Announcements, information and updates from CWAG Members and Associates
June 21, 2018
Registration Deadline Approaching
Arizona Attorney General and CWAG Chair Mark Brnovich, and New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas invite you to the 2018 CWAG Annual Meeting in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico this July 22 to 25, 2018. Join your colleagues as CWAG explores the most pertinent legal issues during the days and spend the evenings enjoying the land of enchantment at our special events. The meeting website includes travel and hotel information to facilitate air and hotel arrangements, speaker details, CLE information and much more.

Registration is now open, and we encourage you to register now to secure your spot before the conference sells out.
  • Early Bird Registration is closed.
  • Final Registration Deadline: *Monday, July 9, 2018, at 5:00 pm Pacific time. No registrations will be accepted after this time. *Registration is likely to close earlier as the meeting is quickly reaching capacity.
  • No On-Site Registration.

The CWAG host hotel Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is sold out on Tuesday and Wednesday July 24 and 25. If you have been unable to secure a room, the nearest hotel is the Santa Ana Star Casino hotel.
ANNUAL MEETING PREVIEW
Hot Topics On The Agenda At The 2018 CWAG Annual Meeting
Check out the latest articles on topics that will be addressed during the Annual Meeting in New Mexico!
FORENSICS RESEARCH LIBRARY
CWAG and Cellebrite Introduce Launch Digital Forensics Resource Library

The Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG) Cyber Security Working Group and working group partner Cellebrite , a leading provider of digital intelligence solutions, announced the launch of a comprehensive repository of digital procedural documents and educational assets designed to enhance the investigative process for law enforcement and prosecutors. 

The CWAG Cyber Security Working Group – Digital Forensics Task Force consists of Attorneys General representatives from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Wisconsin. With an initial goal of creating legal policy and procedures around the access of public and private cloud through tools like Cellebrite’s UFED Cloud Analyzer, CWAG recognized the wider implications and value of creating and sharing their collective insights. With technical expertise and guidance from Cellebrite, the working group laid the groundwork for the repository initiative. 

“Digital forensics technology has become an increasingly vital resource for law enforcement and legal entities in the United States, since crimes at all levels often involve mass amounts of digital evidence,” said Karen White, CWAG Executive Director. “Digital intelligence tools can provide real-time collection of cloud-based evidence in a forensically sound manner, enabling law enforcement officers and investigators to preserve and analyze data in the public domain including location information, profiles, images, files, and communications from the most popular social media applications.”

CWAG members can obtain access to this ever-expanding library of assets by contacting CWAG Alliance Partnership Deputy Director Lauren Niehaus at  LNiehaus@cwagweb.org.
SALES TAX COLLECTION
Attorney General Jackley Announces Landmark Supreme Court Decision In Favor of South Dakota and Mainstreet Business
June 21, 2018

Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the United States Supreme Court has overruled the physical presence requirement in State of South Dakota v. Wayfair, Overstock and Newegg.

“Today’s landmark decision is a win for South Dakota and for Main Street businesses across America that will now have a level playing field and tax fairness,” said Jackley.
In his opening remarks to the United States Supreme Court Justices, Attorney General Jackley argued:

South Dakota passed a law in 2016 that would require out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales tax similar to in-state retailers. The law applies to out-of-state retailers if they have more than $100,000 in sales or complete more than 200 transactions per year within South Dakota.

Given the controlling precedent of Quill, on October 2, 2017, the Attorney General’s Office filed a petition for certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the South Dakota Supreme Court decision in State of South Dakota v. Wayfair, Overstock and Newegg.
In Quill, the U.S. Supreme Court required that a retailer have a “physical presence” within a state before a seller can be obligated to collect and remit that state’s sales taxes on purchases delivered into the state. None of this would be possible without the support of 41 Attorneys General, the President, the South Dakota Retailors Association, education leaders, and the business community.
FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
AG Balderas Leads Task Force Arresting 19 Alleged Child Predators In Months-Long Statewide Operation
“Operation Broken Heart V” Rescues Two Children
June 14, 2018

Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force served 147 search warrants, arrested 19 alleged predators and rescued two children during a three-month-long statewide operation to protect New Mexico children from sexual exploitation and rape. The arrests included individuals who allegedly engaged in sexual activity with minors, individuals allegedly travelling to engage in sexual activity with children they believed to be under the age of 14, and persons allegedly trafficking child pornography. The initiative, “Operation Broken Heart V” also included reaching 11,400 persons regarding Internet safety education and outreach events in New Mexico.
AG Ferguson Launches Website For Human Trafficking Victims
WATraffickingHelp.Org provides a centralized hub for services and resources for labor and sex trafficking victims 
June 19, 2018
 
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that his office is launching a new online resource to connect human trafficking survivors with resources and support.

For the first time, Ferguson’s new Washington Trafficking Help website, located at watraffickinghelp.org , provides a centralized hub for services available to human trafficking victims ready and able to break free of their trafficker and rebuild their lives.

Disruption of the online sex trade market caused by a recent federal indictment and shut down of Backpage.com, a leading online site for sex trafficking, as well as other online platforms in the last several months has created a potential influx of trafficking survivors who need to be connected with resources.

Ferguson’s site collects many of those resources for both sex and labor trafficking survivors in one place. The site provides a one-stop, comprehensive list of services for victims seeking exit services, survivor support, short-term and long-term shelter, health, mental health, substance abuse, education and employment services, law enforcement contacts and more.

The Attorney General’s Office funds and maintains watraffickinghelp.org . Because labor and sex trafficking victims are often immigrants, Ferguson’s office provides the website in more than 100 languages.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Citibank Fined $100 Million for Manipulating Key Global Interest Rate
June 15, 2018

Citibank reached a settlement with 42 U.S. states to pay a $100 million fine for manipulation of LIBOR, a key measure of global interest rates that impacts trillions of dollars worth of loans worldwide, including consumer products.

The  settlement  contains details of instant messages and emails exchanged between Citibank employees as they concealed or misreported what they were paying for interbank loans, mostly in 2008 and 2009. Citi wanted to avoid the appearance of weakness that might have come from being charged high interest rates. The settlement also claims that Citi made millions of dollars in “unjust gains” in deals with governmental and non-profit entities by  fixing the rate . New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood described  Citi’s actions as “fraudulent conduct” that undermined financial markets.
STATE PRESS RELEASES & ARTICLES
Attorney General Becerra Secures $67 Million In Debt Relief For Defrauded Former Corinthian Students In California
Following Investigation, Balboa Student Loan Trust Agrees to Immediately Halt Collections and Forgive 100% of Remaining Loan Balances
June 14, 2018

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a settlement with Balboa Student Loan Trust (Balboa) that will provide $67 million in critical debt forgiveness and other much-needed relief for the 34,971 Californians who took out private student loans to attend Corinthian Colleges (Corinthian).

The California Attorney General’s Office opened a formal investigation into Balboa in 2017, after learning that the company may have engaged in debt-collection misconduct with respect to some of its Corinthian loans. That investigation led to today’s settlement.

Corinthian is a now-defunct, predatory for-profit school that intentionally targeted low-income, vulnerable individuals through deceptive and false advertising that misrepresented job placement rates and school programs, among other egregious misconduct. In 2013, the California Attorney General’s Office led the charge against Corinthian, seeking to put an end to abusive practices that left students with large amounts of debt and without the jobs Corinthian had falsely promised its degrees would provide. The California Attorney General's Office ultimately obtained a $1.1 billion judgment against Corinthian.
AG Brnovich, FTC, Better Business Bureau, And State Attorneys General Announce Results Of Operation Main Street: Stopping Small Business Scams Law Enforcement And Education Initiative
Better Business Bureau releases new small business scams research report
June 18, 2018

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Virginia to discuss the results of Operation Main Street: Stopping Small Business Scams. The partners, along with the offices of seven other state attorneys general and two U.S. Attorneys' Offices, announced the results of a recent nationwide collaborative law enforcement initiative targeting operations seeking to defraud small businesses.
 
The state and federal agencies are announcing a total of 23 actions involving defendants who allegedly perpetrated scams against small businesses, including 17 different actions by state AGs over the past year. Arizona contributed three cases to the nationwide effort.
 
The cases brought by state and other criminal enforcers as part of Operation Main Street targeted a wide range of allegedly deceptive activities against small businesses, including, among others:
  • Unordered merchandise scams, in which the defendants try to charge consumers for toner, light bulbs, cleaner, and other office supplies they never ordered;
  • Impostor scams, in which the defendants use deceptive tactics, such as claiming an affiliation with a government or private entity, to trick consumers into paying for corporate materials, filings, registrations, or fees;
  • Scams involving unsolicited faxes or robocalls offering business loans and vacation packages; and 
  • Scams involving fake invoices sent to small businesses, in which the defendants try to coerce the companies into paying for products they never received.
Philips to pay $7M for price-fixing scheme affecting millions of Washingtonians
June 19, 2018

Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Philips, a multinational electronics company, will pay $7 million as part of the Attorney General’s price-fixing lawsuit against manufacturers of cathode ray tubes, or CRTs, a technology once ubiquitous in television screens and computer monitors.

Under the consent decree , filed in King County Superior Court, Philips will pay $7 million for the Attorney General’s price-fixing claims. Ferguson will distribute the bulk of the money recovered through a claims process for Washington consumers and state agencies that purchased CRTs during the conspiracy period.

The lawsuit alleges Philips and other CRT manufacturers, including LG, Panasonic, Hitachi, Chungwha, Toshiba and Samsung, engaged in a price-fixing scheme to drive up the cost of CRTs from 1995 to 2007. During those 12 years, the price-fixing conspiracy caused millions of Washington consumers to be overcharged for their CRT televisions and computer monitors
"Get Ready for Hurricane Season" Says North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein 
June 18, 2018

"Summer weather brings a lot to be excited about, but don’t forget that it also brings hurricane season. Unfortunately, experts are predicting an especially high level of hurricane activity this year. We can’t know how natural disasters will impact our homes and neighborhoods, but there are some things you can do and should know to be prepared for storms and natural disasters. 

"To better handle the aftermath of a storm, organize important documents and information beforehand, so they are easily accessible if you need to evacuate. Store them in a safe place, or inside a waterproof/fireproof container that you can quickly take with you. Think about who you’d need to contact, and what information you’ll need, if a storm does hit – insurance policies, mortgage and bank documents, passports and social security cards, health insurance cards, copies of your ID cards and drivers’ licenses, and important phone numbers. Don’t forget to take your bills with you – even if a natural disaster hits and you need to evacuate, creditors will still expect you to pay on time."
DATA SECURITY
Colorado Amends Data Breach Notification Law And Enacts Data Security Requirements
June 14, 2018

Recently, Colorado’s governor signed into law House Bill 18-1128 “concerning strengthening protections for consumer data privacy” (the “Bill”), which takes effect September 1, 2018. Among other provisions, the Bill (1) amends the state’s data breach notification law to require notice to affected Colorado residents and the Colorado Attorney General within 30 days of determining that a security breach occurred, imposes content requirements for the notice to residents and expands the definition of personal information; (2) establishes data security requirements applicable to businesses and their third-party service providers; and (3) amends the state’s law regarding disposal of personal identifying information
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Attorney General Laxalt And 13 States Intervene In Lawsuit To Defend Nevada’s Hardrock Mining Regulatory Program
June 18, 2018

Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced that the State of Nevada, along with 13 other states, is intervening in a Washington, D.C. federal lawsuit to defend Nevada’s state regulatory program for hardrock mining.
 
Hardrock mining has long been one of the leading industries in the State of Nevada. As in most states with a significant mining industry, Nevada comprehensively regulates hardrock mining, including through the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. For example, the State of Nevada currently holds nearly $2.8 billion in financial assurances ensuring that even if a mining company becomes insolvent, reclamation and other clean-up efforts will still be funded.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
Welcome to the Sponsor Spotlight, where each week CWAG will celebrate one of our private sector partners.

With a rich history of innovation, AT&T corporate is a story about people from all walks of life coming together to improve how we interact with the world around us. Today, they’re a leader in  diversity  with a commitment to fostering an inclusive culture. They embrace corporate responsibility to reduce our  environmental impact on the planet  and are committed to helping customers use  technology for social good .
AILD
Updated American Indian Law Deskbook Is Now Available
*Access may require subscription

The American Indian Law Deskbook  is a concise, direct, and easy-to-understand handbook on Indian law. Indian law is a dynamic, ever-evolving field of law that overlaps other areas of the law as tribes expand their economic and political reach in our society. As the chief legal officers of the states, the State Attorneys General offer a unique insight into Indian law. The states have been parties before the United States Supreme Court and the lower courts to many of the cases that have shaped Indian Law over the years. The chapter authors of this book are experienced state lawyers who have been involved in Indian law for many years.

American Indian Law Deskbook  addresses the areas of Indian law most relevant to the practitioner. Topics include:
  • Definitions of Indians and Indian tribes
  • Indian lands
  • Criminal, civil regulatory, and civil adjudicatory jurisdiction
  • Civil rights
  • Indian water rights
  • Fish and wildlife
  • Environmental regulation
  • Taxation
  • Gaming
  • Indian Child Welfare Act and tribal-state cooperative agreements
AG ELECTION TRACKER
Follow the 31 AG Races in 2018 on this Interactive Website
A significant number of states, 30 and the District of Columbia, have contests for the Office of Attorney General. Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General Practice hosts an interactive map for those interested in following the races throughout the country. The State AG Election Tracker includes state-by-state AG candidate snapshots, filing deadlines and primary election dates; daily news, insights, polling and fundraising data; and the ability to sign up for real-time election-night updates via text and email. Access is free.
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