Oregon Attorney General
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The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions.
The current officeholder is John Kroger.
Duties
The attorney general represents the state of Oregon in all court actions and other legal proceedings in which it is a party or has an interest. He or she also conducts all legal business of state departments, boards and commissions that require legal counsel. Ballot titles for measures in Oregon elections are written by the attorney general, who also and appoints the assistant attorneys general who serve as counsel to the various state departments, boards and commissions.
The attorney general provides written opinions upon any question of law in which any government entity within the state may have an interest when requested by the governor, any state agency official or any member of the legislature, but is prohibited by law from rendering opinions or giving legal advice to any other persons or agencies.
Role in the initiative process
The attorney general works closely with the state secretary of state on the initiative & referendum process, overseeing the legality of the ballot with the Oregon Constitution and the ballot language itself.
Ballot title
The attorney general is charge of assigning draft ballot title to an initiative. The draft title must contain:
- A caption that does no exceed 15 words
- A simple and understandable statement that does not exceed 25 words that describes the result if the measure is passed
- A simple and understandable statement that does not exceed 25 words that describes the result if rejected
- A summary of the prospective of the initiative that does not exceed 125 words
The attorney general is required to make the summary precise and impartial.
Contact information
Oregon Department of Justice
1162 Court Street NE
Salem, OR 97301-4096
Phone:503-378-4400
See also
External links
References
Portions of this article were taken from [1].
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