The Powers Of State Attorneys General: A Quantitative Assessment

Abstract

T h e executive branch is a center for both policymaking and management in state government. Research on both the top official--the governor--and on department heads (Abney and Lauth 1986) has progressed. The literature on the governorship consists of both general studies (Sabato 1983; k y l e 1990) and a proliferation of more specific studies. The state's attorney general is usually separately elected from the governor, which results in independence for this legal officer. Attorneys general can (in most states) take legal action in prosecutions and in the federal courts. The attorney general's duties force interaction with other elements of state government. The importance of advisory opinions is respected, and these opinions can be issued to both state executive officials and members of the legislature. In most states, the attorney general has the authority to review legislation (Council of State Governments 1986,45-73), and therefore he has opportunities to block policies of the governor and legislature. Despite the importance of this major state official, the literature on the attorney general tends to be focused on his or her function in specific areas or specific states and lacks a general tool for comparison across states. This paper will pursue a more general approach to studying the office of attorney general. There are three purposes for this study. First, our general understanding of the office of attorney general, and further research on the office should be enhanced by discussing and measuring the formal powers of the office. Important studies involving specific powers such as the advisory opinion (Morris 1987) and consumer protection in a specific state (Silky 1980-81) have been made. By developing a general measure of the attorney general's formal powers to use across the states (which will include his duties in six specific areas), our understanding of the scope and nature of his work will be enhanced. In studying the governorship, Schlesinger's (1965)

The Relationship of the Formal Powers of Governors and State Attorneys General

“…The data set consists of a power index for gubernatorial power developed by Beyle (1990a) and a similar attorneys general power index by Winder (1991). Formal power for each office in all fifty states was shown by a total index score which was the sum of the component scores.…”

“…For the attorney general's formal powers, Winder (1991) collected data on six areas of power: the selection method and tenure potential, administrative agencies, review of legislation, advisory opinions, focal prosecutions, and general legal powers. The method used to assign points for the attorney general of each state in each area is shown in the Appendix.…”

“…The following material shows the methods used to rate the formal powers of state attorneys general in six areas. This material (except for brief comments below on some of the specific point systems) has been published (Winder 1991). It was developed using information provided in The Book ofthe States (1986, 5 1-53, 71-73).…”