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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 9, 2022
SENATE BILL NO. 1565 By: Weaver
An Act relating to the Attorney General; amending 74
O.S. 2021, Section 18b , which relates to duties of
the Attorney General; creati ng additional duty for
the Attorney General; clarifying liability for
conduct of law enforcement officers ; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 18b, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 18b. A. The duties of the Attorney General as the
chief law officer of the state shall be:
1. To appear for the state and prosecute and defe nd all actions
and proceedings, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court and Court
of Criminal Appeals in which the state is intereste d as a party;
2. To appear for the state and pro secute and defend all actions
and proceedings in any of the federal courts in which the state is
interested as a party;
3. To initiate or appear in any action i n which the interests
of the state or the pe ople of the state are at issue, or to appear
at the request of the Governor, the Legislature, or either branch
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thereof, and prosecute and defend in any court or before any
commission, board or officers any cause or proceeding, civil or
criminal, in which t he state may be a party or interested; and when
so appearing in any such cause or proceeding, the Attorney General
may, if the Attorney General deems it advisable and to the best
interest of the state, take and a ssume control of the prosecution or
defense of the state’s interest therein;
4. To consult with and advise district attorneys, when
requested by them, in all matters pe rtaining to the duties of their
offices, when the district attorneys shall furnish the Attorney
General with a written opinion sup ported by citation of authorities
upon the matter submitted;
5. To give an opinion in writing upon all questions of law
submitted to the Attorney General by the Legislature or either
branch thereof, or by any sta te officer, board, commission or
department, provided, that the Attorney General shall not furn ish
opinions to any but district attorneys, the Legislature or either
branch thereof, or any other state official, board, commission or
department, and to them o nly upon matters in which they are
officially interested;
6. At the request of the Governor, S tate Auditor and Inspector,
State Treasurer, or either branch of the Legis lature, to prosecute
any official bond or any contract in which the state is interested ,
upon a breach thereof, and to prosecute or defend for the state all
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actions, civil or crimina l, relating to any matter connected with
either of their Departments;
7. Whenever requested by any state officer, board or
commission, to prepare proper drafts for contracts, forms and other
writing which may be wanted for the use of the state;
8. To prepare drafts of bills and resolutions for individual
members of the Legisla ture upon their written request stating the
gist of the bill or resolution desired;
9. To enforce the proper application of monies appropriated by
the Legislature and to prosecute b reaches of trust in the
administration of such funds;
10. To institute actions to recover state monies illegally
expended, to recover state property and to prev ent the illegal use
of any state property, upon the request of the Governor or the
Legislature;
11. To pay into the State Treasury, immediately upon its
receipt, all monies received by the Attorney General belonging to
the state;
12. To settle, compromis e and dispose of an action in which the
Attorney General represents the interests of the state, so long as
the consideration negotiated for such settlement, compromise o r
disposition is payable to the state or one of its agencies which is
a named party of the action and any monies, any property or other
item of value is paid first to the State Treas ury;
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13. To keep and file copies of all opinions, contracts, forms
and letters of the office, and to keep an index of all opinions,
contracts and forms accordin g to subject and section of the law
construed or applied;
14. To keep a register or docket of all actions, demands and
investigations prosecuted, defended or conducted by the Attorney
General in behalf of the state . The register or docket shall give
the style of the case or investigation, where pending, court number,
office number, the gist of the matter, result and the names of the
assistants who handled the matter;
15. To keep a complete office file of all cases and
investigations handled by the Attorn ey General on behalf of the
state;
16. To report to the Legislature or either branch thereof
whenever requested upon any business relating to the duties of the
Attorney General’s office;
17. To institute civil actions against members of any state
board or commission for failure of such members to perform their
duties as prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution and to
prosecute members of any state board or commis sion for violation of
the criminal laws of this state where such violations have occurr ed
in connection with the performance of such members ’ official duties;
18. To respond to any request for an opinion of the Attorney
General’s office, submitted by a me mber of the Legislature,
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regardless of subject matter, by written opinion determinative of
the law regarding such subject matter;
19. To convene multicounty grand juries in such man ner and for
such purposes as provided by law; provided, such grand juries are
composed of citizens from each of the counties on a pro rata basis
by county;
20. To investigate any report by the State Auditor and
Inspector filed with the Attorney General pu rsuant to Section 223 of
this title and prosecute all actions, civil or cr iminal, relating to
such reports or any irregularities or derelictions in the managemen t
of public funds or property which are violations of the laws of this
state;
21. To represent and protect the collective interests of all
utility consumers of this sta te in rate-related proceedings before
the Corporation Commission or in any other state or federal judicial
or administrative proceeding;
22. To represent and protect the collective interests of
insurance consumers of this state in rate -related proceedings before
the Insurance Commissioner or in any other state or federal judicial
or administrative proceeding;
23. To investigate and prosecute any criminal action relating
to insurance fraud, if in the opinion of the Attorney General a
criminal prosecution is warranted, or to refer such matters to the
appropriate district attorney ; and
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24. To monitor and evaluate any action by the federal
government including, but not limited to, exec utive orders by the
President of the United States, rules or regulations p romulgated by
an agency of the federal government or acts of Congress to determine
if such actions are in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States ; and
25. To cross-deputize police officers of the police department
of any municipality or any officer deputized by the county sheriff
or a designee subject to an interlocal governmental agreement with
the Attorney General’s Office in an effort to combine city, county,
and state law enforcement efforts and to enco urage cooperation
between city, county, and state law enforcement officials.
Liability for the conduct of any municipal police officer cross-
deputized under the terms and conditions of an i nterlocal
governmental agreement or any officer deput ized by the county
sheriff under the terms and conditions of an interlocal governmental
agreement shall remain the re sponsibility of the respective employer
for that officer.
B. Nothing in this sectio n shall be construed as requiring the
Attorney General to appear and defend or prosecut e in any court any
cause or proceeding for or on behalf of the Oklahoma Tax Commission,
the Board of Managers of the State Insurance Fund, or the
Commissioners of the La nd Office.
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C. In all appeals from the Corporatio n Commission to the
Supreme Court of Oklahoma in which the state is a party, the
Attorney General shall have the right to designate counsel of the
Corporation Commission as the Attorney General ’s legally appointed
representative in such appeals, and it sha ll be the duty of the
Corporation Commission counsel to act when so designated and to
consult and advise wit h the Attorney General regarding such appeals
prior to taking action therein.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
February 9, 2022 - DO PASS