Attorney General of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2012-2013 FY Budget:	$78,121,000
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Pennsylvania Constitution, Article IV, Section 4
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	Kathleen Kane
Officeholder Party:	Democratic
Assumed office:	January 15, 2013
Compensation:	$152,443
Elections
Next election:	November 8, 2016
Last election:	November 6, 2012
Other Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The attorney general represents the state and state agencies in any action brought by or against the Commonwealth or its agencies. Additionally, the attorney general is responsible for collecting all debts, taxes and accounts due to the state.

The attorney general serves as a member of boards and commissions including: the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Board of Pardons, the Board of Finance and Revenue, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Kathleen Kane (D). She was first elected in 2012 and took office on January 15, 2013. Kane is the first Democrat and first woman elected attorney general in Pennsylvania history.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the secretary of state in Article IV.

Under Article IV, Section 4:

An Attorney General shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the Commonwealth on the day the general election is held for the Auditor General and State Treasurer; he shall hold his office during four years from the third Tuesday of January next ensuing his election and shall not be eligible to serve continuously for more than two successive terms; he shall be the chief law officer of the Commonwealth and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be imposed by law.

Qualifications

Article IV Section 5 of the state Constitution also outlines the qualifications for holding the office of secretary of state.

Article IV, Section 5:

No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Attorney General except a citizen of the United States, who shall have attained the age of thirty years, and have been seven years next preceding his election an inhabitant of this Commonwealth, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this Commonwealth. No person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney General except a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

• at least 30 years old
• a resident of Pennsylvania for at least the previous 7 years
• a member of bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Elections

Pennsylvania elects the attorney general in Presidential election years. For Pennsylvania, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 are all attorney general election years. The term for the office begins on the third Tuesday of January following the election.

In the primary election of 1978, Pennsylvania voters approved a Constitutional amendment that changed the attorney general from an appointed position to an elected position. Enacted to treat rising levels of corruption within the office during the preceding decade, the switch was implemented in 1980 when Republican LeRoy S. Zimmerman became Pennsylvania's first elected attorney general.

2012

See also: Pennsylvania attorney general election, 2012

Incumbent attorney general Linda Kelly (R) was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Tom Corbett when he was elected governor in 2010. In keeping with the custom of Pennsylvania state-row appointees, Kelly agreed upon her Senate confirmation not to run for attorney general in the 2012 election. On November 6, 2012, Kathleen Kane (D) defeated David Freed (R) and Marakay Rogers (L) in the general election. She will be the first woman to hold the position and the first Democrat to be elected attorney general since it became an elected office in 1980.

Attorney General of Pennsylvania General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kathleen Kane	56.1%	3,125,557
	Republican	David Freed	41.6%	2,313,506
	Libertarian	Marakay Rogers	2.3%	128,140
Total Votes				5,567,203
Election Results via Pennsylvania Department of State.

Term limits

Attorneys general in Pennsylvania are prevented, by commonwealth law, from serving more than two successive terms.

Vacancies

Article IV, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution grants the governor the power to appoint officers to fill vacancies. In the event of a vacancy in the office of attorney general, the governor nominates a successor. This nomination must be made to the commonwealth senate within 90 days of the vacancy. The senate must then take action (confirming or not confirming the nomination) within 25 legislative days.

Duties

The basic duties of the attorney general, as outlined by the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, are:

• serve as the commonwealth's chief law enforcement officer;
• collect all debts, taxes, and account due to the commonwealth
• represent the commonwealth and all agencies in any action brought by or against the commonwealth
• administer the provision relating to consumer protection laws
• represent the commonwealth and its citizens in any action brought about for violation of the antitrust laws

Divisions

The office of attorney general is divided into three sections:

• The Criminal Law Division investigates drug trafficking, child predators, organized crime, public corruption, insurance fraud and other criminal violations.
• The Public Protection Division safeguards the personal rights of the citizens of Pennsylvania and protects the public interest. The division handles consumer complaints through the Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Health Care Section, oversees Tobacco enforcement, Charitable Trusts and Organizations, Antitrust actions and Civil Rights Enforcement.
• The Civil Law Division defends the constitutionality of Pennsylvania law, represents Commonwealth agencies, defends the Commonwealth in tax appeals, collects delinquent taxes and other debts owed to the Commonwealth, handles or supervises various appeals and reviews Commonwealth contracts, regulations and bond issues for form and legality.

State budget

The budget for the Attorney General's office in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 was $78,121,000.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

2012

In 2012, the attorney general was paid an estimated $152,443. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the Pennsylvania Attorney General was paid an estimated $145,529 according to the Sunshine Review

Former officeholders

Name	Attorney General term
LeRoy S. Zimmerman	1981–1989
Ernie Preate	1989–1995
Tom Corbett	1995–1997
Mike Fisher	1997–2004
Jerry Pappert	2004–2005
Tom Corbett	2005–2011
Linda L. Kelly	2011 - 2013
Kathleen Kane	2013-present

Contact information

Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
16th Floor
Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Phone: 717-787-3391
Fax: 717-787-8242

See also

Suggest a link

• Kathleen Kane, Current Attorney General of Pennsylvania
• Governor of Pennsylvania
• Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Secretary of State

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General
• About the office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General
• About the organization of the Pennsylvania Attorney General
• History of the office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General
• YouTube Office of Attorney General
• Twitter Office of Attorney General
• Facebook Office of Attorney General