The State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act of 2021 is a proposed antitrust bill in the United States Congress . The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Ken Buck ( R - CO ) as H.R. 3460 on May 21, 2021. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Mike Lee (R- UT ) as S. 1787 on May 24, 2021.
10-412: The legislation would prevent antitrust lawsuits filed by multiple state attorneys general (state AGs) from being consolidated or transferred to a separate venue at the request of a company. Proponents of the bill argue that the current law helps companies accused of anti-competitive conduct by allowing suits to be consolidated or transferred in a more favorable venue at their request. On June 14, 2022,
20-442: A new era of antitrust reform and proof-of-concept for a bipartisan reform coalition of conservatives and progressives". State attorney general ( Alabama to Missouri , Montana to Wyoming ) The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states , of the federal district , or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states,
30-652: The House Judiciary Committee in favor of advancing H.R. 3460 to the House floor by a 34–7 margin. On September 23, 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the legislation to a full vote in the Senate by voice vote. On June 14, 2022, the Senate passed the legislation unanimously. Buck, who introduced the House version of the bill, praised the Senate's vote, describing it marking "the beginning of
40-630: The attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those of the United States Department of Justice . The most prevalent method of selecting a state's attorney general is by popular election. 43 states have an elected attorney general. Elected attorneys general serve a four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years. Seven states do not popularly elect an attorney general. In Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming,
50-636: The Senate passed the legislation by voice vote. The legislation was introduced days after Google filed to transfer an antitrust suit from the Texas Attorney General 's office and fourteen other state AGs to its home court in San Francisco , California . In June 2021, a bipartisan coalition of 52 state AGs wrote a letter to Congress in support of the legislation. Lina Khan , chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), urged members of
60-516: The Senate to support the legislation in February 2022. Buck, who introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives, argued that states "should have the same benefit that is already afforded to federal antitrust enforcers — to select and remain in their preferred venue". The legislation would allow antitrust lawsuits filed by state attorneys general to remain in their original court district, rather than be transferred or consolidated elsewhere. With
70-587: The attorney general is appointed by the governor. The attorney general in Tennessee is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term. In Maine, the attorney general is elected by the state Legislature for a two-year term. The District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, elect their attorneys general for a four-year term. 2014 marked
80-552: The exception of suits filed by a federal agencies , antitrust lawsuits filed in multiple federal court districts can be consolidated in a single venue at a litigant's request. If passed, the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act of 2021 would create a carve-out for state AGs from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) akin to the relevant exemption for federal agencies. In June 2021,
90-569: The first year that the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands held an election for the office. In American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the attorney general is appointed by the governor. In Puerto Rico, the attorney general is officially called the secretary of justice, but is commonly known as the Puerto Rico attorney general. Many states have passed term limits limiting
100-492: The selection to 2 consecutive terms (9 states); 2 terms maximum (4 states), but 33 states still have no term limits. State attorneys general enforce both state and federal laws. Because they are sworn to uphold the United States' constitution and laws as well as the state's, they may decline to defend a state law in federal preemption case. The current party composition of the state attorneys general is: The composition for
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