While the lion’s share of media coverage of the 2024 elections may focus on the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and whether Democrats or Republicans can gain control of the House and Senate, local and state elections can have just as much, if not more impact on voters’ lives.
One such election is the race between Democrat Eugene DePasquale and Republican Dave Sunday for Pennsylvania Attorney General. This was the role that Vice President Harris famously had in California before she was elected Senator in 2016. Although she has often talked about how she went after transnational gangs and corrupt corporations, many people still don’t know the role of State AGs and their many responsibilities.
According to the Pennsylvania Constitution, the Attorney General “shall be the chief law officer of the Commonwealth and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be imposed by law.” The state AG is the chief law enforcement officer in the state, and has many different roles, from going after organized crime to collecting taxes and debts. Several hundred prosecutors, attorneys, investigative agents ,and support staff work for the Attorney General, and they are separated into four different groups: the Criminal Law Division, the Public Protection Division, the Civil Law Division, and the Office of Public Engagement.
The first group, the Criminal Law Division, has many different duties that they need to follow. They are the division that looks into organized crime, public corruption, and criminal prosecutions if there is a conflict of interest in lower courts, just to name a few of their tasks. The agency’s main job is to go over corrupt government employees and corporate organizations. The agency is headed by an Executive Deputy AG, who reports directly to the State and First Deputy AG on sensitive matters.
The Public Protection Division looks to make sure that anti-trust laws aren’t being broken and that fair labor practices are being met. This organization will look into “everything from individual consumer complaints to complex affirmative civil litigation cases.” The Director for this division is also an Executive Deputy AG, who reports to the State and First Deputy AG.
The third organization that works for the State AG, the Civil Division, is more on the judicial law side of law enforcement. This division defends the PA Constitution in court, represents state government agencies and employees and also collects taxes and debts through litigation in the Commonwealth Court. There are six sections of the Civil Division, each headed by a Chief Deputy AG who reports to the Executive Deputy AG. Occasionally, all of the groups will work together “to get the best result for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
The final division, the Office of Public Engagement, was established to try to prevent crimes from happening. This is done by setting up programs to teach citizens the dangers of drug abuse and how to stop scammers from getting private information. The department is run by a director who runs many counties in Southeast PA, including Bucks County, and also has two Education and Outreach Specialists who work regionally in the Western and Southcentral parts of the state.
