Agency: Attorney General Function The Attorney General is the constitutional legal officer of the state, who serves as counsel in all cases in which the state or its officers are a party, and provides legal services for the state. The Attorney General's mission is to uphold the constitutions of the United States and of Utah, enforce the law, provide counsel to state agencies and public officials, work with law enforcement, and protect the interests of Utah, its people, environment and resources. The office's goals are to protect people from crime, protect children from abuse and neglect, protect the state as an entity, and protect the state's natural resources.
The Office of the Attorney General has five line items. They are: - Attorney General
- Contract Attorneys
- Children's Justice Centers
- Prosecution Council
- Domestic Violence
Statutory Authority The Attorney General is governed by several statutes and the Utah Constitution. The Attorney General is cited throughout the Utah Code to provide legal assistance and to represent all state agencies. The following laws principally establish the Attorney General's responsibilities and powers: Utah Constitution, Article VII Section 16 states that "the Attorney General shall be the legal advisor of the State officers, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, and shall perform such other duties as provided by law." UCA 67 Chapter 5 states the official duties and powers of the Attorney General. Significant duties and powers include: - prosecute or defend all causes to which the state, or any officer, board, or commission in an official capacity is a party
- take charge, as an attorney, of all civil legal matters in which the state is interested
- maintain files for a successor
- supervise district and county attorneys
- give legal opinions in writing and without fee to the Legislature, any state officer, any county or district attorney, upon any question of law relating to their office
- assist any county, district, or city attorney in his/her duties
- prosecute Medicaid fraud
- report twice yearly to the Legislature on any pending or anticipated lawsuits that would cost the state more than $500,000
- undertake special duties such as child protection services, Internet Crimes Against Children services, identity theft reporting, and others
- assign legal assistants to perform legal services for any agency of state government
Funding Detail Slightly more than half of the Attorney General's budget comes from the General Fund. The other significant funding source is Dedicated Credits from billings to state agencies who receive the A.G.'s legal services. The $223,800 discrepancy between FY 2012 revenues and expenditures results from a settlement payment the Attorney General made during the 2012 General Session. The Attorney General will appear before the Board of Examiners in late November 2012 to receive direction for reconciling this amount. Please refer to the Contract Attorneys line item and in the 'performance' section for further details. Table 1: Operating and Capital Budget Including Expendable Funds and Accounts Sources of Finance
(click linked fund name for more info) | 2009
Actual | 2010
Actual | 2011
Actual | 2012
Actual | 2013
Approp | | General Fund | $27,410,050 | $25,582,850 | $27,922,350 | $27,343,650 | $29,548,800 | | General Fund, One-time | $82,800 | $2,270,300 | $1,000,000 | $5,938,100 | $13,500,000 | | Federal Funds | $1,513,100 | $1,641,900 | $2,326,400 | $2,292,100 | $1,838,000 | | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act | $0 | $397,400 | $0 | $0 | $0 | | Dedicated Credits Revenue | $18,849,800 | $19,137,000 | $18,876,200 | $18,308,800 | $18,197,100 | | GFR - Constitutional Defense | $0 | $0 | $0 | $350,000 | $359,200 | | GFR - Mortgage and Financial Fraud | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2,000,000 | | GFR - Domestic Violence | $78,300 | $78,300 | $78,300 | $78,300 | $78,300 | | GFR - Public Safety Support | $588,600 | $586,900 | $586,600 | $585,900 | $591,200 | | GFR - Tobacco Settlement | $275,200 | $274,300 | $276,100 | $66,600 | $73,500 | | Attorney General Litigation Fund | $335,400 | $332,900 | $336,500 | $336,900 | $345,000 | | Transfers - Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice | $214,000 | $858,400 | $863,100 | $510,300 | $70,700 | | Transfers - Fed Pass-thru | $43,500 | $96,800 | $36,700 | $85,500 | $96,300 | | Transfers - Federal | $322,300 | $314,600 | $367,100 | $573,100 | $601,900 | | Transfers - Other Agencies | $59,900 | $59,300 | $60,000 | $60,000 | $61,500 | | Beginning Nonlapsing | $3,413,300 | $1,375,600 | $3,409,500 | $4,428,800 | $3,028,300 | | Closing Nonlapsing | ($1,375,600) | ($3,409,500) | ($4,428,800) | ($3,288,400) | ($976,900) | | Lapsing Balance | $0 | ($2,100) | ($75,800) | ($78,300) | ($69,500) | | Total | $51,810,650 | $49,594,950 | $51,634,250 | $57,591,350 | $69,343,400 |
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| | | | | | Line Items
(click linked line item name to drill-down) | 2009
Actual | 2010
Actual | 2011
Actual | 2012
Actual | 2013
Approp |
|---|
| Attorney General | $46,867,150 | $45,092,450 | $45,726,550 | $46,760,150 | $50,898,600 | | Contract Attorneys | $773,400 | $612,200 | $1,592,300 | $6,513,600 | $13,800,000 | | Children's Justice Centers | $3,271,600 | $3,013,700 | $3,434,500 | $3,334,900 | $3,651,800 | | Prosecution Council | $820,200 | $798,300 | $802,600 | $904,400 | $914,700 | | Domestic Violence | $78,300 | $78,300 | $78,300 | $78,300 | $78,300 | | Total | $51,810,650 | $49,594,950 | $51,634,250 | $57,591,350 | $69,343,400 |
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| | | | | | Categories of Expenditure
(mouse-over category name for definition) | 2009
Actual | 2010
Actual | 2011
Actual | 2012
Actual | 2013
Approp |
|---|
| Personnel Services | $43,191,550 | $41,444,200 | $41,838,600 | $42,455,300 | $46,941,300 | | In-state Travel | $145,900 | $119,700 | $138,700 | $148,200 | $168,100 | | Out-of-state Travel | $131,100 | $103,000 | $120,400 | $186,900 | $105,100 | | Current Expense | $4,116,900 | $4,039,100 | $5,259,550 | $9,950,700 | $3,872,300 | | DP Current Expense | $582,600 | $641,800 | $881,000 | $1,278,500 | $798,600 | | DP Capital Outlay | $107,200 | $7,500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | | Capital Outlay | $0 | $273,800 | $49,300 | $0 | $49,300 | | Other Charges/Pass Thru | $3,535,400 | $2,927,650 | $3,346,700 | $3,571,800 | $17,408,700 | | Transfers | $0 | $38,200 | $0 | $0 | $0 | | Total | $51,810,650 | $49,594,950 | $51,634,250 | $57,591,400 | $69,343,400 |
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Other Indicators | 2009
Actual | 2010
Actual | 2011
Actual | 2012
Actual | 2013
Approp | | Budgeted FTE | 425.5 | 431.6 | 406.5 | 412.6 | 427.0 | | Actual FTE | 415.8 | 404.2 | 405.4 | 416.8 | 0.0 | | Vehicles | 47 | 50 | 50 | 53 | 50 |
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Subcommittee Table of Contents |