Announcements, information & updates from the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
August 12, 2022
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PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS EXTENSION |
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A coalition of Attorneys General urged the current Administration to extend and expand temporary changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program to provide certain borrowers with more opportunities to get loan forgiveness faster.
Under the PSLF Program, remaining balances on federal Direct Loans are forgiven after public servant borrowers make 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for a qualifying employer. However, due to the PSLF Program’s complexity and poor management, millions of public service workers have been unable to access forgiveness, and the program’s denial rates have been as high as 99 percent.
The attorneys general also argue that the waiver should automatically count all forbearance periods toward loan forgiveness and be made available to all federal loan borrowers to address pervasive servicer misconduct and resulting missed opportunities to make qualifying payments. In addition, the attorneys general advocate for equal treatment for all federal loan borrowers by recommending that waiver benefits be expanded to include all Parent PLUS borrowers and borrowers who obtained FFEL joint consolidation loans with spouses.
The letter, co-led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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REEXAMINE SPENDING CLAUSE PRECEDENT |
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined an amicus brief led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, in the U.S. Supreme Court, with 22 states in all, in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski, No. 21-806 (U.S.). The brief argues that the Court should reexamine outdated and anomalous precedent that permits implied private rights of action under Section 1983 to enforce contractual conditions imposed by the federal government under Spending Clause legislation. Instead, the Court should establish a clear, bright-line rule that--consistent with principles of political accountability and contract law—private, non-contracting actors may not use a tort cause of action under Section 1983 to enforce such contractual conditions.
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A coalition of Attorney General filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national mandate for public transportation.
The coalition was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia in filing the amicus brief.
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Attorneys General filed a comment letter in support of a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would make the poultry industry more transparent and make it easier for small poultry farmers to compete for fair pricing terms from large processors.
The USDA is proposing the rule under its authority in the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, which was enacted a century ago to address unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive practices in meat markets. Currently, the poultry system is dominated by contract growing arrangements and a tournament system.
The proposed rule will require poultry processors to certify how many birds a grower will receive, what other growers are receiving, and what the market has looked like previously for growers in each tournament. This transparency will give farmers needed information about the contracts they enter into and increase industry accountability.
Joining in filing the comment letter are the Attorneys General of California, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
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A coalition of 16 attorneys general joined in filing an amicus brief opposing a Florida law. The law bans certain classroom discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity, posing a threat to students who are particularly vulnerable to the harms caused by discrimination.
Joining the amicus brief are Attorneys General from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon.
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California Attorney General led a coalition of 17 attorneys general, urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant, in full, California’s preemption waiver applications for its heavy-duty truck standards.
In the letter, the coalition strongly encourages the EPA to grant CARB’s requests for waivers of preemption for its Heavy-Duty Omnibus regulation, Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, Zero Emission Airport Shuttle Bus regulation, and Zero Emission Powertrain Certification regulation – in full and as soon as possible.
The coalition is joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the City of New York in filing the comment letter.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich organized and is leading a coalition of 19 states that sent a letter to BlackRock Inc., calling out its practices. Some states work with BlackRock for retirement plans, pension funds, and investments. BlackRock recently sent a letter to a number of states, claiming it focuses solely on its fiduciary duty. It appears that anyone purchasing a BlackRock fund is forced to support certain initiatives.
Joining the coalition are attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
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ATTORNEY GENERAL SPOTLIGHT |
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Jonathan Skrmetti has been selected by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve as the 28th Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter. Prior to becoming Governor Bill Lee's chief legal counsel in December 2021, Attorney General Skrmetti served as chief deputy attorney general.
Attorney General Skrmetti replaces Attorney General Herbert Slatery who announced in May that he would not seek another term.
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“The Court has made an excellent choice in Jonathan Skrmetti. The Justices recognized Jonathan’s dedication to public service, his hands-on leadership experience in this Office, and his outstanding legal pedigree. Significant matters like antitrust and opioids are complex and take many years to resolve. It will be gratifying to pass the baton to Jonathan, who as Chief Deputy saw the initiation of some of these cases, steer them toward resolution as Attorney General and Reporter."
--Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III
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AGA Sponsor Lowe’s announced their first-ever “Into the Blue: Lowe’s Product Pitch Event,” their most significant and most impactful product sourcing forum to date. They invite entrepreneurs and businesses to this first-ever live pitch event this November at their Global Technology Center in Charlotte, NC. It’s one way their way of supporting independent entrepreneurs who may not have the opportunity otherwise to get in front of the Lowe's teams and become a Lowe’s supplier.
The plan is to invest a target of $5 million in purchase orders to new product vendors within the home improvement and non-traditional home improvement spaces ready to be carried in the more than 1,700 retail stores across the nation and online at Lowes.com.
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AGA Sponsor Snap Chat recently announced their new Family Center that will offer parents greater insight into their teen's communications with an easy means to report suspicious users to Snap, all while still keeping the contents of the teen's communications private. Their hope is that Family Center will serve as a catalyst for parents and teens to talk more openly and directly about how to stay safe online - because an engaged parent is the single best safety feature there is.
They have provided helpful links to a host of information about how to use Family Center, including a blog post with details on how Family Center works, and two introductory videos. Also attached is a pdf of the updated Parents Guide, which explains the basics of how Snapchat works and the various safety features that we use to keep teen users safe. In the coming months, they are planning to add new features to Family Center for users and parents, such as content controls.
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AGA Sponsor Amazon, in another effort to crack down on fake reviews for products on its digital store, has sued a Massachusetts company that it says sells fake 5-star “verified feedback” and creates accounts for sellers who have been suspended.
The lawsuit comes weeks after Amazon sued the administrators of more than 10,000 online groups for allegedly coordinating fake product reviews in exchange for money or free products. Amazon is ramping up ongoing legal activity against fake review brokers. The most recent lawsuit is the first aimed at stopping fraudsters who are posting fake seller feedback, which is separate from product reviews.
In this case, Amazon sued Trey King, a Rhode Island resident, and his company, Auction Sentinel, as well as Sentinel Solutions, a corporation organized in Massachusetts. Auction Sentinel bills itself as the “#1 marketplace for third party sellers” and offers services for people selling their goods on Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Walmart.
Since 2020, Amazon said it has reported more than 10,000 fake review groups to Meta, Facebook’s parent company. Meta has removed half of these groups and is investigating the others.
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AG Alliance Co-Chairs
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