State AGs in the News

Bernard Nash

BREAKING NEWS

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Appoints Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa to U.S. Senate

• Governor Chris Christie has appointed AG Jeffrey Chiesa to the Senate seat made vacant by the passing of veteran Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg.  AG Chiesa is a longtime ally of Governor Christie, serving as his chief counsel and as the executive director of his transition team before being appointed attorney general.
• AG Chiesa, a Republican, will serve until a special election is held on October 16th.  He has stated that he will not be a candidate for the seat in that election.
  

INSURANCE

Maryland Attorney General Urges for Health Insurance Rate Hike Freeze

• Maryland AG Douglas Gansler urged the Maryland Insurance Administration to freeze health insurance rate increases that are above five percent. “Some insurance executives are threatening rate hikes of 25 percent, reaching 100 to 150 percent for some consumers,” Gansler said.
• The increases are seen as a response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which includes mandatory coverage of higher risk patients, among other industry changes.

• AG Gansler asked the Maryland Insurance Administration to cap the costs now, and then re-examine the costs in six months to determine if the additional increases sought by the insurance companies were necessary.

DATA PRIVACY

Google Glass Draws Scrutiny of Connecticut Attorney General’s Watchful Eye

• Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has issued a letter to Google, Inc. CEO Larry Page requesting a meeting to discuss the data privacy implications of Google’s new digital headset device Google Glass. The letter follows a May 2013 letter from the U.S. Congress Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus to the company raising similar privacy concerns.
• Google Glass is worn like a pair of eyeglasses, and includes a small computer screen above one eye, a camera, motion sensors, and microphones. Though the device is not yet available to consumers, AG Jepsen is particularly concerned with its capabilities to deploy facial recognition of non-users and track the eyes of users.
• AG Jepsen has stated: “Despite mounting concern among privacy advocates there is very little available information regarding the types of data that will be collected through this technology from either users or non-users. Nor, to my knowledge, has Google yet publicly revealed whether or how it intends to disclose privacy risks, obtain consent for the collection of data or otherwise minimize or address issues.”

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Complaint Database Now Searchable by State

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has expanded its Consumer Complaint Database to include state-by-state information. The CFPB shares with the State Attorneys General a consumer protection and enforcement focus on financial markets and consumer financial products.
• The database includes the type of consumer complaint, the date of submission, and the company that the complaint concerns. Recently, the CFPB has added complaints about money transfers and credit reporting to the database.
• The Consumer Complaint Database can be found here.

Civil Penalty Issued to Out-of State Direct Mail Advertiser by Idaho Attorney General

• Idaho AG Lawrence Wasden issued a civil penalty to resolve allegations against Corporate Records Service (CRS), a Saginaw, Michigan based company. CRS sent direct mail advertisements asking Idaho businesses to identify their shareholders, directors and officers, and stated that for $125 CRS would prepare corporate minutes.   Businesses that paid CRS the money received only a blank notebook.
• “Consumers are being bombarded with bulk mail ads disguised as government or official forms,” AG Wasden said. “Idaho law prohibits using any words, symbols, identification numbers, or other markings that may cause a reasonable consumer to believe an advertiser is associated with the government.”
• CRS is prohibited from using certain words and symbols implying a government or official capacity, and may not include inaccurate statutes or regulations, random identification numbers, or artificial deadlines.
  

ENVIRONMENT

NOAA Sued by Massachusetts Attorney General Over Fishing Regulations

• Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley filed suit against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Commerce Department stating that recent enforcement and regulation of the fish stock, by reducing the amount of certain fish that can be caught by 77 percent, over-restricts the state’s fishing industry. NOAA oversees the Northeast Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) that is in charge of regulating the fishing industry for several New England states.
• The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court, alleges that restrictive NEFMC fishing allotments that took effect on May 1 were not based on the best science available and stock assessments were based on antiquated criteria. The complaint also alleges that NEFMC did not meaningfully consider the economic impact on the fishing industry, as required by federal law.
• A NOAA spokesman stated that the regulations were severe, but necessary due to the diminishing fish population in New England.

STATE AGs IN THE NEWS

Maryland Attorney General Victorious in Supreme Court Ruling on Post-Arrest DNA Collections

• Maryland AG Douglas Gansler secured a significant victory in a closely-followed criminal procedure case when the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a Maryland Law authorizing DNA tests for persons arrested for “serious offenses.”
• The Court, in a 5-4 decision, held that officers taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee’s DNA is, like fingerprinting or photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure under the Fourth Amendment. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, “DNA identification is an advanced technique superior to fingerprinting in many ways, so much so that to insist on fingerprints as the norm would make little sense to either the forensic expert or a layperson.”
• The ruling reversed a Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that had nullified a conviction and life sentence in a 2003 rape case based on DNA evidence collected at an arrest for an unrelated assault charge.