Announcements, information & updates from
the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
September 29, 2023
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We look forward to seeing everyone next week for a great series of Working Group meetings! |
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AGA is proud to announce our partnership with the University of Arizona's James E. Rodgers College of Law to launch a new online concentration in Cannabis Law and Regulation (CLR), addressing the need for accredited legal training in the rapidly growing U.S. intrastate cannabis market. |
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The AGA Cannabis Working Group is proud to announce that the Cannabis Law Deskbook, 2023-2024 ed. is now available.
Authored by public sector attorneys and staff who have been on the front lines in the growing number of states implementing groundbreaking cannabis adult-use and medical programs, this deskbook offers an in-depth accounting of the complexities found in the ever-evolving field of cannabis law.
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U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel Smith announced "the USVI Department of Justice has reached an historic victim-supporting settlement with JPMorgan Chase. The settlement includes significant commitments by JPMorgan Chase to curtail human trafficking, and payments by JPMorgan Chase to the USVI DOJ totaling $75 million." |
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody issued a warning, as part of National Suicide Prevention Month, about "online sextortion happening across the country ending with victims taking their own lives." |
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with biotechnology company Biora Therapeutics, Inc., formerly known as Progenity Inc., over its alleged violations of consumer protection laws. |
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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced he "filed a lawsuit against three individuals suspected of scheming to defraud Hoosiers seeking installations of manufactured homes." |
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New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez announced "the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) approved the settlement that was reached on August 18th between our office and the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM). The settlement, as reported in August, was meant to resolve the outstanding appeal related to the closure of the San Juan Generating Station (SJGS)." |
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced "six family members are facing felony charges for allegedly stealing $75,000 from fuel cards belonging to an emergency medical services company in Ironton, Ohio." |
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Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced that the Oregon Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Choice Hotels International, Inc. regarding the disclosure of what is commonly referred to as "resort fees." |
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North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced "a series of webinars to help parents, grandparents, educators, and caregivers better understand the dangers young people in North Carolina are facing and how best to keep them safe. The first webinar, on keeping kids safe through safe gun storage, will be held on Oct. 4 at 11:30 a.m." |
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Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha announced that "a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve two consecutive life sentences at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) for murdering Sherbert Maddox in 2022." |
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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that the Wisconsin Department of Justice "has obtained a civil judgment against Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery (ECC) requiring it to pay a $250,000 penalty and install additional pollution control equipment for alleged violations of its wastewater discharge permit at ECC’s Ellsworth, Wisconsin cheesemaking facility." |
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Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond co-led a 22-state letter to Congress in support of the newest version of the SAFE Banking Act, known as the Secure And Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act.
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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced "a settlement with Broomfield Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, LLC., for failing to protect the personal data of hundreds of patients and employees before and during a 2021 data breach." |
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New York Attorney General Letitia James announced "an agreement with Marymount Manhattan College (MMC), a private non-profit liberal arts college in New York City, to invest $3.5 million in data security to protect students’ online data." |
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COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
AND CHILD EXPLOITATION
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that an individual has been indicted in DeKalb County who is alleged to have solicited a 17-year-old female for sex in Decatur, Georgia, in April 2022. This indictment stems from a joint human trafficking investigation conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit and Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Field Office. |
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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced his office has charged a St. Clair County man with allegedly possessing child pornography and failing to register as a sex offender. |
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Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced his Cyber Crime Unit "has arrested a West Monroe man for Possession of Sexual Abuse Images/Videos of Children and it is asking the public for assistance in its ongoing investigation." |
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Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark announced that an individual was arraigned on two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. |
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, along with the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking and its partners, announced their 2023 Human Trafficking Summit will be held virtually on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Florida’s Human Trafficking Summit brings together local, state, and national leaders working to eradicate all forms of trafficking.
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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson issued several press releases highlighting recent actions by his office combating human trafficking and protecting children from internet exploitation. |
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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced a "Polson Police officer was officially charged by the Attorney General’s Office for sexual abuse of children."
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Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor announced a former Chief of Police for the village of Saint Paul on Saint Paul Island, was convicted by a jury of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. |
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OPIOIDS AND ILLICIT DRUGS |
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New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced that an individual has pled guilty to three counts of sale of a controlled drug, and subsequent offenses. |
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Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has created an "Organized Crime Task Force to combat the scourge of illegal marijuana grow operations across Oklahoma and added a resource for citizens to report suspicious activity related to unlicensed operations." |
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that her office "secured commitments from several provider companies — operating dozens of Pennsylvania nursing homes — agreeing to comply with state and federal disability laws by not discriminating against people with opioid use disorder or those using associated medications." |
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced "a $44.5 million settlement with K-VA-T Food Stores, commonly known as Food City, over the grocery store chain’s opioid-related misconduct. Most of the settlement will go to Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Fund to support local efforts addressing the opioid epidemic." |
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Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen co-led a coalition of 20 states in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the Court to grant a writ of certiorari in Johnson v. City of Grants Pass.
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Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell led a coalition of 11 states in sending a letter to Congress regarding funding for the Inflation Reduction Act. |
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with 17 state attorneys general, filed an antitrust complaint against a major online retailer.
States joining the FTC action include: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey led a coalition of five attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Brandt v. Griffin.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in K.C. v. Indiana.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led a 16-state letter to Congress regarding the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act. |
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Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced that she has traveled to meet with Iowans in all 99 counties since taking office in January. |
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison received a Special Achievement Award from the International Association of Prosecutors "on behalf of the entire team that Attorney General Ellison led in successfully prosecuting the murder of George Floyd." |
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South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley honored the staff of the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office’s State Forensic Lab in celebration of National Forensic Science Week. |
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Shipt announced that 18 community programs and nonprofits across the country will receive a Community Impact and Innovation Grant designed to "expand economic opportunity and increase food security in communities with access barriers." |
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If you are interested in other Attorney General Alliance and Conference of Western Attorneys General newsletters, follow the link below to sign up! |
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Attorney General Alliance
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