Attorney general would receive funding and follow updated program rules

The Legislature would provide the attorney general with funding for office operations, staffing, equipment, grants, investigations, and litigation. The funding covers the biennium from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, and includes programs for human trafficking victims, forensic nurse examiners, cybercrime, victim notification, and other agency work. The attorney general may transfer statewide litigation-pool money to eligible state agencies for litigation expenses, but may not use it to pay judgments. The attorney general may not spend the new and vacant FTE pool directly and may request transfers under applicable budget rules. Grant recipients must report how they used the money and the results of their programs. The funding applies during the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027; some listed equipment and grants are one-time funding.

Witnesses would receive a $25 daily payment and state-employee mileage and travel reimbursement, while the attorney general's salary would follow the amounts listed in the act. The witness rules apply to civil and criminal case witnesses, except for municipal court, and prisoners may not receive witness payments. In criminal district court cases, prosecution witness costs may not exceed $30,000 per county per biennium. A county that reaches its limit may use another county's unused funds with the attorney general's approval. The salary provision sets one amount through June 30, 2026, and a higher amount after that date; the witness reimbursement limit applies by biennium.

Criminal justice agencies would collect listed 24/7 sobriety program fees, and tobacco-settlement money could support public health and settlement enforcement. The fee rules cover offenders in the 24/7 sobriety program, including alcohol testing, drug testing, and remote monitoring; the fund rules cover state tobacco-settlement money. A judge or judicial referee may not waive the sobriety-program fees. Collected fees must support the sobriety program, equipment, maintenance, replacement, or compliance. Daily remote-monitoring fees must go to the 24/7 sobriety program fund, and tobacco-settlement money must be transferred to the community health trust fund within 30 days of receipt. These provisions apply during the act's operation; the tobacco-fund transfer must occur within 30 days after the state receives the money.

The attorney general would be able to charge certain criminal-history-check requesters, use contingent-fee lawyers for ongoing multistate technology litigation, retain specified funds, and continue listed unspent appropriations. Fees apply to people or entities requesting checks because of legislation from the 2025 session; the legal-services exception applies to ongoing multistate technology litigation during the stated biennium. The attorney general must set a reasonable criminal-history-check fee and deposit it in the general fund. The contingent-fee authority applies despite a general restriction on that type of contract. The continued appropriations cover specified victim-notification, case-management, criminal-history, policing, and related technology projects. The fee and contingent-contract provisions apply from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027; listed unspent funds may continue into that biennium.