Attorney General (Office of the Attorney General) told the committee the office has reduced its overall requested budget for FY2026 but is seeking increased salary funding to address recruitment and retention challenges for attorneys and sworn investigators.

“I would like to explain why that is so significant,” the Attorney General said, describing the office as “the state's largest law firm” with most employees in attorney and sworn roles and noting that many new law-firm associates now earn more than experienced attorneys in public service. He said the office lost more than 30 staff members in the past year, primarily to higher pay elsewhere.

The attorney general outlined the office’s recent work and priorities: defending the state in high-profile civil litigation (including defense of the 340B prescription drug-related matter and the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act, which the presenter said the office will argue before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals), defending state sovereignty in a mental-health funding case, defending House Bill 1020 creating a CCID criminal court, and preparing prosecutors and rules for the CCID court. He also highlighted the creation of a children’s-justice division that cleared nearly 596 children for adoption in 2024 and consumer-protection work against prescription benefit managers and social-media platforms.

The attorney general described law-enforcement and prosecutorial responsibilities handled by the office: statewide appeals (including death-penalty work), investigation and prosecution of officer-involved shootings since July 2022 (82 cases reported, 40 closed), a cyber-fraud task force that helped recover more than $2.5 million for victims, a fentanyl strike force and a human-trafficking task force that reported 86 arrests and recovery of 331 victims (21 children). The office also reported it conducted more than 141 trainings last year for prosecutors, law enforcement and judges, and that the Bureau of Victim Assistance provided services or compensation to more than 1,158 people.

On budget specifics, the attorney general said the office requested an overall decrease from FY2025 totals but asked for roughly $1,500,000 more in the salary line to improve pay progression, citing personnel-board market-rate issues and the need to remain competitive. He asked appropriators to consider agency flexibility to move funds and emphasized that salary increases are targeted at retention and recruitment for attorneys and sworn staff.

Ending: Committee members thanked the attorney general and asked follow-up questions about child-advocacy center funding and opioid-settlement monies that are to be used for abatement. No appropriation votes were taken during the hearing.