Announcements, information & updates from the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
September 16, 2022
|
|
Western Attorneys General Litigation Action Committee meeting on October 17-18, 2022 at the Westin San Diego.
In addition to the roundtable discussion of natural resource, environmental, and Indian law cases, there will be a legal seminar.
|
|
The ORC Working Group will be holding an AG/staff only law enforcement training in Nashville, Tennessee on October 23-24, 2022.
Following the closed AG/AG Staff-only legal training on October 24th, the Seminar will conclude with a closing dinner for all ORC Working Group members.
|
|
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong are leading a multistate, bipartisan effort of 18 attorneys general urging the President to classify illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. The drug is claiming a record number of lives across the country and continues to flow freely through the southwest border. In July alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 2,100 pounds of the substance, enough to kill nearly half a billion Americans. Due to the prevalence and low cost of production, there is concern that a bad actor may weaponize fentanyl. Attorney General Moody held a security briefing with former federal drug officials, Families Against Fentanyl, and law enforcement leaders to discuss the growing threat posed by the illicit drug.
|
|
Connecticut Attorney General Tong to Congress - Let States Protect Airline Travelers from Frustrating, Abusive Practices
At noon on Friday, September 16 at the Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General William Tong and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal will call on Congress to pass new legislation allowing state attorneys general to step in to protect airline travelers from frustrating and abusive practices.
Since the pandemic, Attorney General Tong has received over 260 complaints directly against airlines, including many from families who were denied refunds when forced to cancel their travel due to the pandemic.
WHAT: Press conference calling on Congress to pass legislation allowing state attorneys general to step in to protect airline travelers
WHO: Attorney General William Tong, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal
WHERE: Office of the Attorney General, Visitor Lobby, 165 Capitol Avenue, Hartford
WHEN: Friday, September 16 at 12:00 Noon ET
|
|
California Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed his support for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rulemaking that would establish several new protections for car buyers nationwide. For many Americans, a car is a necessity for work, school, childcare, groceries, medical visits, and other important daily tasks. It is also one of the most expensive purchases many Americans will make, second only to a house. In a letter filed today, Attorney General Bonta joins 17 state attorneys general in applauding the FTC’s efforts to enact national rules protecting consumers during the sale, financing, and leasing of new vehicles. Although California law already provides some of these protections, the FTC rules would have a national effect while still allowing states to impose stricter protections.
In filing the comments, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.
|
|
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauds a New York federal district court’s decision to reject Google’s motion to dismiss Texas’s lawsuit alleging that they monopolized the digital advertising market. The federal court has allowed a coalition of seventeen states led by Texas to proceed on all counts under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, a major body of federal antitrust laws. The court ruled that “the States have plausibly alleged that Google has monopoly power in and willfully engaged in anticompetitive conduct.”
|
|
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey led a coalition of 16 attorneys general in an amicus brief in support of the City of Boston’s interim race-neutral admissions policy aimed at reducing barriers to quality education for underrepresented student groups. In the friend-of-the-court brief, the coalition urges the appellate court to uphold the district court’s ruling — protecting the ability of states to implement effective, inclusive policies for all individuals, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or background — and highlights the states’ interest in eradicating discrimination in all its forms.
In filing the amicus brief, led by the Attorney General of Massachusetts and joined by California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington.
|
|
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of the attempt to redefine the concept of biological sex and weaken the protections women have received from Title IX for the last fifty years. The coalition of Attorneys General submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Education opposing the changes.
Attorney General Marshall joined attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia in filing the amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Judicial Circuit.
|
|
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in a comment letter in support of the federal government’s proposed rule aimed at strengthening protections against sex discrimination — including sexual violence and harassment — under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX).
In filing the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. California’s Title IX case against the federal government remains ongoing pending the issuance of final regulations.
|
|
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall led 21 attorneys general in filing a brief opposing the Hillsborough County Florida transit authority’s policy denying the First Amendment rights of a religious group to advertise on public transportation.
Attorney General Marshall and the 20 other attorneys general point out in their brief that HART’s policy of banning religious speech runs afoul of Supreme Court cases and the Constitution:
Attorney General Marshall and the attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia filed their brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Judicial Circuit.
|
|
AGA Sponsor Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck announced that Jason Downs, co-chair of the firm’s State Attorneys General practice group, was recognized as a 2022 Rising Star by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). MCCA’s Rising Stars is an annual list honoring attorneys whose accomplishments and dedication to the legal profession and their community place them among those “attorneys to watch.”
The MCCA was founded in 1997 to champion the hiring, retention, and promotion of diverse attorneys in corporate law departments and law firms. Downs was recognized among 24 other attorneys who lead the charge for systemic change in their communities and workplaces.
Downs taps into his experience managing one of the premier AG offices in the country and his reputation as a top-notch trial attorney to help clients engage with government regulators, including state attorneys general. As State Attorneys General practice group co-chair, he serves as lead counsel for clients facing enforcement action, takes a creative approach to educate the state AG community on behalf of clients, and helps businesses understand the authority of state attorneys general. Downs serves as trial advocacy workshop faculty at Harvard Law School and is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland School of Law.
|
|
Missed our live programs? No problem! Follow the button below to visit our Virtual Seminar Library for access to all recordings.
Do you have a webinar topic suggestion? We want to hear from you! Please email ideas to Patricia Salazar at PSalazar@AGAlliance.org.
|
|
CWAG Executive Committee
AG Alliance Co-Chairs
|
|
Attorney General Alliance 5050 | Laguna Blvd., Ste. 112-323 | Elk Grove, CA 95758
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
