Announcements, information and updates from The AG Alliance Members and Associates
October 24, 2019
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Articles on topics relevant to the work of Attorneys General.
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Note: Subscription may be required for access
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BLOCKCHAIN TECH
Governing.com
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OPIOID CRISIS
The New York Times
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Wasden Announces $116.9 Million Multistate Settlement with Johnson & Johnson and Subsidiary Ethicon, Inc.
October 17, 2019
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced a multistate settlement with 40 other states and the District of Columbia requiring Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon, Inc. to pay nearly $116.9 million for their deceptive marketing of transvaginal surgical mesh devices.
In addition to Idaho attorneys general from the following states and territory participated in this action: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
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Attorney General Becerra Announces Arrest and Indictment of Three Individuals in $7 Million Statewide Mortgage Fraud Scheme
October 18, 2019
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the indictment and arrest of three individuals on a 121-count felony indictment for allegedly operating a mortgage fraud scheme throughout California. The scheme resulted in a combined loss of over $7 million. The victims, many of whom were elderly and in financial distress, sought mortgage relief services from Grand View Financial in the Counties of San Diego, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Placer, Solano, Mendocino, San Francisco, El Dorado, and Sacramento.
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Hawaii Attorney General Joins Bi-Partisan Coalition of Attorneys General Raising Concerns About Illegal Online Alcohol Sales
October 22, 2019
Attorney General Clare E. Connors joined a bipartisan coalition of 46 state and territory Attorneys General, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey, in calling on Facebook, Craigslist, and eBay to take proactive measures against alcohol sales on their platforms which frequently violate state laws.
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NIST Proposal Will Help Companies Manage Privacy Risk
Law360 *may require subscription
October 21, 2019
Organizations that handle lots of personal data have long been subject to plenty of trouble if they misstep but historically have had little to go by in terms of generally accepted standards for building out the guts of a privacy program. Thanks to the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) and its new privacy framework, that may be about to change. On Sept.6, the NIST released a preliminary draft of the Privacy Framework: A Tool for Improving Privacy through Enterprise Risk Management.
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Colorado Will Be Asked in November Whether to Legalize and Tax Sports Betting
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
October 18, 2019
On the last day of the 2019 state legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill to ask voters whether to legalize and tax sports betting. The referred measure, now known as Proposition DD, had bipartisan sponsorship and overwhelming support from the legislature. Yet, because of the way it had to be written, Proposition DD could face opposition from a statewide electorate who, by and large, disfavors the imposition of new taxes.
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Federal Grants Support Partnership Between Michigan Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Unit and WMU-Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project
October 17, 2019
The Michigan Department of Attorney General and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School have teamed up to receive two federal grants totaling more than $1 million to assist in reviewing 600 post-conviction claims of innocence. The announcement comes six months after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel launched one of the nation’s first statewide conviction integrity units (CIU) to ensure no one continues to be incarcerated for a crime they did not actually commit.
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Attorney General Rosenblum and 29 State AG’s Write Education Secretary DeVos
October 17, 2019
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a bipartisan coalition of 30 state Attorneys General requesting that U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos exercise her authority to extend the closed school discharge timeframe for students who were enrolled in schools operated by the Dream Center Education Holdings, LLC (DCEH). This is important because it appears that many students may have otherwise lost their chance for loan forgiveness even if they qualified for closed school discharge of their student debt. The letter from the Attorneys General details extraordinary misconduct and mismanagement by DCEH, which prevented students from obtaining degrees, and unfairly left them to repay federal student loan debt from their time attending the failed schools.
The letter was led by the Attorneys General of Oregon and Minnesota, and co-signed by the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
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Washington Attorney General Ferguson Wants to hear from Borrowers Struggling with Public Service Loan Forgiveness
October 17, 2019
Attorney General Bob Ferguson is urging Washington student loan borrowers who have had trouble with public service loan forgiveness to submit a complaint to the Attorney General’s Office. According to the U.S. Department of Education, it has only approved 1 percent of applications for loan forgiveness under the program.
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Nashville Mayor Appoints Former Tennessee Attorney General R. Cooper as Law Director
October 15, 2019
Mayor John Cooper announced the appointment of former Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr. as Director of the Metro Department of Law effective Monday, November 4, 2019.
As law director, Cooper will supervise Metro Government’s legal work and advise the Office of the Mayor and Metro Council on issues facing the city. Cooper served as Attorney General from 2006 to 2014. As Tennessee’s chief legal officer, he represented the state in areas such as environmental enforcement, antitrust violations, Medicaid fraud, and consumer protection. He successfully protected the interests of the state’s taxpayers in high-profile litigation and helped negotiate a $25-billion multi-state and federal mortgage servicing settlement in 2012 that brought almost $240 million in relief for struggling Tennessee homeowners.
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4th Annual Attorney General Rosenblum’s Elder Abuse
Conference – October 28-30, 2019
Attorney General Rosenblum's Fourth Annual Elder Abuse Conference will take place at the Salishan Spa & Resort in Gleneden Beach, Oregon starting with an optional happy hour on Monday, October 28, 2019 at 4:00 PM and ending on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 12:00 PM (PST).
This a comprehensive conference for law enforcement, district attorneys, deputy district attorneys, U.S. Attorneys, Adult Protective Services, medical professionals, and individuals employed by federal, state or local governments.* Attendees will receive:
- More than 10 hours of in-depth training from experts (CLE, CEU and DPSST credits are pending)
- Extensive networking and collaboration opportunities
- Two breakfasts
- One lunch
- Snacks and beverages
The cost to attend is $150 a person and does not include lodging. A block of rooms have been reserved at the Salishan Spa & Resort. To reserve a room at the Resort, please visit the
conference website
or contact the Resort directly at 1-800-452-2300.
*If you are NOT a government employee and would like to register for the conference, please contact Ellen Klem at
Ellen.Klem@doj.state.or.us
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CWAG Executive Committee
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Hector Balderas -
Mark Brnovich
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- Wayne Stenehjem -
Phil Weiser
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AG Alliance Co-Chairs
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Lawrence Wasden - Sean Reyes - Karl Racine
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