Each week, Crowell & Moring's State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. Here are this week's updates.

Multistate

  • A coalition of 18 state attorneys general and two separate organizations filed amicus briefs in support of Montana's SB 419 law which bans TikTok from operating in the state. The law, written by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, requires TikTok to stop operating in Montana and prohibits mobile application stores from making TikTok available for download starting on January 1, 2024. Shortly after Governor Greg Gianforte signed SB 419 into law, the company and a group of users filed suit and moved for a preliminary injunction.
  • A coalition of 19 state attorneys general urged the Biden administration to take action to protect student loan borrowers as payments resume nationwide, with a letter detailing concerns about student loan servicers' abilities to support borrowers as student loan payments restart.
  • A coalition of 23 state attorneys general filed a letter with the Federal Trade Commission, supporting a new rule aimed at stopping fake and deceptive consumer reviews that influence consumers to make purchases. In the letter, the Attorneys General support the proposed Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials.
  • Oral arguments were held for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. Earlier this year, a coalition of 16 attorneys general filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit's ruling and maintain the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's existence.

Illinois

  • Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit against Residents Energy LLC, an alternative retail electric supplier, alleging that the company's telemarketers and in-person sales agents used deceptive and unfair tactics to switch customers from their public utility company to more expensive contracts with Residents.

Massachusetts

  • Massachusetts Attorney General Joy Campbell publicized that Sapna Khatri will lead the office's Reproductive Justice Unit, which will focus on expanding and protecting access to reproductive and gender affirming care, addressing disparities in maternal health, tackling misinformation and disinformation that prevents access to care, working across state lines to respond to national attacks on reproductive health care, and championing and defending Massachusetts' legal protections for reproductive rights.

North Carolina

  • North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein asked North Carolinians in western North Carolina to file complaints with his office if they are being affected by the lack of certain cancer treatments for adults with leukemia and lymphoma at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Attorney General Stein is investigating Nashville-based HCA Healthcare over concerns that HCA may not be meeting the agreements it made when it purchased Mission.
  • Attorney General Stein also demanded that HCA Healthcare explain decreases in cancer services—informing HCA that it might be in violation of the agreement it signed with the Attorney General's Office when purchasing Mission Hospital.

Oregon

  • Oregon joined nine other states in suing the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to take timely action on regulating wood stove emissions. The Complaint, which was filed in the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., explains that, "although it has some intermediate goals, EPA has stated that it does not plan to finalize a new [standard] for residential wood heaters until November 30, 2027—more than 12 years after the 2015 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gas emissions were issued under the Clean Air Act. Moreover, EPA asserts that the November 30, 2027 date is only aspirational, as EPA "do[es] not have hard deadlines for reaching these milestones[.]"

Washington

  • Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson publicized the five members of his office's new Truth & Reconciliation Tribal Advisory Committee. The committee will study how Washington state can address the harms caused by the government's historical role in the shameful legacy of Indian boarding schools.
  • A King County Superior Court judge ordered a Seattle business preying on new immigrants to pay restitution, interest and civil penalties totaling approximately $230,00 as a result of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson's lawsuit.

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