State Attorneys General Use of Concurrent Public Enforcement Authority In Federal Consumer Protection Laws

Abstract

Recent scholarly and legislative interest in state enforcement of federal law has led to the need for an empirical understanding of how and when these enforcement powers are used. This article reports on an examination of the use by state attorneys general of sixteen federal consumer protection laws that expressly allow for state enforcement. The data are sorted and analyzed by both single state actions and multistate actions over time, and by the involvement of federal agencies in the state cases. The data reveal a measured use of such powers by state attorneys general and robust state and federal cooperation in the enforcement of the statutes. This study should be useful for future legislative and scholarly examinations of federalism, enforcement powers, and consumer protection.