In a recent amicus brief submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court, the Colorado Attorney General’s (AG) office has expressed its support for plaintiffs in a case that raises questions about the interplay between Colorado’s landlord-tenant laws and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). The case involves allegations that Home Partners Holdings LLC and its affiliates included illegal fees and provisions in their form leases, misleading tenants about their rights and obligations under Colorado law.

On September 4, Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), challenging two key Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules — the 2000 Privacy Rule and the newly implemented 2024 Privacy Rule. These rules were enacted to protect the privacy of individuals’ protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA. Texas argues that these rules unlawfully limit state investigators’ ability to access PHI, impeding the enforcement of state laws.

Dear Mary,

I work for a public company that recently experienced a ransomware attack. Fortunately, we were able to restore our business operations quickly by obtaining a decryption key from the threat actor. Given that we managed to get back up and running so swiftly, do we still need to determine whether the incident is material and report it?

Sincerely,

– Concerned Executive

Molecular diagnostics company Enzo Biochem, Inc. has reached settlements resolving investigations in relation to a 2023 data breach by the attorneys general (AG) for Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Enzo has agreed to pay the states a total of $4.5 million, as well as institute and maintain new data security protocols.

On August 1, Missouri Governor Michael Parson issued Executive Order 24-10 (the EO), a bold move aimed at addressing consumer safety concerns surrounding unregulated psychoactive cannabis products. The EO sparked a legal battle with the Missouri Hemp Trade Association (MO Hemp), which claims that by designating these products as adulterated and imposing an embargo under the EO, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) violated Missouri law. The governor’s action is yet another example of a state taking aggressive steps to address gaps left by the lack of federal regulations to ensure consumer safety in the burgeoning industrial hemp industry.

The New York Voting Rights Act‘s (NYVRA) preclearance section takes effect on September 22, 2024. The new rule requires covered jurisdictions to seek “preclearance” of certain covered policy changes to their election and redistricting procedures from the New York Office of the Attorney General (AG) or an appropriate court. The public comment period on the AG’s proposed preclearance rule is closed and resulted in the AG adopting the proposed rule as final without substantive changes. The final rule further clarifies the standards and processes for obtaining preclearance and will be published in the State Register on September 11, 2024.

When Minnesota legislators passed House File 4065 in 2022 — legalizing the sale of certain hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages — few could have predicted that a multimillion-dollar THC-infused beverage market would result. Today, Minnesota consumers enjoy access to THC beverages in many places traditionally reserved for alcohol — liquor stores, breweries, bars, and restaurants.

I. Introduction

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the largest governing body in college athletics. The NCAA regulates all aspects of student athletics among 1,100 schools in the United States. It also organizes the athletic programs for over 500,000 collegiate student athletes. Part and parcel to their governance of collegiate athletics is the NCAA’s responsibility for maintaining the integrity of competition by conducting drug testing procedures for student athletes under their purview. On June 26, 2024, the NCAA removed cannabis from its banned drugs list for Division I college football championship and post-season. This decision has significant legal and policy implications that extend beyond the realm of collegiate athletics. Arguably, this decision is a part of the evolving public perception of marijuana.