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Mid-Atlantic Consumer Protection Conference

On April 2, 2009, in Baltimore, Maryland, the State Center sponsored a conference for members of the Consumer Protection Divisions of six Mid-Atlantic states: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. There were more than 40 attendees, including assistant attorneys general and investigators from each of the states, as well as representatives from the FTC, BBB, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the National State Attorney Generals Program of Columbia Law School. Welcoming remarks were delivered by Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler. The Mintz Group provided a training session on enhanced investigative techniques using various data bases available on the Internet. Discussions were led by state AAGs, focusing on specific complaints or issues likely to be common to other states. The emphasis was on sharing insights and on facilitating interstate cooperation in the future as a way to leverage resources and improve efficiency. Presentations were also made by the FTC, the BB and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

New England Consumer Protection Conference

The State Center sponsored in Concord, NH, on July 1, 2008, a conference for members of the Consumer Protection Divisions of the six New England states. Thirty state attorneys, investigators and other professionals attended. Topics included different approaches to office organization, opportunities for enhanced regional cooperation, practical steps to deal with the impact of rising fuel prices, how to take better advantage of legal research materials and advanced investigative techniques. Faculty members included individuals from the Vermont Attorney General's Office, Columbia Law School's National State Attorneys General Program, the National Consumer Law Center and the Mintz Group.

AAI/State Center Symposium - Session III

On March 28, 2008 in Washington, DC, the AAI and the State Center for Antitrust and Consumer Protection jointly sponsored a third meeting of a group of state assistant attorneys general, private plaintiffs' antitrust lawyers, and academics to discuss issues of mutual concern involving private/state antitrust enforcement. A PDF of the notes which summarize the discussion at the meeting may be found here.

NAGTRI/State Center Consumer Protection Fellows

The State Center, in conjunction with the National Attorney General Research and Training Institute (NAGTRI) of NAAG, is sponsoring fellowships that will allow AAGs to spend time in Washington, DC working on consumer protection-oriented research projects. Fellows will research cutting-edge issues of interest to state consumer protection divisions and publish their results in the form of a monograph or white paper. For more information on this program, please click here.

AAI/State Center Symposium - Session II

The State Center and the American Antitrust Institute hosted a second session of their Symposium for State Enforcers and Private Class Counsel, which took place in St. Louis, MO on October 8,2007. A summary of the session may be found here (as pdf). A third session is tentatively planned for March 26, 2008 in Washington, DC.

School Bus Merger

On September 26, 2007, eleven states, led by Massachusetts, announced a settlement agreement that resolved an antitrust investigation of the proposed merger of the nation's two largest school bus contractors - FirstGroup and Laidlaw International Group, Inc. The settlement includes significant divestitures and other relief intended to preserve competition in numerous geographic markets in which the merging companies competed. The investigation was supported by a State Center grant to retain the services of a member of its Panel of Economists to assist the investigating states in their analysis of the relevant economic data produced by the merging parties.

Report on Petroleum Products Markets in the Northeast

Together with New York State, the State Center co-funded a Report on Petroleum Products in the Northeast. The report was prepared by the ERS Group for, and at the direction of, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. The State Center had no input in the content of the report.

The Executive Summary provides an overview. Section I gives industry background, highlighting products and terminology. Section II explains how products are distributed to the states from refineries in the U.S. and abroad. Section III discusses the system of terminals and describes their location, capacities, ownership, and market structure and shares. Section IV focuses on wholesale and retail gasoline markets within the states. Section V provides an understanding of home heating oil markets, historical pricing, and natural gas's potential as a substitute for heating oil. Section VI addresses the role of futures markets for crude oil, gasoline and heating oil. The appendices include a glossary, technical and ownership details concerning terminals, retail gasoline market shares at the county level, and data concerning retail heating oil prices by company and town. The report, which collects together for the first time in one resource important information about the workings of the markets in the Northeast for important consumer products like heating oil and gasoline, as pdf, may be found here.

AG Summit on Subprime Foreclosure Crisis

High-ranking officials from state Attorneys General Offices across the country and representatives of the Conference of State Banking Supervisors are meeting in Chicago on July 17-18, 2007 to discuss the crisis affecting consumers nationwide as a result of the large increase in subprime foreclosures. This important conference is made possible, in part, by a State Center grant.

The mission of the State Center is to enhance consumer welfare by supporting the fair, effective and vigorous enforcement of antitrust and consumer protection laws at the state level.