9-568: The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California . The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California , Article V, Section 13). The California attorney general carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice . The department employs over 1,100 attorneys and 3,700 non-attorney employees. The California attorney general
18-600: A four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years. Seven states do not popularly elect an attorney general. In Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming, the attorney general is appointed by the governor. The attorney general in Tennessee is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term. In Maine, the attorney general is elected by the state Legislature for
27-602: A two-year term. The District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, elect their attorneys general for a four-year term. 2014 marked the first year that the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands held an election for the office. In American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the attorney general is appointed by the governor. In Puerto Rico,
36-762: Is elected to a four-year term, with a maximum of two terms. The election is held during the same statewide election for the governor and other state offices. Several attorneys general have gone on to higher office or office on the federal level, including the offices of governor, United States Senator , chief justice of the United States Supreme Court , and vice president of the United States . On March 24, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would be appointing Rob Bonta as attorney general to succeed Xavier Becerra , who resigned from
45-521: Is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those of the United States Department of Justice . The most prevalent method of selecting a state's attorney general is by popular election. 43 states have an elected attorney general. Elected attorneys general serve
54-526: The admission of California to the Union, the office in its modern form dates to Proposition 4 of 1934, sponsored by Alameda County District Attorney Earl Warren as one of four initiatives he sponsored to substantially reform law enforcement and the judiciary. Previously, the attorney general lacked jurisdiction over matters in the jurisdiction of locally elected district attorneys and sheriffs. Warren went on to become attorney general himself in 1938, reorganizing's
63-501: The attorney general is officially called the secretary of justice, but is commonly known as the Puerto Rico attorney general. Many states have passed term limits limiting the selection to 2 consecutive terms (9 states); 2 terms maximum (4 states), but 33 states still have no term limits. State attorneys general enforce both state and federal laws. Because they are sworn to uphold the United States' constitution and laws as well as
72-600: The position to become Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden . Bonta's appointment was subject to confirmation by both houses of the California State Legislature , and he was sworn in on April 23, 2021. According to the state Constitution , the Code of Civil Procedure , and the Government Code, the attorney general: Although the office of attorney general dates to
81-405: The state's law enforcement into districts. Under Robert W. Kenny , the office was complicit in the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II , a position it has since apologized for. State attorney general ( Alabama to Missouri , Montana to Wyoming ) The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states , of the federal district , or of any of the territories
#17982