Indiana Governor May Retain Counsel without Attorney General’s Consent
The Indiana General Assembly enacted a law that allowed it to call itself into emergency session and overrode the Governor’s veto. The Governor sued the legislature, challenging the law as “unconstitutionally co-opting a purely executive function.” The Governor argued that under the state constitution, only the Governor can call an emergency session, and this law,…
California Private Attorney General Statute Does Not Usurp Attorney General Powers
A lobbying group for small and mid-sized businesses challenged California’s Labor Code Private Attorney General Act (PAGA). PAGA “allows California employees to sue their employers and pursue civil penalties on behalf of the state for violations relating not only to themselves, but also to other California employees of the same employer.” PAGA is a qui…
Center for Ethics and Public Integrity Newsletter: January 2023
CEPI RESOURCES State Gift Law Map and Summary Table: CEPI’s website offers an interactive map and sortable table displaying the types of statutes that govern when a public official may or may not accept a gift. The gift statutes apply to instances where a thing of value is given to an official without a clear…
2022 NAAG Legislative Victories
As the chief legal officer of their state, attorneys general often provide important input on both regulatory and legislative proposals. This input is often provided through the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). As a nonpartisan organization, NAAG engages in policy advocacy only when an issue has bipartisan support from a majority of attorneys general….
Court Affirms States’ Parens Patriae Standing in Antitrust Case
Forty-nine states sued 20 manufacturers of generic drugs, alleging an anticompetitive scheme to “fix, maintain, and stabilize prices, rig bids, and engage in market and customer allocations” of certain generic pharmaceuticals. The district court recently decided defendants’ motion to dismiss, holding that although the states could not seek disgorgement, they do have parens patriae standing…
Laura Clinton, Consumer Protection Division Chief, Washington Attorney General’s Office
Unlike many of you, I came to public service later in my career. I spent almost 20 years in private practice, leading a wide variety of complex civil cases for public and private clients. The 2016 election ushered in a new era of public litigation, and the Attorney General’s tenacious advocacy for the people of…
Center for Consumer Protection 2022 Year in Review
As 2023 begins, this Year in Review examines the consumer protection work the nation’s attorneys general undertook in 2022. Attorneys general took action on numerous fronts last year, obtaining $22.5 billion in opioids-related settlements from manufacturers, pharmacies and retailers. Combined with the $26 billion obtained through the 2021 National Opioids Settlement with other manufacturers and…
2022 NAAG Capital Forum Recap
2022 NAAG Capital Forum Recap From Dec. 6-8, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) hosted its annual Capital Forum event, where members of the attorney general community and federal officials gathered to discuss the latest legal developments and the top legal issues facing our country. The event kicked off a day early on Dec….
Center for Ethics and Public Integrity Newsletter: December 2022
This compendium of news reports about corruption and ethics issues is brought to you by the Center for Ethics and Public Integrity (CEPI). Neither the National Association of Attorneys General nor the National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute expresses a view as to the accuracy of news accounts, nor as to the position expounded…
