Ban on gender-affirming care for minors now back in action
Attorney General Todd Rokita co-leads 27 states to victory, SCOTUS finds Trump eligible to appear on ballot
As AG Rokita previously and publicly predicted, the US Supreme Court unanimously
sides with top Republican presidential candidate in 9-0 decision
Attorney General Todd Rokita co-led the charge in support of former President Donald Trump’s right to appear on the Colorado ballot, and recently, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed.
“I predicted this unanimous decision since the beginning,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This was a clear attempt to disenfranchise and dilute the voices of millions of voters who benefited from former President Donald Trump’s time as Commander in Chief.”
The U.S. Supreme Court opinion embraced the central argument put forward in two amicus briefs—one with 25 states, another with 27 states—led by Indiana and West Virginia. In this rare instance, the Constitution rightly gives Congress, not individual states, authority to decide who is eligible to run for federal office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“With a 9-0 decision, I hope we can all now finally agree that Trump has a right to appear on the ballot,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This is a huge win for liberty and preserves confidence in the integrity of our elections.”
As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision, individual states cannot wield Section 3 to deny a candidate for federal office from the ballot—this resolves the issue nationwide.
The Brief and Opinion are attached.
Human trafficking alert: Attorney General Todd Rokita kicks off Indiana Child ID Kit Program to protect kids
In the first of its kind program for the Office, AG Rokita teams up with NFL Alumni, law enforcement and school districts across the state to provide Safety Gameplan to K-5 students
Attorney General Todd Rokita announces all Indiana kindergarten - 5th grade students will receive a child ID kit this fall during a press conference with Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, NFL Alumni Association, Colts Super Bowl XLI Champion Marlin Jackson, and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Mike Singletary.
On average, 1,000 children go missing across the United States every day.
“Human trafficking is on the rise and our open border policies have brought it right to our front door,” said Attorney General Rokita. “That is why I have filed multiple lawsuits to secure our southern border. Our office fights to keep criminals on appeal behind bars, we protect victims of crimes like human trafficking through our Address Confidentiality Program, and now we have built a coalition of community leaders to provide kits to all K-5 students this fall free of charge to Hoosier families.”
When a child goes missing, time is of the essence. Child ID kits give parents a tool to provide detailed information, a photograph, fingerprint, and DNA to law enforcement quickly. Completed kits are kept in a safe place at home, out of a database, so parents are prepared if the unthinkable happens.
Kits will be distributed by Superintendents and School Resource Officers to all k-5 schools across the state. The Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police will also distribute kits to local law enforcement.
The Attorney General’s Office brought together this coalition – Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, NOBLE, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, and the NFL Alumni Association – with public and private funding from the General Assembly and American Electric Power to make these kits available to all K-5 families free of charge in the 2024 school year.
Attorney General Rokita’s full press conference is included below.
Attorney General Todd Rokita fights to uphold ban
on schools teaching sex ed to grades K-3
‘This is a good law that represents Hoosier common sense’
In federal appeals court recently, Attorney General Todd Rokita’s team defended the constitutionality of an Indiana law prohibiting schools from teaching human sexuality to children in grades kindergarten through third grade.
“Human sexuality being taught to students by their teachers is questionable at any age,” Attorney General Rokita said. “The fact that this is taught to children who are still learning how to spell and how to do basic math is reprehensible. That simple reality should be obvious to anyone. This is a good law that represents Hoosier common sense and respects parents’ roles in raising their children.”
An elementary teacher from Indianapolis Public Schools has challenged the law, claiming among other things that it violates her First Amendment rights.
“Teachers in our public schools don’t have a First Amendment right to teach whatever they want,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This type of class no longer focuses on biology – it’s now based on ideology. This is why parents should be the ones to help guide their children through this difficult stage.”
Trying another tact, the teacher also claims in her lawsuit that the law uses terminology that is overly vague. The law, however, contains the same language used in other Indiana laws that have been enforced for years without challenge.
Attached is a brief outlining the positions of Attorney General Rokita’s team.
Attorney General Todd Rokita continues fight for
patient privacy, files suit against Apria Healthcare
Attorney General Todd Rokita is filing a lawsuit on behalf of the people of Indiana against Apria Healthcare LLC for a massive data breach that impacted at least 42,000 Hoosiers and 1.8 million people nationwide.
Apria is a provider of home healthcare equipment and related services across the United States. Apria provides medical equipment to over 2 million patients across 270 locations, including Indiana.
“Patients should be able to trust their medical providers at all times,” Attorney General Rokita said. “All Hoosier patients deserve their privacy, especially when it comes to medical care.”
On September 1, 2021, the FBI notified Apria that an unauthorized third-party was likely able to access their system. The intruder accessed millions of documents containing protected health information and other personal information. Further, the intruder accessed several Apria employee email accounts, including Apria’s CEO.
Apria failed to notify patients about the 2019 and 2021 data breaches until May 2023 – 629 days after the breaches were discovered. Apria’s delayed notification and actions resulted in alleged violations of HIPAA and Indiana law.
“Everyone should feel protected by their health care providers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “When your private information is accessible or leaked to a stranger, you’re susceptible to life-altering threats, such as identity theft and financial ruin. Our office has adamantly fought back against careless companies who disregard major cybersecurity threats.”
Apria allegedly concealed the data breach from their consumers and failed to implement HIPAA policies and procedures. Due to a lack of security and technical safeguards, the unwelcome third party was able to access personal health information and personal identifiable information, such as Social Security Numbers, birth certificates, credit and debit card information, medical histories, addresses, and other identifiable information.
Apria’s notification to patients and consumers was extremely delayed and unreasonable. With this extreme delay, Apria greatly increased the chance of a Hoosier becoming the victim of identity deception, identity theft, or fraud.
Apria’s parent company, Owens and Minor, allegedly knew about the breaches when it purchased Apria in March 2022.
The lawsuit consists of the following five counts against Apria:
Violations of HIPAA’s Notification Rule Violations of HIPAA’s Security Rule Violations of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule Violations of the Disclosure of Security Breach Act Violations of Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act
The complaint is listed below.
Attorney General Todd Rokita distributes $44.7 million to Hoosier communities in next wave of funds from opioid settlements
Opioid settlements alone total over $925 million under Rokita Administration
Attorney General Todd Rokita is distributing $44.7 million to Indiana cities, towns and counties in the next wave of funding from opioid settlements obtained under his leadership. Attorney General Rokita secured these settlements from companies that allegedly contributed to the state’s opioid epidemic through irresponsible and/or unlawful actions.
“The scourge of opioid abuse and overdose has inflicted such unspeakable pain on so many Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “No amount of money will ever compensate families for the loss of loved ones, but these settlements help prevent similar types of corporate irresponsibility from ever happening again.”
The payments being sent this week result from settlements with Allergan, Teva, Walgreens, CVS and Walmart — along with a small additional payment received from pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen. Over the course of all opioid settlements obtained under Attorney General Rokita, Indiana is anticipated to receive more than $925 million.
Local governments have wide discretion in choosing exactly how to use the opioid funds. The settlement funds support local law enforcement efforts, drug task forces, regional treatment hubs, early intervention and crisis support, and other important programs aimed at combating substance abuse and overdose. Guidelines can be found on Attorney General Rokita’s website.
The settlement framework continues to be a 50-50 split between the state and local governments. The $44.7 million sent to local communities — plus another approximately $2.6 million in attorney fees paid to litigating subdivisions’ counsel — represents 50 percent of the approximately $95 million in funds remitted by the pharmaceutical companies for this round of payments. The other 50 percent goes to the State of Indiana. Local communities are encouraged to seek information regarding the state’s 50% share and take steps to obtain additional funds.
A listing of the payments estimated for each community for the full 18 years can be found on the Office of Attorney General website: https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/
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