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WHEREAS, the
Attorney General is generally charged by law to be the sole legal
adviser, attorney or counsel for all officers, departments, boards,
bodies, commissions and instrumentalities of State Government, except
as specifically provided by statute, and to represent them in all
proceedings or actions of any kind which may be brought for or against
them in any court in this State and to interpret for them all constitutions,
statutes, laws and legal documents, to inspect and approve contracts
and titles and otherwise control their legal activities, to act
as their exclusive legal representative, and to attend generally
to all legal matters in which the State or any officer, department,
board, body, commission or instrumentality of the State Government
is a party or in which its rights or interests are involved; and
WHEREAS, all
officers, departments, boards, bodies, commissions and instrumentalities
of State Government are expressly prohibited by law from employing
any person to act as attorney, counsel, solicitor, legal assistant
or other legal adviser or for the purpose of giving legal advice
or rendering legal services, except as specifically authorized by
statute; and
WHEREAS, the
Attorney General has the discretionary authority to assign an attorney
to serve in any legal capacity for any officer, or in any department
or instrumentality of the State Government whenever, in the judgment
of the Attorney General, such an assignment will contribute to the
efficiency and effective provision of legal services; and
WHEREAS, no
special counsel shall be employed for the State or by any officer,
department, board, body, commission, or instrumentality of the State
Government, except by authority of the Attorney General, and then
only with the approval of the Governor; and
WHEREAS, these
requirements are intended to provide competent, objective legal
advice and representation to all of State Government subject to
the supervision and coordination of the Attorney General, and to
ensure the attainment of a consistent and uniform legal position
in furtherance of implementing the policies of the Governor; and
WHEREAS, despite
these requirements, numerous attorneys have been employed outside
of the Department of Law and Public Safety, many of whom may provide
legal advice and representation which, by law, is required to be
provided by the Attorney General; and
WHEREAS, I
have determined that it is in the public interest to reaffirm, unequivocally,
the role of the Attorney General as the chief legal adviser for
the Sexy真人y and to require strict adherence to the requirements
outlined above;
NOW, THEREFORE,
I JAMES J. FLORIO, Governor of the Sexy真人y, by virtue
of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes
of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. At no
time shall any person employed by any officer, department, board,
body, commission or instrumentality of State Government ("State
entity"), including "in but not of" agencies, act as, or cause
any person to believe he or she is acting as, an attorney, counsel,
solicitor, legal assistant or other legal adviser to any State
entity unless that person is an assistant or deputy attorney general
or other attorney authorized to do so by the Attorney General;
nor shall any such person, other than an assistant or deputy attorney
general or other attorney authorized to do so by the Attorney
General, utilize or be denominated by any title such as "attorney,"
"counsel," "solicitor," "legal assistant" or "legal adviser."
2. In addition,
without in any way limiting the provisions of Paragraph 1 hereof,
the following shall apply:
a. The
Attorney General shall have the sole authority to provide legal
advice of any nature whatsoever to any State entity;
b. The
Attorney General shall have the sole authority to provide advice
as to the legality of all regulations or legislation, or amendments
thereto;
c. The
Attorney General shall be solely responsible for and shall have
exclusive control over the conduct of all judicial and administrative
litigation involving any State entity.
3. Consistent
with the requirements of law and the intent and spirit of this
Executive Order, attorneys may be employed by State entities,
but they may not perform any function assigned to the Attorney
General by law or by this Executive Order. Such attorneys may
do the following:
a. provide
guidance as to the nature and substance of the various statutes
and regulations governing the responsibilities of the employing
State entity, but only as said statutes and regulations are
interpreted by the Attorney General;
b. participate
in negotiations on behalf of the employing entity, but only
to the extent that any non-lawyer employee may so participate
and not in a manner which could cause any other person to believe
that he or she is acting as an attorney for such entity;
c. appear
for the employing entity in any proceeding in which an attorney
is not required, but not in a manner which would cause any other
person to believe that he or she is acting as an attorney for
such entity, provided, however, that such attorneys may represent
a State entity in a matter before the Office of Administrative
Law but only with the prior written consent of the Attorney
General;
d. draft
proposed regulations and proposed legislation, and amendments
thereto, in accordance with the policy objectives of the employing
entity, subject to the provisions of Paragraph 2b above, and
reduce to writing interim and final agency orders, subject to
the review of the Attorney General.
4. On and
after the effective date of this Executive Order, no State entity
shall create or fill any position or employ any person for the
purpose of performing any duty assigned to the Attorney General
by law or by this Executive Order.
5. The Attorney
General shall promptly undertake an assessment of those persons
and/or positions outside the Department of Law and Public Safety
who are or have been performing duties assigned to the Attorney
General by law or by this Executive Order, and shall take whatever
remedial action the Attorney General deems necessary or desirable,
including, without limitation, steps (1) to designate such persons
and/or positions for transfer to the Department of Law and Public
Safety or (2), with regard to those persons and/or positions not
designated for transfer, to require the employing State entity
to restrict their duties to comply with the terms of this Executive
Order. Such actions need not all be made simultaneously. Within
a reasonable period of time from the date of each such transfer
designation, the persons and/or positions so designated shall
be transferred, along with the concomitant resources, clerical
and support staff and the funding associated therewith, to the
Department of Law and Public Safety, where they shall serve in
such capacity and perform such duties as may be designated by
the Attorney General.
6. At any
time in the future, whenever the Attorney General determines that
any person and/or position employed by any State entity is performing
duties assigned to the Attorney General by law or by this Executive
Order, the Attorney General shall take such action as is necessary
to ensure compliance with this Executive Order.
7. The Commissioner
of the Department of Personnel and the Director of the Division
of Budget and Accounting in the Department of Treasury are directed
to effectuate the prompt transfer of positions, resources and
funding required by this Executive Order as identified by the
Attorney General.
8. The purpose
of this Executive Order is the consolidation within the Department
of Law and Public Safety of all attorneys giving legal advice
and representation to State entities and the resources necessary
to support them. An attorney and/or position shall be subject
to transfer under this Executive Order if a portion of the duties
performed are among those assigned to the Attorney General by
law or by this Executive Order. Any person or position performing
the duties of a paralegal or legal assistant, and appropriate
support personnel, shall be subject to the provisions of this
Executive Order, as appropriate, and shall be subject to transfer
in accordance with the procedures set forth herein, if so determined
by the Attorney General.
9. All State
entities are hereby directed to cooperate with and to support
fully the Attorney General in the discharge of the responsibilities
and obligations conferred by law and this Executive Order, including
the duty to respond to requests for documents or information requested
by the Attorney General.
10. The
provisions of this Executive Order shall not apply to attorneys
employed the Legislative or Judicial Branches of State Government,
the Office of the Governor or any State entity which has the specific
statutory authority to employ separate legal advisers, but only
to the extent so permitted.
11. Within
12 months from the date of this Executive Order, the Attorney
General shall report to the Governor on the status of the implementation
of this Executive Order and whether any further action is needed
to assist in the implementation thereof.
12. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN,
under my hand and seal
this 14th day of March in the Year
of Our Lord, one thousand nine hundred
and ninety, and of the Independence
of the United States, the two hundred
and fourteenth.
/s/
James J. Florio
GOVERNOR
Attest:
/s/ John A.
Sweeney
Counsel to the Governor
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