Wyoming Bill To Make Attorney General An Elected Position Filed
A bill to change the position of Wyoming Attorney General an elected rather than an appointed position has been filed in the Wyoming Legislature.
You can read Senate File 86 here.
It is sponsored by Senator(s) Bouchard, Biteman, French, Hutchings, James, McKeown, and Salazar and Representative(s) Baker, Bear, Fortner, Gray, Jennings, Laursen, Styvar, and Wharff.
Currently, the Wyoming Attorney General is appointed by the governor.
Nationally, 43 of the 50 states have elected attorney generals, with the other 7, including Wyoming, having the AG as an appointed position. But at the federal level, the office of the U.S. Attorney General is an appointed one, chosen by the president.
Under Senate File 86, the attorney general would join the governor, treasurer, secretary of state, auditor, and superintendent of public instruction as a statewide elected office.
Unlike many states, Wyoming does not have an office of lieutenant governor. But the Wyoming Secretary of State performs some of the duties that are performed by the lieutenant governor in other states.
Under Senate File 86, the attorney general would have an office at the Capitol in Cheyenne and would serve a four-year term, similar to the five current statewide elected officials.