Ten Minute Interview: Debt Financing

While national headlines focus on executive and legislative chambers, the operational frontline of corporate regulatory risk is mapped directly across individual state attorney general elections. The 2026 cycle spans 30 states plus the District of Columbia, featuring an unprecedented volume of structural changes driven by constitutional term limits and strategic vacancies in key economic engines.

State attorney general elections are no longer niche political contests relevant only to state government observers. Over the past decade, attorneys general have become some of the most influential public legal actors shaping the business environment nationwide. From consumer protection and antitrust enforcement to privacy, health care oversight, environmental litigation, and multistate investigations, AG offices now play a central role in how legal and regulatory risk develops across industries.

On July 7, 2026, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) proposing substantial revisions to DOE’s “Process Rule,” which governs the process DOE uses to develop energy conservation standards and test procedures for consumer products and commercial/industrial equipment pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). If finalized, the proposal would significantly alter how DOE develops and evaluates new and amended energy conservation standards, with important implications for manufacturers, importers, and distributors of products subject to DOE’s energy efficiency regulations.