Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Here are last week’s updates.
Multistate
• A multi-state coalition of 20 state attorneys general submitted a comment letter opposing the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)’s interim final rule which repeals the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA requires federal agencies to conduct thorough review of the environmental implications of its projects or rules. The coalition of state attorneys general argue that NEPA’s repeal will have a negative impact on state natural resources and their residents through the adverse effects of climate change. Further, the letter argues that the repeal rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act, NEPA, and the Endangered Species Act.
• A multistate coalition of 24 state attorneys general filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for terminating $11 billion in public health grants to their states. The states allege that the grant terminations came without warning and have caused chaos for state health agencies that rely on the funds. According to HHS, the grants could be terminated “for cause” because they were appropriated through COVID-19 related laws that are no longer relevant. However, the coalition argues that the terminations violate the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) because the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is not a valid basis to terminate the grants “for cause.”
• A multistate coalition of state attorneys general recently secured an injunction in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to halt the mass firing of federal probationary employees. The injunction prevents 20 federal agencies including the Department of Education, Department of Defense, and the Department of Labor from conducing mass firings during the pendency of the suit. Notably, the order only applies to “affected probationary employees” either stationed or residing in the jurisdictions that brought the suit. These jurisdictions include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
California
• California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a legal advisory to businesses operating in California that violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) are actionable under California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”). Notably, the Trump Administrative announced via Executive Order that FCPA enforcement would no longer be a federal priority. The FCPA, which criminalizes the payment of bribes to foreign officials for gaining or maintaining business, has historically been enforced by the federal government. AG Bonta’s announcement marks the first warning by a state that it will seek to enforce the FCPA. California’s UCL broadly prohibits unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices. AG Bonta can use the UCL as a vehicle for enforcement because the UCL treats violations of other laws as unlawful business practices that are actionable.