To all Oregonians:

This evening, New Year’s Eve, at 5pm, I will welcome attendees at the swearing-in of Dan Rayfield as Oregon’s 18th Attorney General. After the ceremony, I’ll be on my way to becoming a private citizen again. My public service career in Oregon has comprised 42 wonderful years: eight as an Assistant United States Attorney, sixteen as a trial judge, six as a Court of Appeals Judge, and twelve and one-half as Attorney General. I am grateful to all of you for electing me (three times!) to be your AG. And it’s been an honor to serve as Oregon’s first woman to hold this office. I have deeply appreciated the opportunity to serve in this position during challenging times for our state and country.

In sharing a few highlights of my time as Attorney General, I’ll start with the category of amazing experiences I’ve had as AG that I never could have imagined: How about a teen alcohol-use prevention video with the great gymnast Simone Biles! Or singing the National Anthem in front of more than 12,000 fans at an Oregon Ducks nationally televised basketball game against Stanford in Matthew Knight Arena!! (Sorry, I could not find a YouTube of this amazing experience!)

Less dramatic — but of greater significance — I have loved traveling around the state conducting “Scam Jams” (consumer protection education and prevention events), as well as visiting domestic violence shelters, child abuse intervention facilities, drug and alcohol treatment programs, and more. I never cease to be amazed at the number of compassionate, dedicated, hard-working Oregonians I have met who are working on behalf of our most vulnerable.

Two important aspects of my work as AG stand out:

First, when you’re a lawyer, it helps to have good clients. Mine have been the best — you, the people of Oregon, and our state government, including its elected officials, its agencies, boards and commissions. High on my list of responsibilities is serving as your attorney—and that means providing the “Gold Standard” of legal advice and guidance.

Second, work always goes better when you have good colleagues. The fourteen hundred people at Oregon’s Department of Justice are as capable and dedicated as any leader could ask for. Our department benefits from the efforts of countless unsung heroes – people who have devoted years and, in some cases, entire careers to serving the public for the common good. These incredibly talented people have set aside politics and personal opinion to do this important work.

Not to be overlooked: Hundreds of you have joined our task forces, volunteered at our community events, testified on behalf of legislation we’ve proposed, and contributed so much. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Without your support of our work and initiatives like hate and bias crimes, police profiling, elder abuse, “ghost” guns, public records reform, support for victims and survivors, reproductive rights, and consumer – especially children’s – data privacy, we would not have obtained the resources we need or the policy reforms that have been adopted by the legislature to enhance protections for our most vulnerable Oregonians.

Oregon’s statutes assign hundreds of responsibilities and tasks to its Attorney General. I have done my best to carry them out. And where legislation has passed (often at my request) expanding that authority, we have gladly added those new duties — like the Bias Response Hotline, the Elder Abuse Unit, and authority to enforce new laws like the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act. (We’ve even asked for — and received — authority to enforce consumer laws already on the books, such as our data breach laws.)

Here are some highlights of our work over these past twelve-plus years.

• Consumer Protection
  I’m tremendously proud of what we do to protect consumers in Oregon. Every day, your Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection team investigates, litigates, and resolves cases — winning restitution for victims. Our Consumer Complaint Hotline continues to be a go-to resource for Oregonians. Our partnerships with groups like AARP, DCBS, and the FTC help us build connections and protect people from being taken advantage of by scammers and fraudsters. Every year we give personal attention to more than thirty thousand consumer complaints; last year alone we returned over $1.1 million in restitution to thousands of Oregonians.

Along these lines, just as I got started as AG over a decade ago, we were resolving the multi-state mortgage foreclosure fiasco. That work led to a mediation program for homeowners in or at risk of foreclosure. We helped hundreds of Oregonians stay in their homes.

Early on, I also realized how education-related debt has become what I call “the obligation of a lifetime” for way too many Oregonians. We cracked down on for-profit schools, shutting the worst ones down, and refunding their students who had been badly ripped off just for trying to get an education. We brought the best experts in the field to Oregon, working closely with the CFPB and the Student Borrower Protection Center, and successfully sponsored important legislation in this area — including a loan-servicer licensing requirement and a statewide ombudsperson for borrowers to turn to with concerns about their loan servicer. But there remains a long way to go with our work on the student-loan debt crisis.

More recently, we encouraged the Federal Trade Commission to file suit in federal court in Oregon to block the proposed Albertsons – Kroger merger. I attended several days of the weeks-long trial this past fall. Lawyers from our office helped stop this merger — and have likely saved you considerably on your grocery bills and protected the jobs and working conditions of thousands of Oregonians.

• Holding Corporate Wrongdoers Accountable
  During my years as AG, I’ve also prioritized taking on BIG businesses that treated Oregonians unfairly and even caused deadly harm. We shut down an insidious magazine-sales scam headquartered in White City. We sued Volkswagen for falsifying fuel mileage data on its cars — and obtained tens of tens of millions of dollars in reparations for Oregonians. We successfully sued Oracle for its botched health exchange work. With my bipartisan AG colleagues across the country, we’ve gone after the entire opioid industry (manufacturers, distributors, dispensers and their marketers) for contributing to the tragedy of the national opioid epidemic that continues to today. Thus far, our numbers are close to a billion dollars in settlements just for Oregon! These dollars are already being used by city, county, state and tribal entities to address this scourge.
• The Environment
  No AG is doing her job without a clear focus on cleaning up the so-called “forever chemicals” in our land, air and water. With the help of our Natural Resources Section, and outside legal partners, Oregon brought a stand-alone lawsuit against Monsanto — the manufacturer of PCBs that have been contaminating our environment for nearly 100 years. The case went to trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court, but Monsanto requested a postponement during jury selection, apparently realizing they would lose big here. The settlement — nearly $700 million — that was reached soon thereafter has led to the creation of a legislatively enacted endowment fund that will allow the state, BIPOC groups and the tribes to prioritize environmental justice in Oregon over the next 100 years!
• Privacy
  Another matter that’s of real concern to consumers in this increasingly digital world is our online privacy rights. After leading a national task force for three years (even during the pandemic), I championed privacy protections for Oregonians, and our legislature came through. We have strengthened Oregonians’ privacy rights considerably, such that you now have among the best privacy protections in the nation. And just as we thought we were up to date in this regard, along came the tsunami of AI. So, just last week — on December 24 — we issued guidance to Oregon businesses concerning their use of Artificial Intelligence. In case you missed it, and you are affiliated with an Oregon business, please read and follow this guidance!
• Reproductive Freedom
  I care deeply about maintaining our state’s reproductive freedoms. During the first Trump Administration, I led the 21-state Title 10 “Gag Rule” case, securing an important win in federal court in Oregon. More recently, working hand in hand with AGs across the country, I co-led an 18-state lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington state, in which we blocked federal overreach on the regulation of the demonstrably safe abortion and miscarriage medication — Mifepristone. In addition, we’ve made sure Oregonians know their rights thanks to the lawyers who volunteer their time on our Reproductive Rights Hotline.
• Civil Rights
  We’ve made important strides in safeguarding Oregonians’ civil rights and doing more to ensure that all Oregonians feel they belong here. We led the charge in 2014 (before the US Supreme Court declared marriage equality in the Obergefell case) in federal court in Oregon to have our state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage struck down, securing an important win from Judge Michael McShane. Our Hate Crime Task Force led to strengthening our hate crimes laws and to the creation of a first-in-the-nation Bias Response Hotline. That model is now being replicated in states across America, like Washington and Illinois. Most recently, we launched our Civil Rights Unit’s Sanctuary Promise Toolkit. Its aim is to protect vulnerable Oregonians from overreach by the federal government.
• Human Trafficking
  We have learned that human trafficking often includes both labor and sex trafficking and that it often targets those least able to come forward safely to report these crimes. My office’s Crime Victims and Survivors Services Division has led the way in helping stand up MDTs (multi-disciplinary teams) throughout the state to identify, investigate and prosecute these despicable crimes. Our DOJ-led Labor Trafficking Task Force has made significant headway and has gotten the legislature to enact important new protections for workers.
• Sensible Gun Regulation
  One area where I’ve consistently fought for higher standards is in sensible gun regulations in Oregon. While respecting federal and state laws, we’ve also worked to uphold the will of Oregon voters. That means we’ve fought – and had notable victories – defending Measure 114 from state and federal lawsuits. It also means that after four tries we’ve finally banned ‘ghost guns’ in Oregon. These are weapons that have no serial numbers and thus cannot be traced by law enforcement. This September Oregon’s laws prohibiting ghost guns took full effect, having passed during the 2023 legislative session. Just before this, a lawsuit was filed in federal court asserting that the Second Amendment protects the right to make and keep ghost guns. A federal judge denied the plaintiffs’ request for an order preventing Oregon from enforcing its laws, and we have asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit permanently.
• The Pandemic
  Another way our work helped save lives occurred during the pandemic, when we defended the governor’s emergency orders. While there may be debate as to whether those orders stayed in place too long, there can be little doubt that hundreds, if not thousands, of Oregonians are alive today as a direct result of the implementation of those orders.
• Children and Teens
  A big priority for me has been looking out for our state’s kids. It’s why I established Child Advocacy and Protection as its own DOJ division. It’s also why I advocated for more positions for our ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Unit. I am so proud of the work of our Child Support Division, which underwent a major statewide computer upgrade — possibly the most successful in state history other than e-court. (By the way, you may not know that our Child Support Division collects $1,500,000 every day to support families and kids.) And it’s why, for the last year while serving as president of the National Association of Attorneys General, my presidential initiative was “America’s Youth: AGs Looking Out for the Next Generation.” In a time when digital technology and social media profoundly influence our young people’s lives, it is essential for us to unite in strengthening protections and advocating for their well-being. At this point, we’re suing Meta and TikTok. These cases are not yet resolved.

In this same vein, last year I co-led a group of attorneys general from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories, who signed and sent a letter to Congress requesting the appointment of a commission to study how artificial intelligence exploits children, especially through the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse materials. This initiative is urgent, as AI technologies can generate harmful content and mimic a child’s voice, putting our children at further risk. We hope our efforts will benefit Oregon’s children.

As NAAG president, I also joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 state attorneys general in a letter to Congress, urging lawmakers to require a U.S. Surgeon General warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms. This reflects our shared concern about the generational harm social media poses to young people’s mental health. The letter cites growing research linking young people’s use of these platforms to psychological harm, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Everything we know in this area underscores the urgent need for the accountability of big digital media companies in an era where algorithmic recommendations and constant notifications dominate the online experience of our kids.

This letter is really getting long! At the same time, it represents only a few of my office’s major accomplishments on your behalf. My goal here was to demonstrate, in a nutshell, what we’ve been able to accomplish — and why I describe myself more as “Mama Bear” than “Top Cop!” But do “ bear” in mind that we also perform a very important criminal justice function statewide: we assist the 36 District Attorneys in their investigations and prosecutions; we even take on the role of DA when there are vacancies; and we handle ALL the state’s criminal appeals.

Now, as I prepare to depart, I’ll be more succinct and conclude with two thoughts:

First, I continue to believe that justice in Oregon is a noble pursuit.
Second, here’s a huge Thank You to you! You are the reason we do what we do — and you make it incredibly gratifying.

Thank you, Oregon, and thank you, Oregon DOJ.

All the best to my successor, Attorney General-elect Dan Rayfield, for an equally gratifying and successful term (or terms!) as AG.

Ellen Rosenblum
Oregon Attorney General