An Act Regarding Financial Orders Requested by the Attorney General

Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §196, first ¶,  as amended by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. DDD, §1, is further amended to read:

The Attorney General may appoint one or more deputy attorneys general, assistant attorneys general and staff attorneys who serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General or until their successors are duly appointed and qualified. They may perform all the duties required of the Attorney General and other duties the Attorney General delegates to them. The Attorney General may appoint research assistants with any powers and duties the Attorney General delegates. Research assistants may perform duties delegated to them by the Attorney General, including activities authorized by Title 4, section 807. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the compensations of research assistants, law office manager and deputy attorneys general are fixed by the Attorney General. The compensation of the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner is fixed by the Attorney General in consultation with the Chief Medical Examiner and with the approval of the Governor. The compensations of the staff attorneys, assistant attorneys general and secretary to the Attorney General are fixed by the Attorney General with the approval of the Governor , but such by financial order. If the Governor disapproves or takes no action on a financial order within 30 days of submission of the financial order request to the State Budget Officer, that financial order is deemed approved as long as the position is established and the compensations may do not in the aggregate exceed the amount appropriated for those positions and may do not result in an increased request to future Legislatures. The Governor may not impose upon the Attorney General any precondition on the submission of a financial order request or the filling of any position that does not require a financial order.

summary

This bill provides that, if the Governor disapproves or takes no action within 30 days of submission of a financial order request by the Attorney General regarding the compensation of staff attorneys, assistant attorneys general and the secretary to the Attorney General, the financial order is deemed approved as long as the positions are established and the compensations do not in the aggregate exceed the amount appropriated for the positions and do not result in an increased request to future Legislatures. It also provides that the Governor may not impose upon the Attorney General any precondition on the submission of a financial order request or the filling of any position that does not require a financial order.