Announcements, information and updates from CWAG Members and Associates
July 5, 2018
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Annual Meeting Registration Closed
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Arizona Attorney General and CWAG Chair Mark Brnovich, and New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas look forward to seeing you at the 2018 CWAG Annual Meeting in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico this July 22 to 25, 2018. The
meeting website
includes travel and hotel information to facilitate air and hotel arrangements, speaker details, CLE information and much more.
Registration for the CWAG Annual Meeting in New Mexico is now CLOSED
as the meeting has reached maximum capacity. There will be
no
on-site registration.
The CWAG host hotel Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is
sold out
. If you have been unable to secure a room, the nearest hotel is the
Santa Ana Star Casino
hotel.
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Hot Topics On The Agenda At The 2018 CWAG Annual Meeting
Check out the latest articles on topics that will be addressed during the Annual Meeting in New Mexico! (
Note: Subscription may be required for access
.)
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AG Lori Swanson Sues Opioid Maker Purdue Pharma, Says It Violated Consumer-Fraud Laws
July 2, 2018
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma, accusing it of violating consumer fraud laws in marketing the painkilling drug OxyContin.
Purdue Pharma allegedly used sales representatives, payments to promoters, and third-party front groups to “spread its deceptive messages about opioids,” Swanson said Monday in announcing the Hennepin County District Court lawsuit. Minnesota is the 26th state to sue Purdue Pharma this year.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Blood Draws for Unconscious Intoxicated Drivers, Authorized Under Wisconsin’s Implied-Consent Law
AG Schimel Thanks Mothers Against Drunk Driving for Providing Key Support
July 3 2018
The Wisconsin Department of Justice prevailed before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in State v. Mitchell, in which the court confirmed the constitutionality of a warrantless blood draw of an unconscious driver properly arrested for an intoxicated-driving offense. The court’s holding leaves standing Wisconsin’s implied-consent statute, which authorizes warrantless blood draws in such circumstances. Mothers Against Drunk Driving filed an amicus brief in support of the state’s position and also presented oral argument.
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Yale University Trains Utah Children Justice Centers
National Children’s Alliance Selects Utah and Idaho as Grant Beneficiaries
June 27, 2018
The Yale Child Study Center, a division of Yale University School of Medicine, spent two days in Utah training 19 Children’s Justice Centers clinicians that serve twelve counties. Utah was one of two states selected by the National Children’s Alliance, the parent organization of the Utah CJCs, for the training provided by a grant awarded by Cambia Health Foundation.
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Attorney General Laxalt Releases School Safety Recommendations Following Special Law Enforcement Summit
June 28, 2018
Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced the issuance of his office’s School Safety Report following the March 14, 2018 Special Law Enforcement Summit on School Safety. The report draws from the recommendations and insights received from the Summit, a gathering of law enforcement officials, teachers, school administrators and security experts to discuss existing security gaps and changes that can be implemented to ensure the safety of Nevada’s schools. Held in Carson City and Las Vegas with more than 100 participants, the Summit was convened in order to collectively assess the vulnerabilities in Nevada’s schools and examine laws, protocols and security measures that could be adopted to evaluate and prevent threats to Nevada schools before they materialize, and respond promptly and efficiently to attacks when they occur.
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AG Becerra Charges Navient Corporation, Largest Student Loan Servicer, with Deceitful Practices and Debt-Collection Misconduct in Lawsuit
June 28, 2018
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that he will be filing a lawsuit this week against Navient Corporation (Navient) and its subsidiaries, Pioneer and General Revenue Corporation, for misconduct in the servicing and collection of federal student loans. Navient services approximately $300 billion in federal and private student loans held by 12 million borrowers. An estimated 1.5 million Navient borrowers live in California.
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Becerra will allege that Navient, which contracts with the federal Department of Education to service federal student loans, violated California’s Unfair Competition and False Advertising Laws by:
- Steering vulnerable borrowers toward more expensive repayment plans;
- Failing to adequately disclose how students could attain income-driven repayment recertification;
- Misrepresenting the order in which it would apply overpayments;
- Misrepresenting the “present amount due” to delinquent borrowers; and
- Failing to properly discharge the federal student loans of borrowers with a total and permanent disability.
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AG Balderas Joins Bi-Partisan Effort to Fight Legislation That Would Terminate States’ Ability to Prevent Abusive Lending Practices
June 28, 2018
Attorney General Hector Balderas joined a bi-partisan effort of attorneys general urging U.S. Congressional leadership to vote against HR 3299 (“Protecting Consumers’ Access to Credit Act of 2017”) and HR 4439 (“Modernizing Credit Opportunities Act”). The coalition of 20 AG’s sent a letter to leadership in the U.S. Senate expressing their opposition to the proposed legislation, which would invalidate the States’ ability to limit interest rates on payday and other high interest loans, and undermine the State’s ability to enforce consumer protection laws.
As the Attorneys General expressed in the letter, HR 3299 and HR 4439 would constitute a substantial expansion of the preemption of state usury laws, which have long been recognized as the purview of the individual States. Over decades, States have crafted laws that create a careful balance between the need for access to credit and the need to ensure that loans are offered on terms that do not create consumer harm.
Joining Attorney General Balderas are attorneys general from California, Colorado District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
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Colorado Supreme Court Rules — Reusing Return Flows May Require Specific Legal Action
July 2, 2018
In a case on appeal from the water court, the Colorado Supreme Court held that Coors Brewing Company would have to adjudicate a new water right in order to add rights of reuse or successive use to its augmentation plan. An augmentation plan can be amended to allow additional or alternative replacement water sources, but not to formally allow the reuse or lease of return flows as Coors had done since the 1970’s.
This decision clarifies that Colorado water users, using native water, who operate under an augmentation plan and wish to reuse return flows must do so pursuant to existing, explicit authorization in an augmentation plan decree. Alternatively, such water users must adjudicate a new water right. This standard still applies even if the water user fully augments its water supply.
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Welcome to the Sponsor Spotlight, where each week CWAG will celebrate one of our private sector partners.
JUUL was founded by former smokers with the goal of improving the lives of the one billion adult smokers. They envision a world where fewer people use cigarettes, and where people who smoke cigarettes have the tools to reduce or eliminate their consumption entirely, should they so desire.
Kevin Burns, CEO of JUUL, will be speaking on the panel "E-Cigarettes: Public Health Challenge or Opportunity?" at the CWAG Annual Meeting on Monday, July 23 at 1:30pm.
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FORENSICS RESEARCH LIBRARY
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CWAG and Cellebrite Introduce Launch Digital Forensics Resource Library
The
Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG)
Cyber Security Working Group and working group partner
Cellebrite
, a
leading provider of digital intelligence solutions, announced the launch of a comprehensive repository of digital procedural documents and educational assets designed to enhance the investigative process for law enforcement and prosecutors.
CWAG members can obtain access to this ever-expanding library of assets by contacting CWAG Alliance Partnership Deputy Director Lauren Niehaus at
LNiehaus@cwagweb.org.
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Updated
American Indian Law Deskbook
Is Now Available
*Access may require subscription
The
American Indian Law Deskbook
is a concise, direct, and easy-to-understand handbook on Indian law. The chapter authors of this book are experienced state lawyers who have been involved in Indian law for many years.
American Indian Law Deskbook
addresses the areas of Indian law most relevant to the practitioner.
Topics include:
- Definitions of Indians and Indian tribes
- Indian lands
- Criminal, civil regulatory, and civil adjudicatory jurisdiction
- Civil rights
- Indian water rights
- Fish and wildlife
- Environmental regulation
- Taxation
- Gaming
- Indian Child Welfare Act and tribal-state cooperative agreements
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Follow the 31 AG Races in 2018 on this Interactive Website
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A significant number of states, 30 and the District of Columbia, have contests for the Office of Attorney General. Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General Practice hosts an interactive map for those interested in following the races throughout the country. The State AG Election Tracker includes state-by-state AG candidate snapshots, filing deadlines and primary election dates; daily news, insights, polling and fundraising data; and the ability to sign up for real-time election-night updates via text and email. Access is free.
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