HOT NEWS

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler Talks Data Privacy and Enforcement With Dickstein Shapiro's Divonne Smoyer

  • Maryland AG Doug Gansler joined Divonne Smoyer, a partner in Dickstein Shapiro's State Attorneys General Practice, in a Q&A discussing his data privacy initiative and priorities.
  • In 2013, when AG Gansler was the president of the National Association of Attorneys General, his focus was "Privacy in the Digital Age," which raised AG awareness about data privacy and security and has since spurred AG enforcement actions in the field.
  • When asked if he had any tips for an entity facing an inquiry into data loss or privacy protections by the AG's office, AG Gansler replied: "Three tips: transparency, transparency, transparency. When companies are forthright with us from the beginning, and cooperate to provide us with all the information we need to evaluate their privacy incident, we are better able to seek resolution."

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB)

The CFPB Considers Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Reporting Requirement Changes

  • The CFPB has signaled that it is considering revisions to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which requires lenders to report detailed information to supervisory agencies about home mortgage loans and related information.
  • The proposals relate to which lenders will be required to report data, the types of loans and applications that need to be reported, the information reported for the loans and applications, and improvements in compliance.
  • The CFPB uses the reporting data to better understand U.S. consumer access to credit in the residential mortgage market.

DATA PRIVACY

Illinois Attorney General Testifies in Congress on Comprehensive Federal Data Breach Legislation

  • Illinois AG Lisa Madigan testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade about her inquiries into recent data breaches affecting national retailers. AG Madigan and Connecticut AG George Jepsen currently are leading a multistate investigation into the Neiman Marcus, Target, and Michaels Stores losses of consumer data to hackers.
  • Referring to these data breaches as a "wakeup call" to the government and the private sector to take the issue very seriously, AG Madigan noted that past investigations by her offices indicated that companies have repeatedly failed to take basic steps to protect Illinois consumer information.
  • AG Madigan urged Congress to adopt federal standards, without preempting state law, to require companies to adopt reasonable data security and destruction practices, limit the amount of consumer data collected, and to require timely notification to consumers affected by a data breach.

ENVIRONMENT

Twenty-One Attorneys General File Amicus Brief in Suit Challenging EPA's Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan

  • Twenty-one State AGs have filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in support of the American Farm Bureau Federation's suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a proposed cleanup plan of the Chesapeake Bay.
  • The plan to clean up the nation's largest estuary is argued to be an overreach of the EPA's authority under the Clean Water Act and an impermissible intrusion into state land-use decisions.
  • The brief, led by the AGs of Kansas, Indiana, and Missouri, also includes Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

MEDICAID FRAUD

Maryland Attorney General Settles Allegations of Medicaid Fraud With Pharmacy

  • Maryland AG Doug Gansler has announced a settlement with Rite Aid of Maryland, Inc. over allegations of that the company did not refund Medicaid payments for prescriptions that were returned as "undeliverable."
  • "Whether these actions were intentional or just sloppy, the patients who need these treatments and the taxpayers deserve better," said AG Gansler. "We've secured these funds so they can be used to treat Maryland patients and send a message that, willful or not, such practices will not be tolerated."
  • The company will pay $20,000 to the Maryland Medicaid Program which will be shared with the federal government.

New York Attorney General Settles With New York Hospital for Foster Children

  • New York AG Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement with New York Foundling Hospital, a provider of child foster care services over allegations that the hospital was billing Medicaid for the care of children while they were absent from the program in violation of Medicaid regulations.
  • "Taxpayer money spent on New York's most vulnerable kids must be safeguarded – not wasted," AG Schneiderman said. "My office will remain vigilant to ensure that providers bill Medicaid for services that are actually rendered and that funds meant to help our neediest kids are spent to care for them."
  • New York Foundling will pay back $170,775 and an additional $85,387 in penalties under the New York State False Claims Act.

MORTGAGES/FORECLOSURES

New York Attorney General Takes the Lead in Fight Against Zombie Homes

  • New York AG Eric Schneiderman announced a statewide push for legislation that he hopes will require banks to take responsibility for "zombie" properties – homes that have been abandoned before the bank foreclosure process is completed.
  • The bill would require lenders to take responsibility for abandoned homes to keep them from falling into disrepair, resulting in blighted neighborhoods.
  • "The fact is if you have an abandoned property, it brings down the property values of the entire neighborhood; they are havens for crime," the AG told reporters. "They hurt the whole community, not just the family that lost their home."

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