NEW DEVELOPMENTS
A Structural Change in how Cali- fornia Enforces Antitrust Laws
The California Department of Justice is quietly changing the structure of its office to add new positions and capabilities. The legislature is also working on statutes that would provide the Department more robust tools to pursue anticompetitive conduct. The combination of more staff and potentially stronger enforcement powers will make California a potent antitrust enforcer.
Recent Changes
Three recent moves within the California Department of Justice deserve attention. First, the office is seeking a supervisor capable of managing both civil and criminal matters. That may sound routine. It is not.
Although the Department has had the authority for many years, the Attorney General has not pursued criminal antitrust enforcement in decades. Civil enforcement has been the dominant mode-flexible, scalable, and politically durable law enforcement mechanism for the state. This is now changing. Reintroducing
