Attorney General of Maine
| Maine Attorney General | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $127,566 |
| 2023 FY Budget: | $49,809,206 |
| Term limits: | Four consecutive terms |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | Two years |
| Authority: | Maine Constitution, Article IX, Section 11 |
| Selection Method: | Elected by secret ballot of the state legislature |
| Current Officeholder | |
Attorney General of Maine
Aaron Frey | |
| Other Maine Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner • Superintendent of Insurance • Labor Commissioner • Public Utilities Commission | |
The Attorney General of Maine serves as the chief legal advisor for the state. Maine is the only state where the attorney general is selected by a secret ballot of state legislators at the beginning of each session. The attorney general serves two-year terms, and is limited to serving four consecutive terms.[1]
Maine has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.
Current officeholder
The current officeholder is Aaron Frey (D).[2] On December 6, 2018, the Maine State Legislature selected Frey to succeed Janet Mills (D).[3] He assumed office on January 8, 2019.[4] The state legislature selected Frey for a second term on December 2, 2020, which began on January 4, 2021.[5]
Authority
The state Constitution establishes the office of the attorney general in Article IX, Section 11.
|
The Attorney General shall be chosen biennially by joint ballot of the Senators and Representatives in convention. Vacancy in said office occurring when the Legislature is not in session, may be filled by appointment by the Governor, subject to confirmation as required by this Constitution for Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court. |
Qualifications
To be attorney general, a candidate must be in good standing with the bar of the State of Maine.[6]
Appointments
- See also: State executives with term limits
The Maine Attorney General is elected by secret ballot of the legislature. It is one of the first tasks of each newly sworn-in legislature. Maine is the only state to select its attorney general in this manner.[7]
Term limits
Term limits for the attorney general are laid out in Section 553 of Title 21-A of the Maine Revised Statutes, which prohibits an attorney general from serving more than four consecutive terms.[8]
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A, Section 553-5:
| A person may not serve more than 4 consecutive terms as Attorney General. |
Vacancies
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches the constitutional or statutory text that details the process of filling vacancies for a state executive office. That information for the Attorney General of Maine has not yet been added. After extensive research, we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
Duties
The attorney general oversees the following duties while in office:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Office of the Maine Attorney General[10] | ||
In addition, the attorney general holds the following responsibilities:
- appointing deputy and assistant attorneys general; and
- acting as the first in line to succeed the governor should the office holder leave office or become incapacitate. Maine is one of five states that has no lieutenant governor.
Divisions
As of January 10, 2021, the attorney general's office is divided into the following divisions.
- Administration Division
- Child Protective Division
- Child Support Division
- Health & Human Services Division
- Criminal Division
- Investigation Division
- Litigation Division
- Office of the Chief
- Medical Examiner
- Natural Resources Division
- Professional/Financial Regulation Division
- Consumer Protection Division[11]
Campaign finance
- Main article: Campaign finance requirements for Maine ballot measures
The Attorney General of Maine is responsible for all disciplinary manners toward the state's campaign finance laws, regardless of whether the offense involves civil or criminal laws. The first step if someone may have violated Maine campaign finance law is to file a complaint with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. It is up to the commission to conduct an investigation determining whether or not a violation took place.[12]
State budget
- See also: Maine state budget and finances
The Department of the Attorney General's budget for Fiscal Year 2023 was $49,809,206.[13]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
The attorney general’s salary is determined by the Maine Legislative Council, an administrative body composed of 10 elected members of legislative leadership. The council establishes salaries for all legislative employees, unless otherwise determined by law.[14] The attorney general is also permitted to claim reimbursement for actual expenses.[15] The Legislative Council may decide to adjust the salary of the secretary of state and attorney general for each year of continuous service.[16]
| Attorney General; office; salary. The Attorney General is the executive head of the Department of the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall keep an office at the seat of government and is entitled to receive an annual salary in full for all services. The Attorney General is entitled to receive actual expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. |
2022
In 2022, the officer's salary was $127,566, according to the Council of State Governments.[17]
2021
In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $114,441, according to the Council of State Governments.[18]
2020
In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $105,914, according to the Council of State Governments.[19]
2019
In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $105,914, according to the Council of State Governments.[20]
2018
In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $122,616, according to the Council of State Governments.[21]
2017
In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $119,038, according to the Council of State Governments.[22]
2016
In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $111,134, according to the Council of State Governments.[23]
2015
In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $103,750, according to the Council of State Governments.[24]
2014
In 2014, the attorney general earned a salary of $92,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[25]
2013
In 2013, the attorney general earned a salary of $92,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[26]
2012
In 2012, the attorney general earned a salary of $92,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[27]
Historical officeholders
There have been 58 Attorneys General of Maine since 1820. Of the 54 officeholders, there have been 30 Republicans, 20 Democrats, one Whig, one Democratic-Republican, and two with no available partisan information.[28]
| List of Historical Officeholders from 1820-Present | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Tenure | Party | ||
| 1 | Erastus Foote | 1820-1831 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| 2 | Jonathan P. Rogers | 1821-1834 |  Democratic
| ||
| 3 | Nathan Clifford | 1834-1837 | Democratic
| ||
| 4 | Daniel Goodenow | 1838 | Democratic
| ||
| 5 | Stephen Emery | 1839-1840 | Democratic
| ||
| 6 | Daniel Goodenow | 1841 | Democratic
| ||
| 7 | Otis L. Bridges | 1842-1843 | Democratic
| ||
| 8 | W.B.S. Moor | 1844-1847 | Democratic
| ||
| 9 | Samuel H. Blake | 1848 | Democratic
| ||
| 10 | Henry Tallman | 1849-1852 | Democratic
| ||
| 11 | George Evans | 1853-1854 | Whig | ||
| 12 | John S. Abbott | 1855 |  Republican
| ||
| 13 | George Evans | 1856 | Whig | ||
| 14 | Nathan D. Appleton | 1857-1859 | |||
| 15 | G.W. Ingersoll | 1860 | |||
| 16 | J.H. Drummond | 1860-1863 | Democratic
| ||
| 17 | John A. Peters | 1864-1866 | Republican
| ||
| 18 | William P. Frye | 1867-1869 | Republican
| ||
| 19 | Thomas B. Reed | 1870-1872 | Republican
| ||
| 20 | Harris M. Plaisted | 1873-1875 | Republican
| ||
| 21 | Lucilius A. Emery | 1876-1878 | Republican
| ||
| 22 | William H. McLellan | 1879 | Democratic
| ||
| 23 | Henry B. Cleaves | 1880-1884 | Republican
| ||
| 24 | Orville D. Baker | 1885-1888 | Republican
| ||
| 25 | Charles E. Littlefield | 1889-1892 | Republican
| ||
| 26 | Frederick A. Powers | 1893-1896 | Republican
| ||
| 27 | William T. Haines | 1897-1900 | Republican
| ||
| 28 | George M. Seiders | 1901-1904 | Republican
| ||
| 29 | Hannibal E. Hamlin | 1905-1908 | Republican
| ||
| 30 | W.C. Philbrook | 1909-1910 | Republican
| ||
| 31 | Cyrus R. Tupper | 1911 | Democratic
| ||
| 32 | William R. Pattangall | 1911-1912 | Democratic
| ||
| 33 | Scott Wilson | 1913-1914 | Republican
| ||
| 34 | William R. Pattangall | 1915-1916 | Democratic
| ||
| 35 | Guy H. Sturgis | 1917-1920 | Republican
| ||
| 36 | Ransford W. Shaw | 1921-1924 | Republican
| ||
| 37 | Raymond Fellows | 1925-1928 | Republican
| ||
| 38 | Clement F. Robinson | 1929-1932 | Republican
| ||
| 39 | Clyde R. Chapman | 1933-1936 | Republican
| ||
| 40 | Franz U. Burkett | 1937-1940 | Republican
| ||
| 41 | Frank I. Cowan | 1941-1944 | Republican
| ||
| 42 | Ralph W. Farris | 1945-1950 | Republican
| ||
| 43 | Alexander A. LaFleur | 1951-1954 | Republican
| ||
| 44 | Frank F. Harding | 1955-1958 | Republican
| ||
| 45 | Frank E. Hancock | 1959-1964 | Republican
| ||
| 46 | Richard J. Dubord | 1965-1966 | Democratic
| ||
| 47 | James S. Erwin | 1967-1971 | Republican
| ||
| 48 | Jon A. Lund | 1972-1974 | Republican
| ||
| 49 | Joseph E. Brennan | 1975-1978 | Democratic
| ||
| 50 | Richard S. Cohen | 1979-1980 | Republican
| ||
| 51 | James E. Tierney | 1981-1990 | Democratic
| ||
| 52 | Michael Carpenter | 1991-1994 | Democratic
| ||
| 53 | Andrew Ketterer | 1995-2000 | Democratic
| ||
| 54 | G. Steven Rowe | 2001-2008 | Democratic
| ||
| 55 | Janet T. Mills | 2009-2010 | Democratic
| ||
| 56 | William Schneider | 2011-2012 | Republican
| ||
| 57 | Janet T. Mills | 2013-2018 | Democratic
| ||
| 58 | Aaron Frey | 2019-Present | Democratic
| ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Maine Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Contact information
6 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: 207-626-8800
Toll Free Phone: 207-626-8865
See also
| Maine | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Attorney General of Maine, "What We Do," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Attorney General of Maine, "Attorney General Aaron M. Frey BIO," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Central Maine, "Democrats assume control of Maine Legislature, select leaders and top state officers," December 6, 2018
- ↑ Office of the Maine Attorney General, "Aaron M. Frey takes oath as Maine's 58th Attorney General," January 8, 2019
- ↑ News Center Maine, "130th Legislature gets underway," Dec. 2, 2020
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "MRS Title 5, Chapter 9. ATTORNEY GENERAL," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Maine Public Broadcasting Network, "Mills Wants to Stay on as Maine's Attorney General," November 24, 2010
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A: Elections, Chapter 8: Limitation of Terms," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Office of the Maine Attorney General, "What We Do," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Attorney General of Maine, "Organization," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "Maine Campaign Finance Law," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "2022-2023," accessed October 14, 2022
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "126th Maine Legislature Orientation Materials," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "State Departments, Attorney General," accessed January 10, 2021(Referenced Statute 5-§191, Maine Revised Statutes)
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "Salaries of constitutional officers," accessed January 10, 2021(Referenced Statute 3- §162-B, Maine Revised Statutes)
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 22, 2022
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2020," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2019," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2018," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2017," accessed January 10, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed November 25, 2014
- ↑ Council of state governments, "Table 4.11 Selected state administrative officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 23, 2014
- ↑ Council of state governments, "Table 4.11 Selected state administrative officials: Annual Salaries," accessed August 31, 2017
- ↑ Maine State Legislature website, "Maine Attorneys General, 1820-," accessed Jan. 6, 2021
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
