There are seven divisions within the Civil Program: State Agency Counsel, Education, Civil Appeals, Natural Resources, Litigation, Tax and Revenue, and Environment. The functions of each program involve advising state agencies and defending these agencies against pending litigation.
During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $22,279,500 from all sources for Civil. This is a 9.9 percent increase from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $10,296,500 from the General/Education Funds, an increase of 18.3 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.
In addition to statewide compensation and internal service fund cost increases, the following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:
Estimated dollars at issue from work done by the Tax and Revenue Division
Estimated dollars at issue is an indication of the magnitude of financial impact of the legal work done by the Tax & Revenue Division.
Number of cases defended for the State by the Litigation Division
Litigation.
The number of cases defended for the State is a measure of the results of the Litigation Division's work, as well as a workload indicator. As in other areas, cases vary greatly in size, issues, and the amount of work required, so this measure is a somewhat inaccurate measure.
Number of matters handled by the Tax and Revenue Division
Tax and Revenue.
"Matters handled " is both a workload and performance measure for the volume of legal work done by the Tax & Revenue Division. Individual matters can vary greatly in size.
State Agency Counsel provides legal advice and representation to several state agencies, and responds to public complaints regarding local public officials, open meetings, governmental records access, land use planning, and conflicts of interest. It also assists in collecting delinquent accounts for the University of Utah hospital, UHEAA, and the Office of State Debt Collection.
Education provides legal counsel to the Utah State Board of Regents, the institutions of higher education, the Higher Education Assistance Authority's (UHEAA) student loan programs, and the State Board of Education and the entities it oversees.
Civil Appeals handles most civil appeals for the office, providing centralized efforts and increased quality control for civil appeals from various divisions of the Attorney General's Office.
Natural Resources serves as legal counsel to the Department of Natural Resources. It also represents the state in matters of Indian law and in water rights adjudication cases in state courts, to ensure more certainty about future water usage throughout the state.
Litigation defends civil suits for money damages covered by the state's Risk Management Fund, including claims brought against state agencies, school districts, and institutions of higher education. It also serves as agency counsel for the State Division of Risk Management.
Tax and Revenue provides legal support to the Tax Commission, Insurance Department, Department of Financial Institutions, and state entities that issue bonds. It helps protect the state's monetary assets by ensuring that people pay their fair share of taxes and that Utahns have the insurance coverage and protection of financial deposits they expect.
Environment and Health Division provides legal support to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on such issues as air quality, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, leaking underground storage tanks, water protection, and radiation. It prosecutes environmental crimes in coordination with local and federal law enforcement officials. It also provides in house counsel to the Department of Health, a function previously housed in the Education Division.
COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.