Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Law Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell pledges litigation and consumer actions as federal policies threaten state funding and services
Summary
Attorney General Andrea Campbell told the joint committee the AG’s office returns large sums to the state, is prepared to litigate to protect federal funding (including NIH grants and education funding) and is actively pursuing major consumer and health‑care enforcement actions.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell appeared before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means and portrayed her office as a revenue‑protecting, litigation‑ready partner for the commonwealth — prepared to sue or defend where federal actions threaten state funding and services.
Campbell said that in FY 2025 the AG’s office operates on a roughly $77.4 million budget and expects to return more than $900 million to the general fund, and that the FY 2026 request is $82.7 million. She asked the committee to support the FY 2026 appropriation so her team could continue consumer protection, civil enforcement and multi‑state litigation.
Campbell described recent litigation and enforcement actions: suits and remedies against health‑care companies (including a consumer‑protection award she said was the largest under state consumer law), settlements in opioid litigation that will deliver around $108 million to the commonwealth, and aggressive multistate litigation to block federal steps that would pause or cut NIH and other federal funds. She told the committee the AG’s office joined more than 20 states in emergency filings to secure relief when the federal administration moved to halt or limit federal funding and that courts granted nationwide relief in the most recent step.
Why it matters: the AG is projecting substantial recoveries and is emphasizing litigation to protect federal grants and state revenue streams that underpin hospitals, universities and research institutions. The office’s ask for FY 2026 would fund enforcement and litigation work described as central both to public protection and to the state’s balance sheet.
What happened next: lawmakers praised the litigation and enforcement track record. The attorney general said the office would remain selective about cases, focusing on matters with measurable statewide consumer and fiscal impact. Members asked for additional detail on specific cases and on how recovered funds would flow into the general fund.
Ending: Campbell closed by asking the committee to fund the FY 2026 request and said the office would continue to intervene in cases that risked large losses of federal support and to pursue consumer, health‑care and environmental enforcement that returns dollars to the commonwealth.
