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. Below are the updates from December 25-31:
Alaska
- Attorney General Cox announced a settlement with five car dealerships for charging customers unadvertised dealers fees in violation of Alaska consumer protection law. Under the settlement, the dealerships, owned by Lithia Motors, will make restitution to consumers, pay a civil penalty of $300,000, and regularly audit advertisements to ensure compliance with Alaska law.
California
- Attorney General Bonta extended the Proposition 34 reporting deadline from December 31, 2025 to April 30, 2026. Proposition 34 requires health care entities considered “prescription drug price manipulators” to spend 98% of their revenues from the federal 340B discount prescription drug program on direct patient care and file detailed accountings of revenues and how they were spent with the California Department of Justice.
Idaho
- Attorney General Labrador issued a warning for Idahoans about a text scam regarding tariff rebate checks. The warning provides guidance for consumers for recognizing these fraudulent texts and others, which can be common during the holiday season.
Illinois
- Attorney General Raoul highlighted a new law to improve medical care and treatment for sexual assault survivors. The law updates Illinois’ Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act (SASETA) and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program, bringing changes such as increased training opportunities for medical staff at treatment hospitals, increased survivor access to follow-up care across hospitals, and other changes to support survivors and provide guidance to hospitals.
Michigan
- Attorney General Nessel finished a holiday consumer protection campaign highlighting tips for Michigan residents to stay safe from scams, identity theft, and other deceptive schemes. The campaign ties into the launch of a consumer protection social media account that will serve as a trusted source for consumers on scam alerts, helpful tips, education resources, and updates from the Attorney General.
Minnesota
- Attorney General Ellison filed for emergency relief to protect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for nearly half a million Minnesotans, arguing that demands from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) violate the Food and Nutrition Act, Administrative Procedure Act, and other laws. The filing is part of a December 23 lawsuit challenging the USDA’s demand that the state conduct in-person interviews of 100,000 households that receive SNAP benefits to verify program eligibility.
Maryland
- Attorney General Brown announced a Consent Decree settling a lawsuit against D.M. Bowman, Inc., Day and Sons, Inc., and The Potomac Edison Company for violating Maryland environmental laws when they released 7,688 gallons of diesel fuel into the state’s underground waters. The $360,000 settlement will fund Maryland’s oil spill response capabilities to protect Marylanders against future oil spills.
New York
- Attorney General James issued a warning against price gouging during winter storms, emphasizing that New York’s price gouging law prohibits raising prices on necessities for consumer and public health, safety, and welfare during emergencies.
South Dakota
- Attorney General Jackley announced three upcoming bills that will strengthen laws about possessing and ingesting controlled substances in the state penitentiary, revise age restrictions for several cannabis products to protect youth from illegal substances, and prohibit the creation and distribution of AI-generated pornographic images of non-consenting individuals.
Tennessee
- Attorney General Skrmetti stopped multiple online sweepstakes casinos violating Tennessee’s constitution and gambling and consumer-protection laws. The casinos used a promotional sweepstakes model that is considered an illegal lottery under the law. The action is part of the state’s ongoing consumer protection efforts against predatory and unregulated gambling operations and is similar to crackdowns in other states against platforms running unregulated gambling operations under the guise of sweepstakes.
Vermont
- Attorney General Clark announced a civil settlement with Revolution Youth, Inc. for alleged Medicaid fraud in violation of the False Claims Act. The organization, which operates the Eden Valley mental health clinic in Burlington, will pay damages and penalties of $200,000 for submitting more than 150 false records to Medicaid. The Attorney General emphasized that Medicaid fraud deprives funds from the vulnerable community members who rely on them.