. 

Q: Would this bill allow any family with a religious objection to forgo autopsy in any circumstance? Or would some suspicious deaths merit an autopsy no matter what? 

Kline: Those are two extremes. For the first one, the answer is obviously no. You don’t just dictate because of your own religious beliefs or even the beliefs of the diseased … it simply asks the prosecutor to balance religious considerations with law enforcement considerations. And by the way, the court is given that jurisdiction if the two parties disagree. There has to be a compelling necessity [to require an autopsy]. That phrase means there has to be some law enforcement interest that has not been resolved

Q: How open do you think lawmakers will be to this bill?

Kline: I don’t know. I’ve got to confess, this is not a bill on which I’ve counted noses.  The reason is, I think there will be a willingness to accept this. It won’t affect this balance of two interests, both of which are important to all legislators … [who] understand the need to accept and balance needs from religious organizations and religious bodies with those of law enforcement.

Q: Any other bills you’re sponsoring to keep an eye on?

Kline: 5310. Fraud, waste, and abuse. Everyone’s against it. What this bill does is it allows the Attorney General to be better equipped in recouping losses the state has incurred by fraud, by cheaters. People who have cheated the state. The AG has been ill-equipped to chase them and collect their money. This bill increases the AG’s ability to do that. Let me give you an example … many states and the federal government have laws that if you report fraud that has already been perpetrated against the public, if you give all the facts that allow the US attorney or in some states the Attorney General the information from which to sue the fraudulent party … a bounty hunter reports that information, the Attorney General sues, and the bounty hunter is given a very small portion of the proceeds. It encourages people to come forward. Anyone can be a bounty hunter …  and that includes the perpetrator of the fraud … even the guy who was a participant in the fraud, he’d get a reduced amount, but he’d at least get an amount that would make it worthwhile to come forward. 

Tags: Attorney General, autopsy, fraud, jewish, religion

Attorney General Rob McKenna’s biggest legislative priority this session is tightening stalking laws this session. 

“We think it will save lives,” McKenna said, of the bill. He said that under current law, there are greater protections for victims of domestic violence who want to be protected from their abusers. But for victims of stalking — particularly if the stalker is a stranger — it’s more difficult to get legal protection.

One victim of stalking said she has hidden from her stalker for nearly the past two decades. She said her stalker was arrested for other offenses, but he still wrote to her from jail. “My stalker began threatening to kill the people in the justice system who were helping to protect me,” she said. Those offenses were considered felonies, but she said threats against her were treated as a misdemeanor.

Ken Paulson, father of a stalking victim who was murdered, said he wants to live in a state where lawmakers step up to protect women.

Tags: Attorney General, stalking

TVW just got done taping an interview with Attorney General Rob McKenna for this week’s episode of “Inside Olympia,” which will be televised initially tonight at 7 p.m.  McKenna broke news during the interview: He’s proposing that a portion of settlement dollars the state receives from Consumer Protection Act lawsuits be dedicated to prevention programs in the anti-gang bill he’s proposed to the Legislature (HB 1126).

Besides McKenna, host Austin Jenkins also discusses the gang bill with a three-person panel:  Shankar Narayan of the American Civil Liberties Union, Karrie Guerra of Pierce County’s Safe St program, and officer Brian O’Neill of the Auburn Police Dept’s anti-gang unit.

Tags: ACLU, Attorney General, gang bill, police, Rob McKenna

Attorney General Rob McKenna says that inmates are using the Public Records Act as a “cash cow” and is requesting that the legislature ban prisoners from collecting penalties in public records lawsuits. But for many the measure, HB 1034, raises a red flag: if penalties are removed then what is to keep agencies from ignoring requests for information?

The Public Records Act grants the people access to records in all levels of government. According to the act, when citizens elect officials they are not giving them “the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.”

The issue was debated this morning in the House State Government and Tribal Affairs committee, where a public hearing on another bill had to be postponed to make time for everyone who wanted to testify.

Tim Lang from the Attorney General’s office said that claims filed under the act are overwhelmingly made by inmates. “In our experience the main factor is financial motivation…this is money making venture,” he said. “What we are proposing is to simply eliminate penalties for those who are serving prison sentences…the bill does not restrict access to public records.”

The Attorney General’s office said that one inmate has 11 current lawsuits pending against the state and has asked the Department of Corrections for 161 record requests since 2008. On their website they said that last year the office “spent more than 2,000 attorney/paralegal hours defending inmate PRA litigation – 50 full-time work weeks for one employee and roughly $237,000.”

Rep. Mark Miloscia expressed concern that if they start chipping away at penalties, then local jurisdictions would be less likely to respond to public records requests.

“If there were not penalties then there isn’t necessarily the same incentive to comply,” said Lang. “I think the incentive is still there.”

Rep. Jason Overstreet asked what about the recourse for inmates who legitimately make requests? (more…)

Tags: Attorney General, inmates, public records, Rob McKenna

The Supreme Court will hear a disagreement between State Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark and State Attorney General Rob McKenna — in November.

The short background: An Okanogan County utility wants to condemn some state forest land to put a power line through it. A district court judge ruled that the utility could do so, but the state — specifically, lands commissioner Goldmark, wanted to appeal. McKenna refused, and Goldmark took it to the Supreme Court (which meant getting another lawyer in the process).

On Nov. 18, oral arguments in the case will be heard in Olympia.

Goldmark said in a statement that he’s pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision to take up his case. “It is a critical constitutional question of whether or not the Attorney General has the discretion to make policy for issues under the purview of another statewide elected official.”

Tags: Attorney General, Goldmark, McKenna, public lands, supreme court

Washington’s Attorney General, Rob McKenna, has been elected by the National Association of Attorneys General as their vice president. This means he’ll serve as president in 2011.

In a news release, McKenna said: “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to serve in a role that will elevate the national awareness of issues crucial to the state of Washington, from protecting the environment, to combating gang violence and reducing the deadly impact of prescription drug abuse. This is the most active and effective national association for statewide elected officials. I’m honored that my fellow attorneys general nationwide have selected me for this position.”

Read all about it here.

Tags: Attorney General

The state will get about $2.6 million from Aventis, a pharmaceutical company, after the company overcharged Medicaid, the taxpayer-funded health care program.

Washington is part of a $95.5 million settlement with the U.S. Health Department, all 50 states and D.C.

“The settlement once again demonstrates that we aggressively pursue those who attempt to siphon tax dollars away from a fund that provides health care for children, seniors and those with disabilities,” said Attorney General Rob McKenna in a release.

Background, from the release: “Under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Statute, Aventis was required to report the lowest or “best” price that it charged commercial customers – and pay quarterly rebates to Medicaid based on those reported prices. Washington’s settlement resolves allegations that between 1995 and 2000, Aventis and its corporate predecessors knowingly misreported the information in order to make more money on the nasal sprays.”

Tags: Attorney General, pharmaceutical, settlement

Attorney General Rob McKenna’s office just sent out an announcement that Randy Pepple, a former congressional chief of staff and private sector CEO, will be joining his office on June 1, replacing current chief of staff Mike Bigelow. Bigelow will retire on June 30.

Pepple previously worked as chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Rick White. He also has worked for Hill & Knowlton, a communication consultant, and recently managed his own “strategic communications consulting firm,” according to the press release.

From the release: “Randy’s combination of management, strategic planning, public policy and communications expertise is ideal as we work to advance the public policy priorities of the Attorney General’s Office: community safety, consumer protection and government integrity,” McKenna said.

And Pepple said in the release: “The chance to lead the fine administrative, policy and communications team he’s assembled — and to help advance his policy goals not just in our state, but across the country — is a great professional challenge.”

Tags: Attorney General

Attorney General Rob McKenna, who earlier worked on a settlement with Craigslist to combat illegal erotic service ads, just sent out a release applauding the listing web site for removing all “erotic service” ads.

Craigslist — a mostly free, worldwide online listing service — has hosted an “erotic service” section on its site that has long drawn the ire of attorneys general, who say it is mainly used for prostitution. More than 40 of those AGs negotiated a deal with Craigslist last year that required a valid phone number and credit card for each listing, allowing law enforcement officers to track down those who were breaking the law more easily.

But the section of the site has gotten attention in recent weeks after some high-profile killings in which the victim was found through Craigslist’s erotic services section.

Now, the site has scrapped the section altogether. Instead, they’ll have an “adult services” section, and each post will be reviewed by a Craigslist employee.

From the release: “This change should significantly reduce the blatant misuse of Craigslist’s online classified ad service to promote prostitution,” McKenna said. “It will only be successful if Craigslist follows through on its promise to actively monitor its site for illicit images and messages. If Craigslist does follow through, it will help state attorneys general and our law enforcement partners as we fight sexual exploitation to make our communities safer.”

Tags: Attorney General, craigslist, prostitution

I just got confirmation from Governor Chris Gregoire’s office that Jeff Goltz is the choice to head the Utilities and Transportation Commission.

Goltz, a deputy attorney general in the AG’s office, is the son of Barney Goltz, the late state senator.

In a press release from the AG’s office about Goltz receiving the 2006 “Outstanding Leader” award, he was called “a key member of the leadership contributing to impact decisions on technology, safety and security and performance management.”

Update: Here is the announcement, in which Gregoire says Goltz “has the leadership and strong ethical background” required for the post.

For those unsure: The UTC “regulates companies responsible for roughly 10 percent of the state’s economy in terms of total business revenue. Approximately 8,000 utilities and carriers, many with annual revenues totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars, must operate under the commission’s umbrella.”

Gregoire’s release also says that the appointment comes at a critical time because “utilities regulation must strike a balance between ensuring affordable rates and adequate supplies.”

Tags: Attorney General