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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 22, 2023
AS AMENDED
SENATE BILL NO. 547 By: Pugh of the Senate
and
West (Josh) of the House
[ veterans - duties – Attorney General - effective
date ]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE O F OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 18b, as last
amended by Section 1, Chapter 296, O.S.L. 2022 (74 O.S. Supp. 2022,
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 defend all actions
and proceedings, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court and Cour t
of Criminal Appeals in which the state is interested as a party;
2. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend a ll 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 in which the interests
of the state or the people of the state are at issue, or to appear
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at the request of the Gov ernor, the Legislatu re, or either branch
thereof, and prosecute and defend in any court or before any
commission, board or officers a ny cause or proceeding, civil or
criminal, in which the state may be a party or interested; and when
so appearing in any su ch cause or proceedi ng, the Attorney General
may, if the Attorney General deems it advisable and to the best
interest of the state, t ake and assume control of the prosecution or
defense of the state’s interest therein;
4. To consult with and advise distri ct attorneys, when
requested by them, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their
offices, when the district attorneys shall fu rnish the Attorney
General with a written opinion supported 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 state officer, board, commission or
department, provided, that the Attorney General shall not furnish
opinions to any but district attorneys, the Legislature or either
branch thereof, or any other state official, board, commission or
department, and to them only upon matters in which they are
officially interested;
6. At the request of the Governor, State Auditor and In spector,
State Treasurer, or either b ranch of the Legislature, to prosecute
any official bond or any contract in which the state i s interested,
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upon a breach thereof, and to prosecute or defend for the state all
actions, civil or criminal, relating to any matter connected with
either of their Departments;
7. Whenever requested by any state officer, board or
commission, to prepare p roper drafts for contracts, forms and other
writing which may be wanted for the use of the state;
8. To prepare drafts of bill s and resolutions for individual
members of the Legislature upon their written request stating the
gist of the bill or resolutio n desired;
9. To enforce the proper application of monies appropriated by
the Legislature and to prosecute breaches of trust in the
administration of such funds;
10. To institute actions to recover state monies illegally
expended, to recover state prop erty and to prevent 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 i ts
receipt, all monies received by the Attorney General belonging to
the state;
12. To settle, compromise and dispose of an action in which the
Attorney General represents the interests of the state, so long as
the consideration negotiated for such settle ment, compromise or
disposition is payable to the state or one of its agencies which is
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a named party of the action and any monies, any property or other
item of value is paid first to the State Treasury;
13. To keep and file copies of all opinions, contr acts, forms
and letters of the office, and to keep an index of all opinions,
contracts and forms according to subject and section of the law
construed or applied;
14. To keep a register or docket of all actions, demand s and
investigations prosecuted, defe nded or conducted by the Attorney
General in on 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 hand led the matter;
15. To keep a complete office file of all cases and
investigations handled by the Attorney General on behalf of the
state;
16. To report to the Legislature or either branch thereof
whenever requested upon any business relating to the duti es of the
Attorney General’s office;
17. To institute civil actions against membe rs 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 sta te board or commission for violation of
the criminal laws of this state where such violations have occurred
in connection with the performance of such members’ official duties;
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18. To respond to any request for an opinion of the Attorney
General’s office, submitted by a member of the Legislature,
regardless of subject matter, by writt en opinion determinative of
the law regarding such subject matter;
19. To convene multicounty grand juries in such manner and for
such purposes as provided by law; provided, such grand juries are
composed of citizens from each of the counties on a pro ra ta basis
by county;
20. To investigate any report by the State Auditor and
Inspector filed with the Attorney General pursuant to Section 223 of
this title and prosecute all ac tions, civil or criminal, relating to
such reports or any irregularities or der elictions in the management
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 state in rate-related proceedings before
the Corporation Commis sion 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 represent and protect the collectiv e interests of
military veterans in this state in the enforcement of all applicable
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federal benefits and programs for eligible veterans and their
dependents before federal agencies including but n ot limited to the
United States Department of Vete rans Affairs and the Veterans
Benefits Administration , or in any federal courts to recover
illegally withheld or denied benefits and breaches of trust in the
administration of the funds ;
24. 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;
24. 25. To monitor and evaluate any action by the federal
government including, but not limited to, e xecutive orders by the
President of the United States, rules or regulations promulgated 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. 26. To maintain data related to human traffi cking and to
assist law enforcement, social service agencies, and victim services
programs in identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking.
B. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requ iring the
Attorney General to appear and defend or prosecute 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 Land Office.
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C. In all appeals from the Corporation 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 suc h appeals, and it shall 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 eff ective November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
February 22, 2023 - DO PASS AS AMENDED