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New Pennsylvania Attorney General outlines priorities and staffing pressures as budget hearing opens
Summary
Attorney General Dave Sunday told the House Appropriations Committee the governor's proposed increase for his office would support public-safety priorities but said staffing shortfalls and complex crimes require more resources and targeted investments.
Attorney General Dave Sunday appeared before the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee during day seven of budget hearings and laid out the office's chief priorities and staffing needs, saying the governor's proposed increase would keep the office on stable footing while allowing it to address public-safety challenges.
"My priorities are clear: protecting public safety, ensuring accountability, and using taxpayer dollars efficiently," Sunday said in his opening remarks, adding that the office's work ranges from prosecuting violent crime and fighting consumer fraud to representing Commonwealth agencies.
Chairman Struzzi framed the budget context at the start of the hearing, saying the attorney general's office was allocated about $144,000,000 in FY24-25 and the governor proposes $156,500,000 for the next fiscal year.
Several members pressed the attorney general on whether the office can meet rising demands with current staffing. Sunday said his office's complement totals 1,103 positions with 1,009 filled as of the end of the prior year, and he cautioned that increasingly complex crimes—from digital investigations to financial-forensic work—require specialized staff and pay competitiveness to hire and retain talent.
"If we want us to do everything humanly possible to make the community safe, then, of course, we're going to need more people," Sunday said. He added that attorney-general salaries typically trail comparable public-law positions by $10,000 to $15,000, complicating recruitment.
Several representatives asked for specific trade-offs; Sunday said the office is auditing its current structure and will provide details as part of budget deliberations. He emphasized that some workloads arrive from district attorneys, noting a year-over-year increase in cases referred to the attorney general's office.
The hearing concluded with the chair noting that the committee will reconvene to take up other agencies, and that the attorney general's testimony will inform further budget decisions.
