Attorney General of Oklahoma

Oklahoma Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2012 FY Budget:	$23,602,000
Term limits:	8 years
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Oklahoma Constitution, Article VI, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	Scott Pruitt
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	2010
Compensation:	$132,850
Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
Other Oklahoma Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Attorney General of Oklahoma is an elected executive position in the Oklahoma state government. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the state of Oklahoma and is responsible for advising the various agencies and departments of the executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch of the state government. The office of attorney general prosecutes offenses of the Oklahoma state statutes and advocates for the basic rights of Oklahoma's residents.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Scott Pruitt. He was first elected to the position in 2010.

Authority

The office of the Oklahoma Attorney General is established in Article VI, Section 1 of the Oklahoma Constitution.

Article VI, Section 1:

A. The Executive authority of the state shall be vested in a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor and Inspector, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Labor, Commissioner of Insurance and other officers provided by law and this Constitution, each of whom shall keep his office and public records, books and papers at the seat of government, and shall perform such duties as may be designated in this Constitution or prescribed by law. B. The Secretary of State shall be appointed by the Governor by and with the consent of the Senate for a term of four (4) years to run concurrently with the term of the Governor.

Qualifications

Article VI, Section 3 of the Oklahoma Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor and Inspector, Attorney General, State Treasurer or Superintendent of Public Instruction except a citizen of the United States of the age of not less than thirty-one (31) years and who shall have been ten (10) years next preceding his or her election, or appointment, a qualified elector of this state.

• a citizen of the United States.
• at least 31 years old.
• a qualified elector of Oklahoma for the 10 preceding years.

Elections

The Attorney General of Oklahoma is elected every years, in mid-term elections. The position is elected in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.

Term limits

No person may serve as the Attorney General of Oklahoma for more than 8 years, excluding years served for less than a full term to fill a vacancy in the office.

Vacancies

Under Article 6, Section 13 of the state constitution, in the event of a vacancy in the office the governor appoints a person to serve until a successor is either elected or appointed and qualified by law.

Duties

The official duties of the attorney general are outlined in §74-18 of the Oklahoma State Code:

1. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions and proceedings, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals in which the state is interested as a party;
2. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions and proceedings in any of the federal courts in which the state is interested as a party;
3. To initiate or appear in any action in which the interests of the state or the people of the state are at issue, or to appear at the request of the Governor, the Legislature, or either branch thereof, and prosecute and defend in any court or before any commission, board or officers any cause or proceeding, civil or criminal, in which the state may be a party or interested; and when so appearing in any such cause or proceeding, the Attorney General may, if the Attorney General deems it advisable and to the best interest of the state, take and assume control of the prosecution or defense of the state's interest therein;
4. To consult with and advise district attorneys, when requested by them, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their offices, when said district attorneys shall furnish the Attorney General with a written opinion supported by citation of authorities upon the matter submitted;
5. To give an opinion in writing upon all questions of law submitted to the Attorney General by the Legislature or either branch thereof, or by any state officer, board, commission or department, provided, that the Attorney General shall not furnish opinions to any but district attorneys, the Legislature or either branch thereof, or any other state official, board, commission or department, and to them only upon matters in which they are officially interested;
6. At the request of the Governor, State Auditor and Inspector, State Treasurer, or either branch of the Legislature, to prosecute any official bond or any contract in which the state is interested, upon a breach thereof, and to prosecute or defend for the state all actions, civil or criminal, relating to any matter connected with either of their Departments;
7. Whenever requested by any state officer, board or commission, to prepare proper drafts for contracts, forms and other writing which may be wanted for the use of the state;
8. To prepare drafts of bills and resolutions for individual members of the Legislature upon their written request stating the gist of the bill or resolution desired;
9. To enforce the proper application of monies appropriated by the Legislature and to prosecute breaches of trust in the administration of such funds;
10. To institute actions to recover state monies illegally expended, to recover state property and to prevent the illegal use of any state property, upon the request of the Governor or the Legislature;
11. To pay into the State Treasury, immediately upon its receipt, all monies received by the Attorney General belonging to the state;
12. To keep and file copies of all opinions, contracts, forms and letters of the office, and to keep an index of all opinions, contracts and forms according to subject and section of the law construed or applied;
13. To keep a register or docket of all actions, demands and investigations prosecuted, defended or conducted by the Attorney General in behalf of the state. Said register or docket shall give the style of the case or investigation, where pending, court number, office number, the gist of the matter, result and the names of the assistants who handled the matter;
14. To keep a complete office file of all cases and investigations handled by the Attorney General on behalf of the state;
15. To report to the Legislature or either branch thereof whenever requested upon any business relating to the duties of the Attorney General's office;
16. To institute civil actions against members of any state board or commission for failure of such members to perform their duties as prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution and to prosecute members of any state board or commission for violation of the criminal laws of this state where such violations have occurred in connection with the performance of such members' official duties;
17. To respond to any request for an opinion of the Attorney General's office, submitted by a member of the Legislature, regardless of subject matter, by written opinion determinative of the law regarding such subject matter;
18. To convene multicounty grand juries in such manner and for such purposes as provided by law; provided, such grand juries are composed of citizens from each of the counties on a pro rata basis by county;
19. To investigate any report by the State Auditor and Inspector filed with the Attorney General pursuant to Section 223 of this title and prosecute all actions, civil or criminal, relating to such reports or any irregularities or derelictions in the management of public funds or property which are violations of the laws of this state;
20. To represent and protect the collective interests of all utility consumers of this state in rate-related proceedings before the Corporation Commission or in any other state or federal judicial or administrative proceeding;
21. To represent and protect the collective interests of insurance consumers of this state in rate-related proceedings before the Insurance Property and Casualty Rate Board or in any other state or federal judicial or administrative proceeding; and
22. To investigate and prosecute any criminal action relating to insurance fraud, if in the opinion of the Attorney General a criminal prosecution is warranted, or to refer such matters to the appropriate district attorney.

Divisions

• Criminal Appeals
• Environmental Protection Unit
• General Counsel Section
• Litigation Section
• Multicounty Grand Jury Unit
• Patient Abuse and Medicaid Fraud Control
• Public Protection
• Public Utilities Unit
• Tobacco Enforcement
• Victims Services Unit
• Workers' Compensation and Insurance Fraud Unit

State budget

The budget for the Attorney General's office in Fiscal Year 2012 was $23,602,000.

Compensation

In 2010, the Attorney General of Oklahoma was paid an estimated $132,850 according to the Council of State Governments.

Contact information

Office of the Attorney General
313 Northeast 21st Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Phone: 405-521-3921
Fax: 405-522-4534

See also

• Drew Edmondson, Attorney General of Oklahoma
• Governor of Oklahoma
• Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Secretary of State

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General
• About the office of the Oklahoma Attorney General
• The Oklahoma Constitution concerning initiative & referendum as of 2000