National Association of Attorneys General

The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of state and territory attorneys general in the United States.

National Association of Attorneys General
Formation1907 (1907)
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit
Purpose"The nonpartisan national forum providing collaboration, insight and expertise to empower and champion America's attorneys general."
President
Tom Miller (D)
AffiliationsNAAG Mission Foundation
Websitewww.naag.org

NAAG is governed by member attorneys general, with a president and executive committee serving as the primary decision-making body. The current NAAG president is Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller (D). The president-elect is North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D). NAAG's vice president is Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D), and the group's immediate past president is District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine (D). Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D), Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R), and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) serve as region chairs.[1][2]

NAAG finances itself on an annual basis mostly through dues from member offices. Annual dues are paid with taxpayer dollars. NAAG's annual budget is about $5.1 million, with annual membership dues accounting for $3.2 million of the group's proceeds.[3] In addition, NAAG and its sister group, the NAAG Mission Foundation, have amassed over $250 million as part of companies resolving civil enforcement actions with state attorneys general. NAAG has lent millions of dollars to state attorneys general to facilitate investigations and lawsuits against companies and industries. Loans are repaid to NAAG when the case or investigation is resolved. For example, in the 2021 McKinsey Opioid Settlement, NAAG received $15 million (more than many states) to repay a $7 million loan. NAAG also negotiated a direct payment to itself in the 1998 tobacco settlement, which infused NAAG with $103 million, mostly from Philip Morris. NAAG also obtained $15 million as part of a $25 billion settlement with Bank of America and other mortgage lenders in 2012.[4]

In recent years the group has been accused of being increasingly aligned with the Democratic Party, with five Republican attorneys general resigning from the group since 2021. In May 2022, Attorney General of Kentucky Daniel Cameron led a multi-state letter to NAAG expressing concerns about the group's perceived partisanship. The letter said NAAG needs structural reform, greater transparency, and less partisan programming, and it asked NAAG to explain how its holding of capital from enforcement settlements is consistent with state constitutional and statutory restrictions.[5] In September 2022, twelve Republican state attorneys general and various consumer advocates called for NAAG to return its $280 million in assets to the states.[6]

Management of settlement money

NAAG has received millions of dollars from past public enforcement settlements, including the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Member states gave money to NAAG as part of the settlements. This money sits in restricted funds for specific, limited uses, with each fund governed by a board composed of attorneys general appointed by NAAG's executive committee. The boards that govern these various funds operate by majority vote, and currently most of them have Democratic majorities and are chaired by Republican attorneys general.[1]

NAAG has received criticism, including by the American Tort Reform Association, for taking substantial settlement money from consumer settlements that are meant to benefit consumers. These funds have been called into question as serving a litigation finance purpose far afield of NAAG's original purpose.[7][8][9]

Accusations of partisanship and Republican resignations

Starting in 2021, NAAG came under fire by Republicans for increasing Democratic partisanship in its actions and leadership.[10]

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) quit, citing the group's move to the left.[11] Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) resigned from the group, telling The Washington Free Beacon "It looks to me like an organization that's really lost its way. I don't think it's nonpartisan anymore. By all accounts it looks like it's gotten quite partisan."[8][12]

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R), Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) resigned from the group in 2022.[13][14] In a resignation letter, Paxton, Knudsen, and Schmitt wrote "The association's leftward shift over the past half decade has become intolerable. Indeed, this liberal bent has fundamentally undermined NAAG's role as a nonpartisan national forum."[3][15] Brnovich's resignation letter stated that "The Association is supposed to function as a nonpartisan forum but the speakers and topics presented at recent NAAG meetings indicate otherwise. We believe NAAG must take immediate steps to remedy this partisan permeation."[13]

Past presidents

See also

References
  1. "NAAG Leadership". National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. "Committees". National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  3. Daley, Kevin (6 May 2022). "Republican AGs Battle 'Woke' Law Enforcement". Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  4. Fisher, Daniel (February 4, 2021). "Attorneys general take $15M from McKinsey opioid settlement for their professional association". Legal Newsline. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  5. "Eight Republican AGs Express Concerns About Perceived Liberal Partisanship at NAAG". JD Supra. May 27, 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  6. Crabtree, Susan (September 18, 2022). "GOP Attorneys General Press To Return $280 Million to States". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  7. "Attorneys General Association Risks Member Loss Over Anti-Business Litigation". ATRA. 30 March 2022.
  8. Daley, Kevin (30 March 2022). "As National AGs Group Drifts Left, Red States Eye the Exits". Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. Crabtree, Susan (January 24, 2022). "Report: State Contracts Boost Dem-Linked Lawyers, Not Consumers". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  10. Singer, Paul; Bolen Chun, Beth (May 6, 2022). "Three State AGs To Leave The National Association Of Attorneys General - Dodd-Frank, Consumer Protection Act - United States". www.mondaq.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  11. Ross, Sean (26 April 2021). "Alabama becomes first state to leave National Association of Attorneys General - 'Going further and further left'". Yellowhammer News. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  12. Erhlick, Darrell. "Montana AG to pull out of national attorneys general association, along with Texas, Missouri". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  13. Burgess, Brian (12 May 2022). "National Association of Attorneys General ripped by parade of Republicans, but Florida's Ashley Moody staying quiet for now". The Capitolist. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  14. O'Connor, Cozen (May 6, 2022). "Texas, Missouri, Montana Announce Withdrawal from NAAG". JD Supra. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  15. Wulfhorst, Emma (9 May 2022). "Knudsen, 2 other attorneys general leave national organization". KECI. Retrieved 13 May 2022.


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