Attorney General’s office seeks targeted pay and operating funds; senators press for transparency on outside counsel

Libby Guzzo, legislative affairs director for the Office of the Attorney General, presented the office’s fiscal 2026–27 legislative budget request to the Senate committee and outlined multiple targeted pay and operating requests focused mainly on recruitment and retention.

Guzzo said the Office of the Attorney General (a statewide elected office administratively identified as the Department of Legal Affairs) currently operates with roughly 1,200 positions and an overall budget the presentation cited as $355,600,000. She said the office is not seeking additional FTE this year and that most asks are intended to address recruitment and retention in investigative and intake units.

Key items Guzzo described - Consumer protection and citizen services: Request for pay increases and revised minimum salary ranges for investigative staff and citizen services intake positions; Guzzo said some investigative starting salaries are “a little over 37” (thousand) and the office proposes modest upward adjustments to remain competitive. - Civil legal services/ethics workload: Reclassification and pay adjustments for positions related to recent 2024 legislation; Guzzo said two long‑term vacancies would be reclassified. - Victim services and crimes compensation: Pay and trust‑fund authority requests to retain grant specialists and analysts who handle sensitive victim information. - Medicaid fraud unit and vehicle replacement: Request for authority to replace vehicles with a 75/25 federal/state funding mix and an exemption for like‑for‑like replacement due to discontinued models. - IT, cybersecurity and recurring costs: Recurring funds to maintain modernization work, licensing, hosting and an off‑site disaster recovery facility in Orlando.

Outside counsel and contingency‑fee contracts Senators pressed Guzzo about the AG’s use of outside law firms and contingency‑fee contracts. Senator Smith asked whether the AG’s office had submitted the annual contingency‑fee report required by statute; Guzzo said she would verify and provide the report to the committee if it was not already filed. Senators sought details on contracts that pay hourly or contingency fees and whether competitive procurement processes or contract oversight are in place; Guzzo said many contingency arrangements are contingent on recovery and that the office would follow up with a breakdown of contracting approaches and fees.

Why it matters: Senators raised concerns about transparency and oversight of contingency fee contracts and the use of outside firms for litigation when the office has in‑house attorneys. Guzzo acknowledged gaps in the presentation and offered to provide detailed follow‑up documents to the committee.

Ending Guzzo closed the presentation by offering to meet individually with senators for additional detail. Committee members requested copies of contingency‑fee reports and contract breakdowns for review.