The Texas Attorney General leads a team of nearly 4,000 employees spread across 38 divisions and 117 offices statewide, charged with upholding child support laws, protecting Texans against consumer fraud, overseeing health and safety regulations, collecting court-ordered debts and authorizing public bond issues. Furthermore, they possess regulatory or punitive civil powers over corporations as well as responsibility to safeguard charitable trusts through legal proceedings.
How many attorney generals are there in texas?
The Office of Attorney General provides representation for both civil and criminal litigation for the state, issues legal opinions to governors, heads of state agencies and other elected officials/agencies as well as defend against lawsuits brought against it and its departments. Furthermore, this office oversees an OAG Law Enforcement Division which conducts criminal investigations including child pornography, internet solicitation of minors for sexual exploitation by adults online, identity theft and election/Medicare fraud among other criminal acts.
Additionally, the office is responsible for interpreting and applying federal laws to Texas. Furthermore, this team manages complex legal issues pertaining to public safety, national security and homeland security.
Ken Paxton
The Attorney General’s Office provides legal advice and representation to Texas Governor and Legislature as well as defend Texas laws in court. Furthermore, they prosecute cases related to child exploitation, human trafficking, Internet crimes against children and election fraud; additionally they assist local law enforcement with prosecutions and appeals as needed. Their prosecutors boast strong track records both state and federal courts.
Paxton was elected in 2014, yet his first term as attorney general was marred by allegations of securities fraud that he denies. Legal wrangling has protracted this case for years – it’s still ongoing!
Paxton is currently running for reelection with President Trump’s support, though several primary challengers exist – George P. Bush (state land commissioner); Eva Guzman (former Texas Supreme Court justice); and Matt Krause, an Fort Worth state representative who has voiced criticism against Paxton regarding securities fraud case handling.
John Whitmire
John Whitmire has served for more than four decades in the Texas Senate, earning himself the nickname of “dean”. Throughout this time he has championed progressive causes – from restricting abortion after 20 weeks and prison diversion programs to helping pass legislation celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth and including language to allow women prisoners to keep their babies.
He’s also been accused of conflicts of interest — such as when he signed a contract with a foundation that owns a halfway house shortly after sponsoring legislation they supported, or when his firm received lobbying contracts from Houston city government; yet, he maintains that these private interests do not influence his decisions in Austin.
Democratic primary contest to succeed him in his district is competitive, featuring Jarvis Johnson – a former state representative; Molly Cook, an emergency room nurse; and Karthik Soora, a renewable energy developer as potential contenders. Whoever emerges victorious will serve a wide horseshoe-shaped legislative district comprising 940,000 people.
Bob Bullock
As soon as he had served his term in the House and spent some time practicing private law, Bullock ran for state comptroller. After winning and holding this office for 16 years, Bullock revolutionized it through fair yet aggressive audits, highly publicized raids on businesses that collected taxes but didn’t turn over all their proceeds to the state, equal opportunity employment programs implemented, computerization of record keeping systems. He was the first elected official to adopt equal opportunity employment programs and pioneer in using computers for record keeping purposes.
Bullock was known for being a tough and aggressive politician, yet there was another side to his personality that often gets overlooked: His voracious appetite for knowledge spurred his staff to establish an impressive research department, the envy of other state agencies until then. Before then, legislators had relied on self-serving presentations from agency directors or lobbyists as well as business-funded Texas Research League for knowledge. Bullock’s enthusiasm led to stories of him roaring like a lion or withdrawing into himself alone while poking pins into an enemy doll represented by another.