On Tuesday, Governor Mike Kehoe announced that Catherine Lucille Hanaway will become attorney general (AG) of Missouri on September 8. Her appointment follows the resignation of Andrew Bailey, who is stepping down to assume a federal role as co-deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
On June 18, Arizona Attorney General (AG) Kris Mayes, in partnership with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), announced a new consumer educational campaign aimed at teaching Arizona residents how to avoid falling victim to a variety of scams. The education campaign targets consumers lacking awareness of such scams, especially senior citizens. The series of video public service announcements (PSAs) aims to enable Arizona consumers to spot and avoid scams on their own. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, Arizona residents lost approximately $392 million due to consumer fraud in 2024. The AG’s office received almost 22,000 consumer complaints, answered more than 28,000 phone calls, and reviewed more than 23,000 emails from consumers regarding potential fraud during this time.
What Happened
HCA Healthcare Inc., a major U.S. hospital operator with more than 180 hospitals across 20 states, announced a $3.5 million settlement to address allegations of state consumer protection and labor law violations brought by the attorneys general (AG) of California, Colorado, and Nevada. The allegations centered on HCA’s enforcement of training repayment agreements (TRAs) with new nurses.
In this episode of Regulatory Oversight, Stephen Piepgrass, Michael Yaghi, and Dan Waltz conclude their two-part series on the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The group discusses strategies for managing and improving BBB ratings for businesses, while examining how consumer complaints impact potential regulatory actions. They emphasize the importance of addressing these consumer complaints promptly, highlighting the need for effective training and streamlining complaint handling processes within companies to prevent issues from being overlooked.
We recently wrote about a federal case here and here involving key issues related to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) authority to enforce the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) against federally recognized Indian tribes and ATF’s interpretation of key sections of the PACT Act. In addition to appealing the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California’s decision, we noted that the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians (the Tribe) asked the district court to require ATF to remove it from the agency’s PACT Act noncompliant list (NCL) and prevent ATF and the other defendant, the Department of Justice from taking action against it pending its appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On July 30, the federal district court denied the Tribe’s request.
The Trump administration’s implementation of tariffs on August 7, 2025, will have profound implications for companies engaged in international supply chains. These tariffs are poised to increase business costs, affecting a wide range of industries reliant on global trade. However, the financial impact is not the only concern for businesses. With the Department of Justice (DOJ) intensifying its focus on enforcement actions related to international trade compliance, companies that attempt to evade these tariffs or fail to establish robust compliance policies and procedures may find themselves among the DOJ’s targets.
Colorado Attorney General (AG) Phil Weiser has sued PetSmart LLC, alleging that its use of Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (TRAPs) violates state consumer protection and labor laws. The lawsuit reflects a broader effort by Weiser and other state AGs to combat purportedly exploitive employment agreements.
In early August, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the civil money penalty (CMP) provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) for tobacco products, 21 U.S.C. § 333(f)(9), is unconstitutional. Specifically, the court found that the FDCA improperly allows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring an administrative action to collect CMPs because the Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in such cases.
On July 28, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs issued a reminder to more than 3,000 auto dealerships regarding their obligations under the New Jersey data deletion law, N.J.S.A. § 56:12-18.1. This law, enacted and effective in January 2024, requires dealerships to offer data deletion services for consumer information stored in vehicles accepted for resale or lease. Dealerships are now on notice of their compliance obligations under the law.
In July 2025, a bipartisan coalition of 32 state and territorial attorneys general (AG) sent a letter to congressional leaders urging the passage of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. Their letter emphasizes that the legislation — a long-stalled federal reform — would provide legal clarity and a safe harbor for banks and financial institutions to serve state-licensed cannabis businesses. Such clarity, they argue, is urgently needed to address public safety risks and to improve the states’ ability to regulate and tax the booming cannabis industry.