Latest news with #AGs
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
AG pushes back on federal abortion medication restrictions
BOSTON (SHNS) – Attorney General Andrea Campbell implored federal regulators Thursday to eliminate medication abortion restrictions on prescribers and pharmacies, arguing Massachusetts already has 'robust' guardrails in place to protect patient safety. Campbell, along with AGs from California, New York and New Jersey, want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to eliminate its Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program for mifepristone — or at least stop applying certain parts of it to the four petitioning states. The program outlines certification requirements for health care providers and pharmacies to dispense mifepristone, plus paperwork that patients must sign. About 65% of abortions in Massachusetts in 2023 were medication abortions, according to the 64-page citizen petition Campbell co-filed Thursday. The FDA says REMS programs are used for drugs with 'serious safety concerns to help ensure the benefits of the medication outweigh its risks.' Campbell's office contends the mifepristone requirements impose 'burdensome restrictions on access to medication abortion while not meaningfully improving patient safety, and that these restrictions severely impede patient access by reducing the number of prescribers and pharmacies authorized to dispense this FDA-approved medication.' 'The Mifepristone REMS Program also imposes an undue burden on pregnant patients experiencing miscarriage and early pregnancy loss who seek treatment at emergency departments,' the petition says. 'For instance, the administrative requirements imposed by the REMS can effectively discourage emergency departments from carrying mifepristone in their pharmacies.' Reduced access to mifepristone can particularly impact patients in rural and medically underserved areas, the petition added. The Democratic AGs teamed up in response to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy recently instructing FDA Commissioner Martin Makary to pursue a 'complete review' of mifepristone and labeling requirements. The FDA is required to respond to their petition within 180 days by either approving, denying or dismissing it — or providing a 'tentative response' about why the agency is unable to reach a decision yet, according to federal regulations. In response to the Trump administration, Beacon Hill lawmakers are escalating their focus on shoring up protections for reproductive and transgender care. A Sen. Cindy Friedman bill (S 2522) that's gaining traction would tighten the 2022 abortion shield law, including by requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortion care and allowing provider practices, rather than specific prescriber names, to appear on medication abortion labels. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
State AGs fill the AI regulatory void
May 19, 2025 - As generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies rapidly proliferate and permeate society, state attorneys general (AGs) have warned of potential AI misuse and legal violations. And while only California, Colorado, and Utah have enacted laws governing AI, the dearth of AI-specific laws has not prevented states from advising and taking AI-related action under existing law. Indeed, state AGs have indicated that they will utilize privacy, consumer protection, and anti-discrimination laws to regulate AI. AGs are focused on how AI systems utilize personal identifying information, potentially facilitate fraud using deepfakes, operate relative to company representations, and could perpetrate bias and discrimination in decision-making processes. In January 2024, a bipartisan group of AGs sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warning of potential fraud where AI is used to imitate human voices in telemarketing campaigns. See Implications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies on Protecting Consumers from Unwanted Robocalls and Robotexts, Federal Communications Commission, CG Docket No. 23-362 (January 17, 2024). While California, Colorado, and Utah will ramp up enforcement under their AI laws, businesses must be aware of regulatory risks from other states under traditional laws and ensure robust AI compliance measures. Since the FCC letter, AGs from California, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and Texas have issued AI-specific guidance or taken AI-related enforcement actions that address common themes, despite not having AI-specific laws in their states. California AG Rob Bonta has been among the most vocal state AGs on the use of AI. Earlier this year, AG Bonta issued two legal advisories warning that companies may be liable under California's Unfair Competition Law and Civil Rights Act if AI tools mislead consumers, deny access to services, or cause other discriminatory outcomes. In particular, AG Bonta has highlighted the risks associated with using AI in the health care industry and hiring, where replacing trained professionals with opaque and unproven AI systems could result in actionable harm. Massachusetts AG Joy Campbell was the first to issue formal guidance warning that AI systems could potentially run afoul of existing law. Specifically, companies risk violating the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act by misrepresenting the reliability of an AI system or falsely advertising its quality, such as touting functionality that does not in fact exist. AG Campbell also warns of fraud by misrepresenting "audio or video content of a person for the purpose of deceiving another to engage in a business transaction or supply personal information as if to a trusted business partner as in the case of deepfakes, voice cloning, or chatbots." Attorney General Advisory on the Application of the Commonwealth's Consumer Protection, Civil Rights, and Data Privacy Laws to Artificial Intelligence, Mass. Atty. Gen. (April 16, 2024). There are also privacy risks under the "Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of Residents of the Commonwealth," requiring AI developers and deployers to take appropriate steps to safeguard personal information used within AI systems. Finally, the advisory warns that Massachusetts' Anti-Discrimination Law may be implicated if AI makes decisions based on "legally protected characteristics," such as race or gender. Following suit, former Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum issued AI guidance highlighting concerns with the unpredictability of AI outputs, noting that they can compromise privacy, affect fairness, obscure accountability, and impact trustworthiness. See What You Should Know About How Oregon's Laws May Affect Your Company's Use of Artificial Intelligence, Or. Atty. Gen (December 24, 2024). The lack of transparency in AI decision-making processes can make it difficult for humans to identify, understand, and correct such decisions. With these risks in mind, the guidance notes that the state will regulate AI under several laws. The Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act prohibits misrepresentations in consumer transactions, including misrepresenting the characteristics, uses, benefits, or qualities of AI products, or using AI to falsely claim nonexistent sponsorships, approvals, or connections (such as artificial celebrity endorsements). The Oregon Consumer Privacy Act guarantees a consumer's right to control the distribution of their personal data, which is particularly relevant for generative AI systems trained with such data. AI developers should obtain express consumer consent before using data to train AI systems. Consumers must also be able to opt out of AI profiling when AI is used to make significant decisions, such as those pertaining to housing, education, or lending. The Oregon Consumer Information Protection Act also requires AI developers to safeguard personal information through reasonable cybersecurity measures. Finally, like Massachusetts, Oregon warns of possible bias and anti-discrimination violations. The Oregon Equality Act prohibits discrimination based on protected classes and bars discrimination resulting from AI use, particularly in housing and public accommodations. New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin launched a "Civil Rights and Technology Initiative" aimed at addressing discrimination and bias-based harassment risks associated with AI. As part of that effort, he published guidance to explain how the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) may apply to "algorithmic discrimination" inherent in some AI systems. Guidance on Algorithmic Discrimination and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J. Atty. Gen (January 2025). Through the LAD, New Jersey residents are protected from AI algorithmic discrimination by "covered entities," which include employers, housing providers, places of public accommodation, credit providers, and contractors, among others. Misuse of AI tools may violate the LAD in these areas. For example, in the employment context, automated decision-making tools have been used to determine whether an employee should be retained or terminated. While these tools streamline and simplify processes, their use may result in racial and gender discrimination based on the tools' design, training, or deployment. Covered entities can violate the LAD even absent an intent to discriminate, such as by simply deploying an AI system developed and controlled by a third party. Specifically, tool deployment may violate the LAD if their use results in either disparate treatment or disparate impact based on protected characteristics. The law also provides recourse for affected individuals when AI decisions result in the preclusion or impediment of reasonable accommodations. Texas AG Ken Paxton has taken the lead with action under traditional law enforcement. In September 2024, AG Paxton reached a settlement with health care technology company Pieces Technology (Pieces) under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA). See State of Texas v. Pieces Technologies Inc., Cause No. DC-24-13476 (2025). This represents the first AG settlement under a state consumer protection act involving generative AI. Pieces uses AI to assist medical facilities by summarizing, charting, and drafting clinical notes. To measure accuracy, Pieces developed several metrics and benchmarks. The company advertised the accuracy of its AI product on its website, claiming a "critical hallucination rate" and "severe hallucination rate" of less than .001% and less than 1 per 100,000. AI hallucinations are instances where the output is false or misleading, and Pieces' metrics represent an extremely low incidence. According to the AG's claims, these representations "may" have violated the DPTA because they were allegedly "false, misleading, or deceptive." Pieces denied any violation of the DPTA under the settlement terms. The settlement requires that, should Pieces advertise the accuracy of AI products using metrics, it must disclose "the meaning or definition of such metric, benchmark, or similar measurement," and "the method, procedure, or any other process used by Pieces to calculate the metric, benchmark, or similar measurement used in … [its] marketing or advertising of its products and services." Further, the company is prohibited from making false or misleading statements concerning AI products and must disclose any harmful or "potentially harmful" uses or misuses of its products. The settlement does not contain a monetary penalty; however, Pieces is required to demonstrate its compliance with the settlement upon the state's request for an indefinite period. State AGs will scrutinize generative AI development and deployment within consumer protection, privacy, and anti-discrimination statutory frameworks. Companies using AI and conducting business with consumers in multiple states should ensure they are engaging in defensible privacy and cybersecurity practices in accordance with state laws. They need a firm grasp on the AI system's foundational model and capabilities and should perform a thorough risk assessment before employing AI products. Businesses advertising AI products must be aware of state consumer protection acts and avoid false or misleading claims. The Federal Trade Commission has developed guidance for companies employing AI products and advertising their capabilities. See Keep Your AI Claims in Check, Federal Trade Commission (February 27, 2023). Companies cannot assume they are insulated from liability simply because they are using AI without discriminatory intent. Several state AGs have signaled that enforcement actions could result from an AI system's disparate impact alone. Therefore, companies must carefully examine AI inputs and outputs and ensure the system is producing fair and unbiased results, particularly if legally protected characteristics such as age, gender, or race are implicated. Companies considering implementing AI systems must prepare for potential exposure under a patchwork of state laws and should consult competent outside counsel accordingly. To mitigate against ever-expanding risk, all levels of decision-makers, including executives, IT staff, and in-house counsel, should be aware of AI risks and capabilities and involved in its implementation.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
20 states sue Trump over mass firings saying Musk's DOGE skipped required notices
Nearly half of the country's attorneys general sued the Trump administration over the Department of Government Efficiency's mass firings of federal workers. The AGs accuse the administration of terminating tens of thousands of probationary employees without first following federal regulations, including a 60-day advance notice to affected employees and states. 'These large-scale, indiscriminate firings are not only subjecting the Plaintiff States and communities across the country to chaos. They are also against the law,' the suit filed Thursday says. 'Where an agency fails to provide such notice, the employees 'may not be released.'' The administration 'has run roughshod over' these requirements in the past month, harming the individuals and the states they live in, the AGs argue. 'As a result, many affected employees and their families are struggling to make ends meet—to pay rent, buy groceries, and care for their loved ones,' the complaint states, adding that states are also impacted and are now facing 'increased administrative demands related to adjudicating unemployment claims, decreased tax revenues, and increased demands for social services.' The states are asking the court to require the administration to cease the reductions in force of probationary employees that they have conducted 'unlawfully and without notice,' to reinstate any probationary employees who were terminated as part of mass terminations on or after January 20 — President Donald Trump's first day in office — and to conduct any future layoffs in accordance with applicable laws. DOGE, led by the world's richest person Elon Musk, has been abruptly and haphazardly laying off workers. In some circumstances, the administration has walked back on its sweeping moves, trying to re-hire critical workers after firing them, including some working to combat bird flu and some working at the National Nuclear Security Administration, prompting calls across party lines for the cost-cutting arm to 'slow down.' After mistakenly axing a U.S. Agency for International Development program aimed at curbing the spread of Ebola, the tech billionaire told Trump's cabinet: "We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect, but when we make mistakes we'll fix it very quickly. For example, with USAID one of the things we accidentally cancelled, very briefly, was Ebola prevention." 'The Trump administration's illegal mass firings of federal workers are a slap in the face to those who have spent their careers serving our country,' New York Attorney General James said in a statement Thursday. 'Thousands of workers across New York and the nation are now struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, and care for their loved ones. Today, I am joining my fellow attorneys general in defending the rights of workers who serve our communities and stopping the chaos and confusion this unjust policy is causing.' This isn't the first time Musk has gotten into hot water over mass firings with little notice. The X owner was sued in a class action lawsuit after he failed to provide a 60-day notice before laying off hundreds of employees in 2022.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is federal funding for Washington Bridge rebuild over troubled water? Depends who you ask
Traffic flows both ways on Interstate 195 on the eastern side of the Washington Bridge at 4:35 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. The progress of the demolition of the western side is shown. (Rhode Island Department of Transportation) Twenty-three Democratic attorneys general, including Rhode Island's Peter Neronha, have spent 18 days in an escalating legal battle with President Donald Trump and his administration over an attempted federal funding freeze. Front and center in the flurry of federal court filings: the fate of the Washington Bridge, which relies on $220 million in federal grants awarded under the Biden administration to cover the still-unknown final cost to rebuild the westbound highway. The bridge funding was again featured in an updated complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island Thursday, in which the AGs sought Chief Judge John McConnell Jr.'s reinforcement to force federal agencies to release grants and aid, some of which have been inaccessible since Jan. 20. As of Wednesday, there has been no confirmation that the Washington Bridge funding is unaffected by the freeze, the AGs wrote. Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. struck a very different tone when summoned by lawmakers to provide an update on the bridge project at a hearing Thursday. Eight things to know from a three-hour Washington Bridge oversight hearing Alviti insisted the pair of U.S. Department of Transportation grants already awarded to Rhode Island for the bridge replacement were not subject to the funding freeze. 'We lobbied strongly with the Federal Highway Administration that our particular projects did not fall into categories that that pause was intended to,' Aliviti said. 'It was not intended to impact projects other than projects having to do with certain policies like the Green New Deal policies, DEI policies.' In an email Friday, Charles St. Martin, a RIDOT spokesperson, said the Federal Highway Administration shares Alviti's view that the Washington Bridge is not among the federal programs and awards at risk of losing funding under the Trump administration's executive orders. 'In addition to the Attorney General's suit to lift the pause, the Governor and our congressional delegation continue to work at various levels of the administration to ensure the grants move forward, St. Martin said. 'We are confident that will happen.' Still not enough reassurance for Sen. Mark McKenney, a Warwick Democrat and chair of the Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight. A day after the hearing, McKenney said he appreciated Alviti's confidence but recognized the need for caution. 'I hope it's well-founded confidence,' McKenney said in an interview Friday. 'Whether it is, I don't know. If I were a betting man, I would not be planning on that being the case.' Neronha was not available for comment Friday. If I were a betting man, I would not be planning on that being the case. – Sen. Mark McKenney, a Warwick Democrat and chair of the Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight Alviti's confidence contrasts with the widespread confusion that descended across the nation after the now-infamous White House budget memo was issued on Jan. 27, and rescinded two days later. Even after McConnell issued a temporary restraining order on Jan. 31, barring federal agencies from freezing funds, state agencies, research institutions and grant beneficiaries are still not able to access the money. Take, for example, the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER), which has been locked out of $125 million to support energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives for nearly three weeks. The funding was awarded to OER as part of a pair of Biden-era funding packages: the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Daniel Schwei, a U.S. Department of Justice attorney representing the Trump administration in the AGs lawsuit over the funding freeze, contended the bipartisan infrastructure law and accompanying tax package was not subject to the temporary restraining order. McConnell dismantled that interpretation in a new order Monday, explicitly stating that funding from both Congressional packages must continue to flow to state agencies and other beneficiaries. The Justice Department subsequently appealed McConnell's order, but the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals declined its request for an administrative stay, which would have prevented McConnell's order from taking immediate effect. And yet, trillions of federal dollars for environmental programs, infrastructure, education, research and health and human services remain blocked, the AGs' Feb. 13 complaint alleges. Robert Beadle, a spokesperson for OER, confirmed in an email Friday morning that the agency still can't access federal funds for its programs. A separate U.S. Department of Agriculture grant that has helped Rhode Island improve competitiveness for specialty crops for the last four years was frozen on Jan. 30, with funds still not available as of Wednesday, according to the AGs' complaint. A hearing on the request for a more permanent block against a funding freeze is scheduled in federal court in Providence on Feb. 21. Whether Rhode Island even needs federal funding to see the Washington Bridge project through to completion was called into question during Thursday's oversight hearings. Minutes after stressing the importance of federal funding for replacement bridge projects across the state, Alviti told state lawmakers that there's enough money even without the federal grants to complete the bridge project. 'We have always made it a practice at DOT to have a plan A, plan B and plan C in place on any of our projects, and to make damn sure that before we start a project, we have the assurance of having the funds in place to be able to execute that,' Alviti said. By Alviti's calculations, the state already has $713 million available to cover the bridge rebuild, offering ample wiggle room beyond the $400 million price estimate as of May 2024 . That includes up to $334 million in borrowing against future federal transportation funding — $140 million of which was authorized by Rhode Island Commerce Corporation in July — plus $50 million leftover from a prior federal grant, $35 million in unspent federal pandemic aid, and up to $100 million available through the state's long-term capital projects budget, Alviti said. 'It would be extremely advantageous for us to have these two funds, and necessary for us to have these two grants, or these three grants, actually move forward and be provided to us, but in their absence, we have the funding in place … to be able to build a bridge,' Alviti said. But debt taken on by the state and repaid with future federal transportation funding may rely on the assumption that federal transportation funding will be available —- which might no longer be a guarantee. 'The notion that anything is a guarantee under Donald Trump is pure folly,' Rep. Matthew Dawson, an East Providence Democrat and attorney who formerly served as deputy chief of the AG's criminal division, said in an interview Friday. 'If the director wants to have optimism, that's his business. But I am not looking to him for guidance on that.' We are confident that will happen. – Charles St. Martin, a RIDOT spokesperson on availability of federal funding McKenney saw Alviti's optimism as an attempt to win back public trust that has steadily eroded since the bridge was abruptly shuttered nearly 14 months ago. But, 'Trust is won back by actions more than statements,' McKenney said. Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for Gov. Dan McKee's office, issued a statement Thursday touting the progress achieved in demolishing the derelict bridge and advancing a solicitation to find a contractor to build its replacement. 'We are committed to accountability, which is why we are collaborating with the Office of the Attorney General on legal action,' DaRocha said, referring to the state's ongoing lawsuit against 13 contractors hired for design, construction, and inspection services on the existing highway. DaRocha did not address the separate, federal lawsuit over the Trump administration's funding freeze, or potential implications for the Washington Bridge. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billions in federal funds still inaccessible, says emergency motion filed in R.I. federal court
Since Jan 27, the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources has been blocked from accessing $125 million in federal grants for various energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives, including Solar for All initiatives. (Photo by Getty images) Twelve days and two separate federal court orders later, state agencies and their beneficiaries are still not able to access billions of dollars in critical federal grants and aid. Which is why 23 Democratic attorneys general suing President Donald Trump and his administration are asking for a federal judge in Rhode Island to intervene. The 21-page motion filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island late Friday afternoon asks Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. for emergency, immediate enforcement of his existing order blocking a federal funding freeze. McConnell issued the temporary restraining order on Jan. 31, preventing Trump and other federal cabinet heads from blocking access to funds until further notice. But across the country, state governments, including Rhode Island, remain locked out of payment systems and other portals controlling billions of federal funding, the AGs wrote in their latest filing. 'There has been an ever-changing kaleidoscope of federal financial assistance that has been suspended, deleted, in transit, under review, and more since entry of the Order,' the filing states. 'These conditions persist today.' Lawsuits multiply against Trump barrage of orders as Democrats struggle to fight back The AGs filing continues, 'while it is imaginable that a certain amount of machinery would need to be re-tooled in order to undo the breadth of the Federal Funding Freeze, there is no world in which these scattershot outages, which as of this writing impact billions of dollars in federal funding across the Plaintiff States, can constitute compliance with this Court's Order.' In court documents submitted Feb. 3, Daniel Schwei, the U.S. Department of Justice attorney representing the Trump administration, wrote that the administration did not interpret the temporary restraining order to apply to Trump's executive orders or to federal agencies not named in the lawsuit. Schwei also indicated federal funds allocated through Biden-era programs under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act were not subject to the court order. This has put key environmental, research, health care and infrastructure programs at risk, as the AGs write in their latest request for emergency enforcement. In Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER) has been unable to access $125 million in federal grants for various energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives, some of which were frozen starting Jan. 27, according to a supplemental, 78-page document submitted Friday. As of Wednesday, OER has not heard back on its Jan. 28 email regarding the suspending funding for solar incentives, the AGs wrote. Robert Beadle, a spokesperson for OER, confirmed the frozen funds in an email Friday evening. 'OER is working with the Governor's Office and the Attorney General's Office to resolve this issue in light of the Temporary Restraining Order,' Beadle said. Meanwhile, Brown University has experienced 'near immediate disruptions' to its research projects, including a canceled review of $71 million in National Institutes of Health funding for dementia research, according to court documents. 'As long as this Administration continues to break the law, we will continue our fight to uphold it,' Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, who is co-leading the lawsuit, said in a statement Friday. 'Let me be as crystal clear as Judge McConnell's order: we're not interested in playing these games, especially when it comes to funding programs that Americans rely on to survive and thrive.' McConnell has given the DOJ team representing the Trump administration until Sunday to respond, according to court documents. McConnell has separately scheduled a hearing in federal court in Providence on Feb. 21 to hear arguments on the AGs' request for a longer term and more broad-sweeping block on a funding freeze. On Monday, a federal judge in D.C. issued a temporary restraining order blocking the funding freeze in response to a separate lawsuit filed by nonprofit and business groups. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
