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Legislation in Texas takes into account legislation in order to expand the authority of the Attorney General in Criminal Precision

Texas flag | Image of Esfera/Shutterstock; OAG Logo | Image by Oag Ken Paxton/Web; Arrangement by Tiffany Chartier/DX

Two accompanying laws submitted in state legislation could expand the office of the general prosecutor's powers in relation to criminal prosecution.

According to the Texas constitution, the Office of Attorney General (OAG) is primarily about public and bourgeois law. These obligations include the defense of the law and the constitution of the state, which represents the state in legal disputes, and the approval of questions of public bonds.

The OAG “serves as the legal advisor of all administrative councils and agencies of the state government, issues legal opinions if they are requested by the governor, head of the state authorities and other civil servants and agencies, which are provided by Texanian statutes, are an ex-officio member of the state employees and state employees and the state employees and the state employees and the state authorities and the state authorities.

According to the deputy general prosecutor for the criminal justice Josh Reno, there are currently only two ways in which the state OAG is being involved in criminal prosecution.

On March 4, Reno explained to the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence that the prosecutors from the district or district lawyers officially have to apply for support from the OAG, or a federal judge can appoint a public prosecutor if a district or a public prosecutor's office returns from a case.

However, the OAG's tested legal templates would grant the authority to avoid these two ways and to pursue certain criminal matters independently.

House Bill 1004 and Senate Bill 846, both submitted this legislative session, would give the AG the authority and the obligation to prosecute criminal matters with misconduct, bribery and corruption, abortion, abuse and human trafficking, even without the request for support from the local public prosecutor.

According to the proposed law, the law enforcement authorities would have to report these crimes by the local public prosecutor. If the local prosecutor has not initiated a procedure in the case within six months, the OAG must pursue these crimes. The AG can instruct the local district or the district prosecutor to pursue the case or to support the AG in law enforcement.

If the law was passed, the law would come into force on September 1, 2025.