AG Alliance Roundup & Chair's Initiative

Announcements, information and updates from the AG Alliance Members and Associates

October 29th, 2020

CHAIR'S INITIATIVE ANNOUNCEMENT

Thanks to everyone for your continued interest and support of the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG) and the AG Alliance (AGA) Virtual Chair Initiative: A COVID-19 Attorney General Legal and Policy Response Manual. The response from our partners has been fantastic.

We are pleased to invite you to virtually attend a series of interactive calls as we continue to explore the policy and legal challenges we are all confronting during this pandemic.

Participation for this initiative is strongly encouraged for sponsors at the *Premier level and above and we will be hosting an ongoing policy dialogue between AGO’s and experts for each of the five cohorts that are actively meeting and working towards a common goal and deliverable related to COVID-19 vaccinations:

Vaccine Methodologies and Legalities led by ID and WA;
State’s Role in Vaccine Administration led by NM and AK;
Deceptive Trade Practices, Diversion and Black Market Issues led by SD and NV;
Governmental Authorities led by CO and ND; and
Vaccine Collaboration and Antitrust Concerns led by NE and CO.

Each cohort is being led by a bipartisan group of state AG office staff and has identified more specific legal and policy issues that will be addressed in their assigned area to develop an issue guide for policymakers. Cohorts will meet via Zoom on a weekly basis between 11/10 and 12/10.

For more information about participation, please contact Andrea Friedman at AFriedman@AGAlliance.org.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Sports Betting Virtual Discussion

Monday, November 16th

1 - 2pm ET

*CLE credit pending

Moderated by Attorney General Karl Racine, District of Columbia

Panelists:

Brian Kane, Assistant Chief Deputy/Chief Legislative Counsel, Idaho Attorney General’s Office
Andy Abboud, Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Las Vegas Sands
Stanton Dodge, Chief Legal Officer, DraftKings
Joe Asher, CEO, William Hill North America

Registration

ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTIONS

COVID-19 VACCINATION SCREENING

Washington, Oregon and Nevada will join California to independently review any coronavirus vaccine before distributing it to the public.

FAIR AND FREE ELECTION

Virginia AG Herring has joined a group of 15 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court defending North Carolina’s deadline extension for receiving and counting mail-in ballots that were properly cast on or before Election Day.

Texas AG Paxton announced that the organized election fraud scheme exposed in a Project Veritas video is already under review by investigators from his Election Fraud Unit.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Idaho AG Wasden warned residents to use caution when shopping for healthcare products with ongoing concerns about COVID-19 and Idaho’s sharp increase in cases.

Georgia AG Carr wrote a column about how Congress can help stop organized retail crime.

Arkansas AG Rutledge announced a $500,000 judgment against owner of fraudulent timeshare exit company.

Connecticut AG Tong: Consumers have the right to shop around when buying contact lenses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act that imposes duties on contact lens prescribers and sellers, and requires the (FTC) to develop and enforce implementing rules.

BIG TECH

Illinois AG Raoul joined a bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Facebook v. Noah Duguid, a U.S. Supreme Court case that will determine the scope of the protections of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

COMMUNITY

Lowe’s kicked off Halloween celebrations with their curbside trick-or-treating experience at stores nationwide. CBS Minnesota, AdAge, ABC Reno and East Idaho News reported that for those who couldn't make it to the events, Lowe's will be hosting the event again on Thursday October 29th.

GAMING

American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller outlined his optimism for the gaming industry’s recovery in AGA’s annual State of the Industry address today at the Global Gaming Expo 2020.

CONSUMER FINANCE

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) requesting information related to consumer access to financial records.

CFPB has issued a final rule to extend the Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) Patch until the mandatory compliance date of a final rule amending the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) loan definition in Regulation Z.

CFPB settled with ninth mortgage company to address deceptive loan advertisements sent To service members and veterans.

CFPB Private Education Loan Ombudsman issued the 2020 Annual Report which revealed the Bureau handled approximately 7,000 complaints related to private or federal student loans between September 2019 and August 2020.