Announcements, information and updates from CWAG Members and Associates
February 9, 2018
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2018 CWAG Chair's Initiative
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May 3-4, 2018
Scottsdale, Arizona
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CWAG Chair, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, announces his 2018 CWAG Chair's Initiative, which will focus on cyber security, data privacy, and digital piracy. Please mark your calendars and prepare to engage in a dialogue on these important topics!
Building on CWAG's Cyber Security efforts in 2016 and 2017 at the Cyber Security and Technology Forums and the Cyber Security Working Group established in June 2017, General Brnovich's Initiative will feature an in-depth conversation to discuss financial technology and government and industry cooperation, vertical integration and platform development issues, encryption and data security issues facing public, private and law enforcement along with national and international privacy concerns.
To find complete details about hotel accommodations, suggested transportation and to register online, use the following link
CWAG 2018 Chair's Initiative Registration Site. To register click on the "Register" link and enter your name, last name and email address, then select your registration type.
If you are an existing sponsor you may use the registration code that was provided to you to register for the Annual Meeting. If you need your code re-sent, please contact Event Coordinator and Meeting Manager Ale Stephens at
[email protected] or 303.304.9206.
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CWAG LEGAL DIRECTOR JOB OPENING
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Job Opening
CWAG is accepting applications for the position of Legal Director. The Legal Director provides legal counsel to the CWAG staff and executive committee, while developing and fostering relationships between and amongst public and private sector legal professionals. The Legal Director takes initiative to create programming, support state Attorney General’s Offices on a variety of legal topics, and works well with stakeholders at all levels. Detailed information is attached, and questions and applications can be directed to Deputy Director Lauren Niehaus at
[email protected].
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OFFICE NEWS
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Chin to Succeed Tsutsui as Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Suzuki Named Acting Attorney General
February 2, 2018
By operation of law, Attorney General Doug Chin became Hawaii’s new Lieutenant Governor today after former Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui resigned from office on January 31, 2018 and other public officials in the order of succession declined the office.
The Governor has appointed First Deputy Attorney General Russell Suzuki to serve as Acting Attorney General. By law this appointment can last no longer than 60 days. The next attorney general must be appointed and confirmed by the Senate, to serve during the remainder of the Governor’s current term. Suzuki has been a Deputy Attorney General for 36 years, and has served as First Deputy Attorney General under Attorneys General Mark Bennett, David Louie, and Chin.
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Attorney General Frosh, Securities Commissioner Order Towson Company to Halt Investment Advisory Operations
February 2, 2018
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced today that his Securities Division has issued a Summary Order to Cease and Desist and Order to Show Cause against Perry Santillo, Jr. and his companies High Point Wealth Management and High Point Insurance Solutions (High Point). The Division alleges that Santillo and High Point are violating Maryland securities laws by selling unregistered securities, acting as an unregistered investment adviser, broker-dealer, and issuer agent, and engaging in fraud in connection with their securities and investment advisory practices.
“We acted swiftly to protect Maryland investors against further losses from recommendations made by an unlicensed investment adviser,” said Attorney General Frosh. “The Securities Division of my office will pursue and hold accountable any individual or business that jeopardizes the hard-earned savings and investments of Marylanders.” The Securities Division is seeking sanctions against Santillo and his company, including fines and a permanent bar from the securities and investment advisory business in Maryland.
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Japanese Company Accused Of Blocking Generic Forms Of Lidoderm Settles With Hawaii And 22 States
February 1, 2018
Attorney General Doug Chin today announced that Hawaii and 22 other states reached an agreement with the Japanese pharmaceutical company that produced Lidoderm patches to bar anticompetitive conduct for 20 years.
“Blocking generics means fewer choices and higher medical costs for Hawaii consumers who are suffering,” Attorney General Chin said. “This agreement provides a great mechanism for the States to enforce against bad companies trying to prevent competition.”
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Attorney General Frosh Urges DOI to Abandon
Offshore Drilling Plan
February 1, 2018
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh joined a coalition of 12 Attorneys General in requesting U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke terminate the Trump Administration’s plan to allow offshore drilling off the coast of Maryland and multiple Atlantic Coast states. In a
letter
to Secretary Zinke, the Attorneys General state the program would, “create multiple problems for nearly everyone who participates in or benefits from our states’ coastal and maritime economies. At a minimum, three million jobs across America depend on the ocean and coastal economy, which generated more than $350 billion in gross domestic prosperity of our states. It also endangers the unique ecologies of our shores and state ocean waters.”
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BLM oil and gas lease sales generate $360 million in 2017
January 31, 2018
Bureau of Land Management state offices in 2017 generated nearly $360 million from oil and gas lease sales, an 86 percent increase over the previous year’s results of $192.5 million. Among these sales, which together were the highest in nearly a decade, rights to a total of 949 parcels, covering 792,823 acres, were sold. Fifty percent of the revenue from lease sales goes to the state where the oil and gas activity is occurring, while the rest goes to the U.S. Treasury. If the leases result in producing oil or gas wells, revenue from royalties based on production are also shared with the state.
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Attorney General Becerra to Trump Administration: Let Workers Keep Tips They Earned
February 5, 2018
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, co-leading a coalition of 17 Attorneys General, today filed his strong opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposal to rescind a rule that allows all employees to keep the tips they have earned. The rule issued in 2011 clarified that, consistent with long-established cultural and legal understanding, gratuities are the sole property of employees. Under the proposed rule change, employers would be allowed to pocket tips earned by employees who are paid the federal minimum wage. According to the Economic Policy Institute, this could result in employers taking up to $5.8 billion of workers’ earned tips.
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Attorney General Becerra Announces New $30 Million Law Enforcement Grants Program Aimed to Reduce Illegal Sales of Tobacco
February 2, 2018
New Prop. 56-funded grant program will be available to California law enforcement agencies
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced a new grant program to reduce the illegal sale of tobacco products, especially to minors. The $30 million grant program, established and funded by the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 (Prop. 56), will be available to local law enforcement agencies throughout California starting in March 2018. Approved by voters in 2016, Prop. 56 increased taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products by $2.00 starting in April 2017. The initiative specifically allocates $30 million of annual revenue to the California Department of Justice. These funds will support local law enforcement investigations intended to reduce the illegal sale of tobacco products to minors.
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Fed Backs Marijuana-Focused Credit Union
February 5, 2018
A Federal Reserve Bank has given conditional approval to a Colorado credit union to serve marijuana-linked businesses, though to win the Fed’s backing it agreed to step back from its original plan to serve state-licensed dispensaries. Instead, Fourth Corner Credit Union will focus on individuals and companies that support legalized marijuana, including those who partner with vendors, such as accountants and landlords. Fourth Corner sued the Fed three years ago over the issue. In its letter granting conditional approval dated Friday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City noted that “this letter does not express the policy views of” the Fed, “nor does it contain any supervisory, regulatory or enforcement guidance or precedent.”
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Interdisciplinary Exchange: Strengthening the Investigative Trilogy
February 5 to 9, 2018
The CWAG Alliance Partnership held Interdisciplinary Exchanges in San Diego, California, and Durango, Mexico, with the objective of exploring the role of each branch of the investigative trilogy in preparing and prosecuting a criminal case. Prosecutors, police investigators and forensic technicians carried out practical exercises to explore the importance of working as a team to prepare and prosecute a criminal case, from investigation through oral trial, with experienced US instructors Scott Taylor, Guillermo Auyon, and Luis Marquez from the California Department of Justice; Alberto Martinez from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office; Tania Maestas from the New Mexico AGO; Elizabeth Ortiz of the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council; Judith Vargas and Linda Brown, attorneys from New York and San Diego, respectively; and Jose Pimienta from the Arizona AGO.
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Instructor Judith Vargas discusses opening statements
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The Durango AGO participated via videoconference
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To participate in upcoming CWAG Alliance Partnership activities, contact Deputy Director Lauren Niehaus at
[email protected] or (303) 827-9039.
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AFRICA ALLIANCE PARTNERSHIP
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Combating the Scourge of Human Trafficking in Nigeria
February 5-7, 2018
The CWAG Africa Alliance Partnership co-sponsored two events in Abuja, Nigeria, to fight human trafficking. On Monday, February 5
th, the CWAG-AAP participated in the Symposium “Combating the Scourge of Human Trafficking: The Journey So Far” and on February 6-7, led a training program for the personnel of the Nigerian National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). Presenters Anthony Da Silva and Amanda Plisner of the California Department of Justice and Rich Lebel of the Arizona AGO’s Transaction Record Analysis Center discussed the use of anti-money laundering techniques in the fight against human trafficking.
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Amanda Plisner and Anthony Da Silva of California DOJ and Rich Lebel of the Arizona AGO TRAC lectured on fighting human trafficking.
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To participate in upcoming Africa Alliance Partnership activities, contact Administrative Director Susan Lustig at
[email protected] or (805) 264-4277.
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Hate Crimes Training Program in Flagstaff, AZ
Wednesday, February 28th – Thursday, March 1
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The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Civil Rights Enforcement Associates, and the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission invite you to a two-day training workshop for prosecutors and law enforcement officers on hate crimes investigation and prosecution best practices, at no cost to participants. Learn from trainers with over a combined 100 years of experience investigating and prosecuting hate crimes to develop further skills and techniques to recognize, investigate, and prove hate crimes.
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