The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officerTexas Constitution Article 4 Section 22. of the U.S. state of Texas. The current officeholder, Republican Ken Paxton, has served in the position since January 5, 2015. He returned to office on September 18, 2023, and his current term ends on January 1, 2027.

History

The office has its origins in British common law and Spanish civil law, and it was first established by executive order in 1836. While the governor was originally appointed to the position, a constitutional amendment in 1850 changed it to an elected office to ensure it was directly accountable to the public. Under the constitution of 1876, the attorney general was officially recognized as one of the seven officials that make up the executive branch of the Texas state government.

Attorneys general are elected to four-year terms. In 2013, former attorney general Greg Abbott announced he would run for governor rather than seek reelection. In November 2014, he was elected as the governor of Texas. Ken Paxton defeated former House representative Dan Branch in the Republican primary by a 26% margin and was easily elected in the general election as the 50th attorney general of Texas,Texas attorney general election, 2014, Ballotpedia. (there is a historical dispute whether he is the 50th or 51st attorney general). Paxton was sworn in on January 5, 2015, in the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol. Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, United States senator Ted Cruz, and Lieutenant Governor-Elect Dan Patrick all participated in the swearing-in ceremony.

Duties and responsibilities The attorney general is charged by the state constitution to represent the state in civil litigation and approve public bond issues.Texas Constitution Article 3 Section 49. There are nearly 2,000 references to the Office of the Attorney General in state laws.

The Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issues legal opinions when requested by the governor, heads of state agencies and other officials and commissions, and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the state. They act as the state's attorney, fighting against challenges to state agencies and laws in court, give opinions on how state law should be understood, conduct investigations, and file lawsuits to keep the people in their state safe. Some duties include representing the Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in appeals from criminal convictions in federal courts.

The Texas Constitution gives the attorney general no general law-enforcement powers; instead it, limits their authority in criminal cases to what is dictated by statute. The Texas Legislature has not given the attorney general broad law-enforcement authority, but permits the attorney general to act in criminal cases at the request of prosecutors.Texas Government Code section 402.028.

The Office of the Attorney General, Law Enforcement Division conducts criminal investigations and apprehensions including cases involving cyber-crimes such as child pornography, online solicitation of minors, identity theft, election fraud, locating and apprehending convicted sex offenders who have failed to comply with mandated sex offender registration requirements, and conducting digital forensics investigations. However, in certain circumstances, the attorney general has original jurisdiction to prosecute violations of the law, rather than just acting at the request of local prosecution.The Office of the Attorney General also operates the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit which investigates criminal fraud by Medicaid providers, abuse and neglect of patients in health care facilities operated by the Medicaid program, and helps local and federal authorities with prosecutions.

Its child support division is responsible for the establishment and enforcement of child support.

Officeholders + Attorneys general by party affiliation Party Attorneys general Democratic 44 Republican 4 Union 3 + Attorneys general in chronological order, showing party affiliation Image Name Term of service Political party1 Volney Howard1846 Democratic2 John W. Harris1846–1849 Democratic3 Henry Percy Brewster1849–1850 Democratic4 Andrew Jackson Hamilton1850 Democratic5 Ebenezer Allen11850–1852 Democratic6 Thomas J. Jennings1852–1856 Democratic7 James Willie1856–1858 Democratic8 Malcolm D. Graham1858–1860 Democratic9 George M. Flournoy1860–1862 Democratic10 Nathan G. Shelley1862–1864 Democratic11 Benjamin E. Tarver1864–1865 Democratic12 William Alexander1865–1866 Unionist13 William M. Walton1866–1867 Democratic14 Ezekiel B. Turner1867–1870 Unionist15 William Alexander1870–1874 Republican16 George W. Clark1874–1876 Democratic17 Hannibal Boone1876–1878 Democratic18 George McCormick1878–1880 Democratic19 James H. McLeary1880–1882 Democratic20 John D. Templeton1882–1886 Democratic21 Jim Hogg1886–1890 Democratic22 Charles Allen Culberson1890–1894 Democratic23 Martin McNulty Crane1894–1898 Democratic24 Thomas Slater Smith1898–1901 Democratic25 Charles K. Bell1901–1904 Democratic26 Robert V. Davidson1904–1910 Democratic27 Jewel P. Lightfoot1910–1912 Democratic28 James D. Walthall1912–1914 Democratic29 B. F. Looney1913–1919 Democratic30 Calvin Maples Cureton1919–1921 Democratic31 Walter Angus Keeling1921–1925 Democratic32 Dan Moody1925–1927 Democratic33 Claude Pollard21927–1929 Democratic34 Robert L. Bobbitt31929–1931 Democratic35 James V. Allred1931–1935 Democratic36 William McCraw1935–1939 Democratic37 Gerald Mann1939–1943 Democratic38 Grover Sellers1943–1947 Democratic39 Price Daniel1947–1953 Democratic40 John Ben Shepperd1953–1957 Democratic41 Will Wilson1957–1963 Democratic42 Waggoner Carr1963–1967 Democratic43 Crawford Martin1967–1972 Democratic44 John Hill1973–1979 Democratic45 Mark White1979–1983 Democratic46 Jim Mattox1983–1991 Democratic47 Dan Morales1991–1999 Democratic48 John Cornyn1999–2002 Republican49 Greg Abbott2002–2015 Republican50 Ken PaxtonIncumbent 2015–present Republican–Brent WebsterActing May 27, 2023 – May 31, 2023 Republican–John ScottInterim May 31, 2023 – July 14, 2023 Republican–Angela ColmeneroInterim July 14, 2023 – September 16, 2023 Republican

Political prominence Many leading political figures in Texas history have served as attorney general, several of them using the office as a jumping-off place to other offices in the state and national government. Attorneys general James S. Hogg, Charles A. Culberson, Dan Moody, James V. Allred, Price Daniel, Mark White, and Greg Abbott were elected governor. Culberson, Daniel, and John Cornyn were later elected to the United States Senate.

Notes First elected attorney general (AG) of state of Texas; previously elected AG of the Republic of Texas Resigned Appointed

References

External links Texas Attorney General official website Texas Attorney General articles at ABA Journal News and Commentary at FindLaw U.S. Supreme Court Opinions – "Cases with title containing: State of Texas" at FindLaw State Bar of Texas Texas Attorney General Opinions, hosted by the Portal to Texas History