In this special crossover episode of Regulatory Oversight and The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by colleagues Lori Sommerfield and Matthew Berns to discuss New Jersey’s sweeping new disparate impact regulations under the Law Against Discrimination. They break down one of the most comprehensive state-level disparate impact rules in the U.S., the contrasts with traditional federal standards, and implications for enforcement in financial services. The discussion dives into credit scores, underwriting models, AI and automated decision-making tools, and the difference between New Jersey’s approach and the Trump administration’s effort to scale back disparate impact at the federal level, offering practical takeaways for lenders and other covered entities navigating this shifting landscape.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has proposed a sweeping update to how broker‑dealers handle outside business activities and private securities transactions. FINRA seeks to consolidate and replace Rules 3270 (Outside Business Activities of Registered Persons) and 3280 (Private Securities Transactions of an Associated Person) with a single new rule: Rule 3290 (Outside Activities Requirements). The proposal preserves the core investor protection concepts of the existing rules but refocuses them on investment‑related activities.

In this episode of Moving the Metal, hosts Brooke Conkle and Chris Capurso are joined by Troutman colleagues Chris Carlson and Nam Kang from the firm’s RISE Practice Group to unpack what “Trump 2.0” really means for dealers and auto finance companies. With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other federal regulators pulling back, the group explains how state attorneys general (AGs) and state financial regulators are rapidly filling the void — often led by former CFPB staff now embedded in state offices — and why that creates a complex patchwork of unfair or deceptive acts or practices standards and enforcement approaches across 50 states. They discuss hot-button themes like affordability, junk fees, mini-CFPBs, and the growing role of state working groups, as well as how state AGs are leveraging prior CFPB theories, the California CARS rule, and copy‑and‑paste complaints.

The Florida attorney general (AG) recently initiated legal proceedings against several Florida smoke shops, alleging violations of state law related to the sale and marketing of illegal nicotine products, particularly vapor products, to minors. The action targets multiple businesses, including 27 Smoke Shop Inc., A&A Smoke Shop LLC, Alami 9 LLC, Alami 10 LLC, Epic Novelty LLC, and Fuego Smoke Shop LLC. The complaint, filed in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, accuses these retailers of selling, shipping, or failing to remove from their inventory nicotine products that are classified as illegal contraband under Florida law, with a particular focus on products marketed to children.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida stayed discovery in a putative Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action while the court considers whether text messages qualify as “calls” under the statute’s do-not-call (DNC) provisions. In McGonigle v. Pure Green Franchise Corp., the court granted the defendant’s motion to stay, finding that the key issues can be resolved as questions of law without discovery. 2026 WL 111338 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 15, 2026).

Register Here
Friday, February 6 • 10:15–11:15 a.m. ET

San Antonio, Texas

Chris Carlson, co-chair of the ABA Committee on State Attorneys General and Department of Justice Issues, Section of State and Local Government Law, will moderate the CLE panel “SLTG CLE: Age-Verification of Internet Websites, Including Implications on ‘Social Media’ Laws” on Friday, February…

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Wednesday, February 11 • 11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. ET

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20004

Troutman Pepper Locke is proud to sponsor Pub K’s Government Contracts Annual Review Conference in Washington, D.C. Hilary Cairnie will be a panelist on the “Investigations & Audits” session…

This article was originally published on Law360 and is republished here with permission as it originally appeared on January 22, 2026.

Since the change in administration last year, much has changed in the payments law landscape. Federal regulators have been busy rescinding agency guidance, advisory opinions, interpretive rules and policy statements.

In a pair of recent submissions to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a bipartisan coalition including more than 20 state attorneys general (AG) opposed action by the FCC to preempt state and local laws relating to artificial intelligence (AI). The coalition’s comments reflect persistent concerns among AGs about how businesses use AI when interacting with their residents, even as some federal policymakers support limiting states’ ability to address those concerns.