The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13).

On March 24, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would be appointing Rob Bonta as attorney general to succeed Xavier Becerra, who resigned from the position to become Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden.

Bonta's appointment was subject to confirmation by both houses of the California State Legislature, and he was sworn in on April 23, 2021.

[1][2][3] According to the state Constitution, the Code of Civil Procedure, and the Government Code, the attorney general: Although the office of attorney general dates to the admission of California to the Union, the office in its modern form dates to Proposition 4 of 1934,[7] sponsored by Alameda County District Attorney Earl Warren as one of four initiatives he sponsored to substantially reform law enforcement and the judiciary.

Under Robert W. Kenny, the office was complicit in the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, a position it has since apologized for.