The U.S. Department of Justice is now investigating the law, which singles out the clergy "with no exception for the absolute seal of confidentiality that applies to Catholic Priests." The DOJ also points to the overall theme of the law potentially violating the First Amendment.
The DOJ's Civil Rights Department is handling the investigation into what the department describes as an "apparent conflict" between the law and the "free exercise of religion under the First Amendment."
The Washington State Standard reported that the bill sponsor, Seattle Democrat state Sen. Noel Frame, needed three years to get the bill to the governor's desk. She said imposing the disclosure requirement on priests was paramount. "You never put somebody's conscience above the protection of a child."