Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton co-signed two letters to Morningstar, Inc. and its subsidiary Sustainalytics, joining multistate investigations into the credit ratings giant, as part of a growing trend among attorneys general and state legislatures to target the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data in financial decision-making.
The lone star state’s AG
In March 2022, state attorneys general provided comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) concerning the CFPB’s inquiry into companies that offer consumers the opportunity to divide the cost of their purchases into multiple installments, also referred to as “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) products. In response, the CFPB issued a report in September
On September 30, 11 Democratic attorneys general (AGs), led by the AGs of the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Delaware, sent a letter in support of major credit card companies Visa, Mastercard, and American Express adopting a new merchant category code for the sale of firearms. The letter from leading Democratic AGs follows a
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter to hospital CEOs on potential bias in artificial intelligence as part of a growing trend among attorneys general and lawmakers concerning bias in machine learning.
In June 2022, Colorado enacted HB22-1410, a law governing remote work for licensed lenders. Specifically, the law amends the Uniform Consumer Credit Code by permitting employees of a supervised lender to work remotely. A “remote location” is defined in the law as “a private residence of an employee of a licensee or another location selected
Two dozen Republican attorneys general (AGs), led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, sent a letter to the CEOs of credit card giants Visa, American Express, and Mastercard, warning them to halt plans that would add a new merchant category code for gun retailers. The International Organization for Standardization
The FTC and six states allege violations of the FTC Act and various state statutes, prohibiting deceptive trade practices (state UDAP statutes) at a cost of over $27 million to consumers.
Roomster Corp. (Roomster) operates a website and app that can be used, in exchange for payment, to find and connect with roommates or rooms/properties
On August 10, the Tennessee Supreme Court announced that Jonathan Skrmetti, Governor Bill Lee’s top legal counsel, will become the state’s new attorney general on September 1.
Tennessee is unique, as it is the only state where the state Supreme Court appoints the attorney general for an eight-year term. Skrmetti, former chief deputy attorney general
On July 28, the Iowa attorney general’s office filed suit against Philip Morris, USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and 16 other tobacco companies, accusing them of defrauding Iowa of over $133 million by allegedly engaging in bad faith disputes over amounts due under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).
Tobacco company signatories to the MSA, also
On June 28, Governor Kristi Noem appointed Mark Vargo, Pennington County state’s attorney, as the acting attorney general of South Dakota to serve the remainder of former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s term. Vargo will hold the position until the next elected attorney general takes office in January 2023. Former Attorney General Marty Jackley is