Attorney General of Massachusetts

The Attorney General of Massachusetts is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the state. He or she is publicly elected in midterm election years, and is charged with supervising operations of the five bureaus—executive, business and labor protection, criminal, government and public protection—which make up the department of the attorney general.^[1] The attorney general serves four-year terms and is not subject to term limits.

Current officeholder

The current attorney general is Democrat Maura Healey. She was first elected in 2014, and sworn into office January 21, 2015, replacing Martha Coakley (D).^[2]

Authority

The position of attorney general is established in Title 2, Chapter 12, Section 1 of the General Laws of Massachusetts:

"There shall be a department of the attorney general, under his supervision and control, organized as provided in this chapter."^[3]

Qualifications

Under Massachusetts state law, in order to eligible for the office of attorney general, candidates must be:

• 18 years of age
• a citizen of the United States for at least five years
• a member of the Massachusetts State Bar^[4] (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 12, § 1)

Elections

Massachusetts elects attorneys general in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years. For Massachusetts, 2018, 2022, 2026 and 2030 are all attorney general election years. The winner is inaugurated in January following the general election.

Term limits

The attorney general does not face any term limits.

Past elections

2014

See also: Massachusetts Attorney General election, 2014

Attorney General of Massachusetts, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Maura Healey	61.7%	1,280,513
	Republican	John B. Miller	38.2%	793,821
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	2,103
Total Votes				2,076,437
Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of State

2010

See also: Massachusetts Attorney General election, 2010

Massachusetts Attorney General, General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Martha Coakley Incumbent	62.8%	1,417,538
	Republican	James P. McKenna	37.2%	839,274
Total Votes				2,256,812
Election results via [1]

2006

Massachusetts Attorney General, General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Marth Coakley	72.9%	1,546,582
	Republican	Larry Frisoli	27.1%	574,388
Total Votes				2,120,970
Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Vacancies

If the office of the attorney general becomes vacant during annual or special session of the general court, the public elects a successor, otherwise, "it shall be supplied by the governor by appointment, with the advice and consent of the council."^[5]

Duties

Ballot Text and Legality:

Unlike most states which mandate that proponents of an initiative must first file with the secretary of state, Massachusetts guidelines require that a ballot first be submitted to the attorney general.

At least 10 qualified voters must submit their contact information, certificate of voter registration and the full text of the ballot.

The attorney general bears the responsibility of determining whether the petition is an acceptable subject of the initiative, and if so, he or she prepares a concise summary and returns this summary and the proposed law to the petitioners. If the attorney general determines the petition relates to an excluded matter, the petition is disallowed.

If the ballot passes review, it will then be returned to the proponents who may then submit it to the secretary of commonwealth (also known as the secretary of state).

Divisions

There are five bureaus in the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office:ref name="about"/>

• Executive
• Business and Labor Protection
• Criminal
• Government
• Public Protection

State budget

See also: Massachusetts state budget and finances

The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General's budget for the 2013 fiscal year was $43,735,434.^[6]

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

See statutes: M.G.L. Ch.12 §1

Massachusetts General Laws set the salary for the attorney general at $127,523, with an additional amount to be calculated according to the adjustment percentage addressed in the Massachusetts State Legislators Compensation Amendment.^[7] In 1998, the Massachusetts State Legislators Compensation Amendment was passed, prohibiting state legislators from altering their base pay. Since January 2001, compensation for public officials is adjusted every two years corresponding with changes in median household income for Massachusetts residents.^[8]

In 2014, a seven-member Special Advisory Commission was created by Section 239 of the Articles of Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution to review and compare the compensation of Massachusetts' public officials to other states.^{[9] [10]}

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $130,582, according to the Council of State Governments.^[11]

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $130,552, according to the Council of State Governments.^[12]

2014

In 2014, the attorney general earned a salary of $130,582, according to the Council of State Governments.^[13]

2013

In 2013, the attorney general earned a salary of $133,644, according to the Council of State Governments.^[14]

2012

In 2012, the attorney general earned a salary of $133,644, according to the Council of State Governments.^[15]

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Attorney General of Massachusetts has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Massachusetts Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles; they are included to provide readers with the most recent news articles on the subject. Click here to learn more about this section.

Contact information

One Exchange Place
Worcester, MA 01608

Phone: 508-792-7600
Toll Free Phone: 617-727-4765
Fax: 508-795-1991
E-mail: [email protected]^[1]

See also

• Massachusetts state executive offices
• Massachusetts state executive officials

External links

• Official site

Footnotes

v • e Attorneys General Elected (by voters) Alabama • Arizona Attorney General • Arkansas • California • Colorado Attorney General • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin Appointed (by gov.) Alaska • Hawaii • New Jersey • Wyoming Appointed (by courts) Tennessee Elected (state leg.) Maine • New Hampshire Elections 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 Other State executive offices • Chart of state executive officers • Attorney General office comparison

	v • e State of Massachusetts Boston (capital)
Ballot Measures	List of Massachusetts ballot measures | Local measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | Initiative laws | History of I&R | Campaign Finance Requirements | Recall process |
Government	Massachusetts State Constitution | House of Representatives | Senate |
State executive officers	Governor | Lieutenant Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | Treasurer | State Auditor | Commissioner of Education | Commissioner of Insurance | Commissioner of Agriculture | Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs | Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development | Chair of Public Utilities |
School boards	Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Massachusetts school districts |
Judiciary	Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Appeals Court | Superior Courts | District Courts | Probate and Family Courts | Juvenile Courts | Housing Courts | Land Courts | Boston Municipal Courts | Judicial selection in Massachusetts |
Transparency Topics	Public Records Act | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of Counties | List of Cities | List of School Districts | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of school district websites |