Trivia Question: What is the sole constitutional duty of the Attorney General?
Commissioners of public lands. SECTION 7. The secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general, shall constitute a board of commissioners for the sale of the school and university lands and for the investment of the funds arising therefrom. Any two of said commissioners shall be a quorum for the transaction of all business pertaining to the duties of their office.
With conservatives now concerned about the Department of Justice’s involvement with the Concealed Carry regulatory process, will the Attorney General become the next position to become a Gubernatorial appointee?
No elected Attorney General? It’s not that uncommon. 7 states do not have elected attorney generals, including New Jersey. Not only will getting rid of the Secretary of State and Treasurer end up costing Wisconsin taxpayers more, but it could lead to the elimination of an elected Attorney General as well.
From a fiscal conservative standpoint – the logic of more elected officials at first seems counterintuitive. Why do we need more elected officials getting paid by the taxpayers? We tend to see elected officials as part of the bureaucracy, and bureaucracy is bad.
However – there are significant differences between elected officials and appointed bureaucrats. One is pay – in Menomonee Falls the Village President makes less than $10,000 per year. The Village Administrator makes over $100,000 a year. Both people have important functions, and while the Administrator may spend 60+ hours a week at his job, the President is probably spending 20+ hours in Village business. Hourly – the pay advantage goes to the Administrator. It seems that being an elected official is a “intangible bonus” in lieu of compensation.
On the other hand, there is another effect – WisTax found that the more elected county board members – the lower the spending was, as much as $10 less spending per resident per additional elected official. While this isn’t directly applicable to statewide offices, it does raise a question – is cutting elected offices good for the state?
