Section 49.94.030 - Attorney general's enforcement powers-Penalties(1) The state attorney general's office shall enforce this chapter. Its powers to enforce this chapter include the authority to: (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.Added by 2018 c 38,§ 4, eff. 6/7/2018.