Troutman Pepper State Attorneys General Monitor — March 15, 2024

State attorneys general increasingly impact businesses in all industries. Our nationally recognized state AG team has been trusted by clients for 20 years to navigate their most complicated state AG investigations and enforcement actions.

State Attorneys General Monitor analyzes regulatory actions by state AGs and other state administrative agencies throughout the nation. Contributors to this newsletter and related blog include attorneys experienced in regulatory enforcement, litigation, and compliance.

Contact our State AG Team at StateAG@troutman.com.

Podcast

Leading With Purpose: Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum Discusses Her Role at NAAG

By Ashley L. Taylor, Jr.

In this episode of Regulatory Oversight, Ashley Taylor welcomes Oregon Attorney General (AG) Ellen Rosenblum to discuss her new role as president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG).

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State AG Elections

2024 State AG Elections: A Landscape of Change and Competition

By Troutman Pepper State Attorneys General Team

As we look ahead to 2024, significant changes are underway in state attorney general (AG) elections, with 10 AGs facing reelection due to incumbents pursuing other offices or opting out. Open seats in North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia, indicate that at least six new AGs will come into power. Additionally, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, and Vermont will hold their AG elections, with incumbents facing challengers in those races.

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For more information on the 2024 State AG elections, please visit our State Attorneys General Election Tracker.

State AG Updates

California AG Bonta Upholds $21M Penalty Against Ashford University Over GI Bill Errors

By Timothy McHugh, John West, Namrata Kang, and Nick Ramos

In a recent ruling, the California Court of Appeal largely affirmed a lower court’s decision from March 2022, finding that Ashford University (now known as University of Arizona Global Campus), an online, for-profit college, had engaged in deceptive recruitment practices vis-à-vis veterans eligible for federal GI Bill educational benefits. California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta initiated the action in November 2017, alleging that Ashford University had caused harm to a significant number of students, many of whom were veterans, by disseminating false and misleading statements about career outcomes, cost and financial aid, pace of degree programs, and transfer credits.

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8 State AGs Argue That SEC’s Crypto Enforcement Action Is Unlawful

By Troutman Pepper State Attorneys General Team

On February 29, the state of Montana, supported by seven other states, filed an amicus brief arguing that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lacks authority to regulate crypto assets. The attorneys general (AG) submitted the brief in response to the SEC’s enforcement action alleging violations of the Exchange Act against Payward, a secondary market crypto platform. The AGs argue that the SEC’s position, with respect to regulating the crypto market, may potentially preempt consumer protection and other state laws, thus disrupting the traditional division of powers between the states and the federal government.

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11 AGs Sign Letter in Support of GSA’s Proposed Rule on Plastic Packaging

By Troutman Pepper State Attorneys General Team

The U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) proposed an amendment to the General Services Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) aimed at reducing single-use plastic packaging. Specifically, the proposed amendment allows suppliers to voluntarily supply the government with “single use plastic free” (SUP-free) packaging and, in return, the suppliers will be eligible for a SUP-free filter icon on the GSA website that allows purchasers within the government to easily identify SUP-free products. Eleven attorneys general (AGs) from Massachusetts, California, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. signed a letter in support of the new rule. They identified some proposed modifications, arguing that the GSA’s proposed amendment does not go far enough to combat what the AGs deem to be a “plastic waste crisis.”

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California AG Announces Second CCPA Settlement, Asserting DoorDash Failed to Deliver Privacy

By James Koenig, Ronald I. Raether, Jr., Sadia Mirza, Kim Phan, Laura Hamady, Stephen C. Piepgrass, Gene Fishel, and Robyn Lin

In a recent alert, we reported that California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta announced a settlement with DoorDash over allegations that the company violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) by selling consumers’ personal information without providing notice or an opportunity to opt out.

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Stephanie Kozol, Senior Government Relations Manager – State Attorneys General, also contributed to this newsletter.