Frosh's broad legal power: Partisanship or 'long overdue'?

By Ashley O'Connor

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh was granted broad authority to sue the federal government last year. In the 19 months since, he has made good on his newfound autonomy.

Below are 22 lawsuits against the federal government that Frosh has been involved in. Click on each topic below to see specifics about the lawsuit, including the defendant, description of the case, and a list of other state attorneys general who are participating in each lawsuit. Read the full story from CNS.



IMMIGRATION

MARCH 2017

Defendant: Homeland Security, State Department

Frosh joined a lawsuit challenging Trump's Muslim ban.

california
connecticut
delaware
dc
hawaii
illinois
iowa
massachusetts
new mexico
newyork
oregon
rhodeisland
vermont
virginia

PESTICIDES

JUNE 2017

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh joined seven state attorneys general challenging the EPA for allowing the continued use of chlorpyrifos - a pesticide used on food crops - which has been found to impair brain function and development.

california
maine
massachusetts
newyork
vermont
washington

EMOLUMENTS

JUNE 2017

Defendant: President Donald Trump

Filed by Frosh and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine alleging that President Trump had violated the Constitution's emoluments clause, which prohibits the president from benefiting financially from foreign governments.

DC

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

JUNE 2017

Defendant: Department of Energy

Frosh joined 10 state attorneys general alleging the Energy Department lacks energy efficiency standards for products like air conditioning units, power supplies and walk-in coolers.

california
connecticut
illinois
maine
massachusetts
newyork
oregon
pennsylvania
vermont
washington

GREENHOUSE GASES

JUNE 2017

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh joined a coalition of 13 states suing the EPA for not enforcing regulations on greenhouse gas emissions at oil and gas sites.

connecticut
delaware
DC
illinois
iowa
massachusetts
newmexico
newyork
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
washington

METHANE EMISSIONS

JUNE 2017

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh joined 14 state attorneys general and the city of Chicago in an intent to sue the EPA if it did not control methane emissions under the Clean Air Act.

california
connecticut
DC
illinois
iowa
maine
massachusetts
newmexico
newyork
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
washington

FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE-BORROWERS

JULY 2017

Defendant: Department of Education

Frosh joined 17 other states and Washington, D.C. in suing the Department of Education for not enforcing the borrower defense rule, which protects students who take out predatory loans at for-profit colleges and universities.

california
connecticut
delaware
dc
hawaii
illinois
iowa
massachusetts
minnesota
newmexico
newyork
northcarolina
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
virginia
washington

CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS

JULY 2017

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh filed a lawsuit, along with 10 other state attorneys general, against the the EPA for delaying a rule meant to protect first responders in chemical accidents.

illinois
iowa
maine
massachusetts
newmexico
newyork
oregon
rhodeisland
vermont
washington

DACA

SEPTEMBER 2017

Defendant: President Donald Trump, Homeland Security

Frosh joined California, Maine and Minnesota in filing suit against the Trump administration for ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program. In August, a Texas judge ruled the program unconstitutional but allowed it to remain in place.

california
maine
minnesota

POLLUTION CONTROL

SEPTEMBER 2017

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh filed a complaint aganst the EPA for not acting to control air pollution from power plants in five neighboring states.

GREENHOUSE GAS MEASURE

SEPTEMBER,
OCTOBER 2017

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh joined seven state attorneys general in a suit against the EPA after the Federal Highway Administration repealed the Green House Gas performance measure, which was required when building future roads.

california
iowa
massachusetts
minnesota
oregon
vermont
washington

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

OCTOBER 2017

Defendant: Department of Health and Human Services

Frosh joined a coalition of 17 states and Washington, D.C. in a suit against the Trump administration after it ended healthcare subsidy payments under the Affordable Care Act.

connecticut
delaware
DC
illinois
iowa
kentucky
massachusetts
minnesota
newmexico
newyork
northcarolina
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
virginia
washington

GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT RULE

OCTOBER 2017

Defendant: Department of Education

Frosh led a lawsuit -- along with 17 other states -- in suing the Education Department for not enforcing the gainful employment rule, which requires for-profit colleges to adequately prepare students for employment after graduation.

california
connecticut
delaware
dc
hawaii
illinois
iowa
massachusetts
minnesota
newyork
northcarolina
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
virginia
washington

CONTRACEPTION

NOVEMBER 2017

Defendant: Department of Health and Human Services

Frosh joined California, Delaware, New York and Virginia in a lawsuit against the Trump administration's rules denying contraception to women by giving employers control over providing those services.

california
delaware
newyork
virginia

NET NEUTRALITY

JANUARY 2018

Defendant: Federal Communications Commission

Frosh joined a lawsuit with every Democratic attorney general in the nation to block the Federal Communications Commission from rolling back net neutrality.

california
connecticut
delaware
dc
hawaii
illinois
iowa
kentucky
maine
massachusetts
minnesota
mississippi
newmexico
newjersey
newyork
northcarolina
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
virginia
washington

CLEAN WATER RULE

FEBRUARY 2018

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh joined 10 states in a lawsuit to prevent the EPA from reversing the "Clean Water Rule," which protects rivers, lakes and wetlands nationwide from pollution.

california
connecticut
dc
massachusetts
newjersey
newyork
oregon
rhodeisland
vermont
washington

2020 CENSUS CITIZENSHIP

APRIL 2018

Defendant: Department of Commerce, Census Bureau

Frosh joined 19 state attorneys general in filing a suit against the Department of Commerce to block a question about citizenship being added to the 2020 census.

colorado
connecticut
delaware
dc
hawaii
illinois
iowa
massachusetts
minnesota
mississippi
newmexico
newjersey
newyork
northcarolina
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
washington

VEHICLE EMISSION STANDARDS

MAY 2018

Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency

Frosh joined 17 states suing the EPA over the rollback of emission standards on some future car models.

california
connecticut
delaware
dc
illinois
iowa
maine
massachusetts
minnesota
newjersey
newyork
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
virginia
washington

FLIGHT PATTERNS, NOISE POLLUTION

JUNE 2018

Defendant: Federal Aviation Administration

With the support of Gov. Larry Hogan, Frosh filed a petition to the Federal Aviation Administration over altered flight patterns over residential areas in the Baltimore Metro area.

FAMILY SEPARATION

JUNE 2018

Defendant: Homeland Security

Frosh joined a lawsuit of 17 states and Washington, D.C. challenging the Trump administration's policy on separating immigrant families after they crossed the Southern border.

california
delaware
dc
illinois
iowa
massachusetts
minnesota
newmexico
newjersey
newyork
northcarolina
oregon
pennsylvania
rhodeisland
vermont
virginia
washington

STATE AND LOCAL TAX

JULY 2018

Defendant: Treasury, Internal Revenue Service

Frosh joined Connecticut, New Jersey and New York in suing the Treasury Department over portions of the 2017 federal tax cut that reduce state and local tax deductions.

connecticut
newjersey
newyork

3D PRINTED GUNS

JULY 2018

Defendant: State Department

Frosh joined a lawsuit against the State Department attempting to block the release of plan's for untraceable 3D guns that could be downloaded from the Internet. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the plans release the next day.

connecticut
dc
massachusetts
newjersey
newyork
oregon
pennsylvania
washington

AFFIRMING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

SEPTEMBER 2018

Defendant: Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service

Frosh filed a lawsuit demanding the Trump administration declare that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional.