67-5-1 - General duties.
67-5-1. General duties.
The attorney general shall:
(1) perform all duties in a manner consistent with the attorney-client relationship underSection 67-5-17;
(2) except as provided in Sections 10-3-928 and 17-18-1, attend the Supreme Court andthe Court of Appeals of this state, and all courts of the United States, and prosecute or defend allcauses to which the state, or any officer, board, or commission of the state in an official capacityis a party; and take charge, as attorney, of all civil legal matters in which the state is interested;
(3) after judgment on any cause referred to in Subsection (2), direct the issuance ofprocess as necessary to execute the judgment;
(4) account for, and pay over to the proper officer, all moneys that come into the attorneygeneral's possession that belong to the state;
(5) keep a file of all cases in which the attorney general is required to appear, includingany documents and papers showing the court in which the cases have been instituted and tried,and whether they are civil or criminal, and:
(a) if civil, the nature of the demand, the stage of proceedings, and when prosecuted tojudgment, a memorandum of the judgment and of any process issued whether satisfied, and if notsatisfied, the return of the sheriff;
(b) if criminal, the nature of the crime, the mode of prosecution, the stage of proceedings,and when prosecuted to sentence, a memorandum of the sentence and of the execution, if thesentence has been executed, if not executed, of the reason of the delay or prevention; and
(c) deliver this information to the attorney general's successor in office;
(6) exercise supervisory powers over the district and county attorneys of the state in allmatters pertaining to the duties of their offices, and from time to time require of them reports ofthe condition of public business entrusted to their charge;
(7) give the attorney general's opinion in writing and without fee to the Legislature oreither house, and to any state officer, board, or commission, and to any county attorney or districtattorney, when required, upon any question of law relating to their respective offices;
(8) when required by the public service or directed by the governor, assist any county,district, or city attorney in the discharge of his duties;
(9) purchase in the name of the state, under the direction of the state Board of Examiners,any property offered for sale under execution issued upon judgments in favor of or for the use ofthe state, and enter satisfaction in whole or in part of the judgments as the consideration of thepurchases;
(10) when the property of a judgment debtor in any judgment mentioned in Subsection(9) has been sold under a prior judgment, or is subject to any judgment, lien, or encumbrancetaking precedence of the judgment in favor of the state, redeem the property, under the directionof the state Board of Examiners, from the prior judgment, lien, or encumbrance, and pay allmoney necessary for the redemption, upon the order of the state Board of Examiners, out of anymoney appropriated for these purposes;
(11) when in his opinion it is necessary for the collection or enforcement of anyjudgment, institute and prosecute on behalf of the state any action or proceeding necessary to setaside and annul all conveyances fraudulently made by the judgment debtors, and pay the costnecessary to the prosecution, when allowed by the state Board of Examiners, out of any moneynot otherwise appropriated;
(12) discharge the duties of a member of all official boards of which the attorney generalis or may be made a member by the Utah Constitution or by the laws of the state, and other dutiesprescribed by law;
(13) institute and prosecute proper proceedings in any court of the state or of the UnitedStates, to restrain and enjoin corporations organized under the laws of this or any other state orterritory from acting illegally or in excess of their corporate powers or contrary to public policy,and in proper cases forfeit their corporate franchises, dissolve the corporations, and wind up theiraffairs;
(14) institute investigations for the recovery of all real or personal property that may haveescheated or should escheat to the state, and for that purpose, subpoena any persons before any ofthe district courts to answer inquiries and render accounts concerning any property, examine allbooks and papers of any corporations, and when any real or personal property is discovered thatshould escheat to the state, institute suit in the district court of the county where the property issituated for its recovery, and escheat that property to the state;
(15) administer the Children's Justice Center as a program to be implemented in variouscounties pursuant to Sections 67-5b-101 through 67-5b-107;
(16) assist the Constitutional Defense Council as provided in Title 63C, Chapter 4,Constitutional Defense Council;
(17) pursue any appropriate legal action to implement the state's public lands policyestablished in Subsection 63C-4-105(1);
(18) investigate and prosecute violations of all applicable state laws relating to fraud inconnection with the state Medicaid program and any other medical assistance programadministered by the state, including violations of Title 26, Chapter 20, False Claims Act;
(19) investigate and prosecute complaints of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of patients at:
(a) health care facilities that receive payments under the state Medicaid program; and
(b) board and care facilities, as defined in the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec.1396b(q)(4)(B), regardless of the source of payment to the board and care facility; and
(20) (a) report at least twice per year to the Legislative Management Committee on anypending or anticipated lawsuits, other than eminent domain lawsuits, that might:
(i) cost the state more than $500,000; or
(ii) require the state to take legally binding action that would cost more than $500,000 toimplement; and
(b) if the meeting is closed, include an estimate of the state's potential financial or otherlegal exposure in that report.
Amended by Chapter 48, 2007 General Session