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Sunday defends strike teams and drug task forces as fentanyl, meth and cocaine drive arrests
Summary
Attorney General Sunday described three enforcement models—local DA-run task forces, AG-run task forces and statewide strike teams—and said fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine were the top drugs interdicted in 2024; he said funding is largely for salaries and that additional personnel would yield greater enforcement capacity.
At the appropriations hearing, Representative Brown and others pressed Attorney General Dave Sunday about the governor's proposed increase for drug-law enforcement. Sunday told the committee the office uses three principal enforcement structures: local district-attorney-run drug task forces, AG-run drug task forces and statewide strike teams that deploy where needed.
"Those are 3 of the main ways that we are combating the flow of drugs," Sunday said, and he told lawmakers that about 80% of the line-item funding is for salaries and benefits.
When Representative Mustela asked for the top three illegal drugs charged in 2024 by the drug strike force, Sunday replied: "fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine." He described operational realities where stopping one supply chain can lead traffickers to shift to other drugs.
Sunday said the AG's office did not request additional agents in the current budget but conceded that more agents and analysts would increase enforcement capacity. He emphasized the overlap between drug interdiction and identification of victims of human trafficking.
Lawmakers also asked about the criminal-justice enhancement account (funded by a fee on certain court filings) and potential shortfalls in county reimbursements tied to that fund; Sunday described the statutory linkage between county judges' salaries and district attorney salaries and the monetary flow for reimbursements through his office.
