The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson celebrated the end of the 2014 legislative session by coming to the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce crab and oyster feed last Saturday.

Ferguson said the legislature sent three of the six bills his office had requested to the governor for signature.

The legislature left undone the task of clarifying the mix of rules regulating the developing commercial production and sale of marijuana.

Across the state there are cities and counties which would like to prohibit the cultivation and/or sale of marijuana in their jurisdictions, but state law coming from a voter-approved initiative permits those enterprises.

"Eventually a court will decide if local jurisdictions can totally opt out," Ferguson said Saturday afternoon. "Some city or county will prohibit it, and some business will sue the jurisdiction, and the court will ultimately decide."

The three bills which the Attorney General's Office requested and which were approved by the legislature included:

--Training for elected officials statewide on open government and public records;

--Strengthening economic protections for veterans and military personnel, and

--Preserving the integrity of veterans' benefit-related services.

Ferguson said he has supported open government transparency, and the first bill will aid local jursdictions in meeting requirements of the law.

The second bill brings the state into alignment with federal protections for veterans' rights.

The last bill arose out of consumer protection complaints made to the AGO in which people were scamming veterans and their families.