Attorney General Terry Goddard warned lawmakers that the defense of state law, public safety and consumer interests would be severely impacted if planned budget reductions for the 2010 fiscal year are enacted.

The message was delivered by Goddard to members of the Senate and House Appropriations committees, whose chairmen Sen. Russell Pearce and Rep. John Kavanagh have outlined $3 million in cuts and fund sweeps for the agency.

The majority of the cuts – about $2.5 million – would come in the form of lump sum and salary reductions from the state's general fund. The department saw its budget cut by $1 million in fiscal 2009.

Appearing before House Appropriations Committee members, Goddard laid out the vast duties of his office, from handling all criminal appeals in the state, to protecting abused children and launching grand jury criminal trials targeting complex financial fraud and crimes related to human smuggling.

His presentation noted the office defended the state from liability cases totaling approximately $3.5 billion in damages last year, and has fought a multitude of lawsuits targeting state laws regarding school choice, employer sanctions and school vouchers.

Republican members of the committee were noticeably silent during Goddard's presentation, but fellow Democrats probed to find out what further cuts would do to the agency and also praised his office's accomplishments.

Rep. Olivia Cajero Bedford, a Democrat from Tucson, commended him for breaking up several immigrant-smuggling syndicates and for the indictment of a Phoenix gun dealer accused of selling assault rifles to "straw purchasers" who send them on to Mexican drug gangs.

"It's scary what is out there that you have found and what you could find if you had more money," she said.

Also, Goddard told Rep. David Schapira, a Democrat from Tempe, that further reductions in staff due to funding losses would add to state expenses by requiring the contracting of private attorneys to defend against civil lawsuits on issues well-known by his attorneys.

"They don't have the learning curve, and we won't have to pay for a lot of hours for someone to learn what the case is about," Goddard said.

He also said cuts would reduce his office's capability to fight organized crime and to contest criminal appeals, which are filed in unpredictable numbers.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimates the Attorney General's Office total funding for the 2010 fiscal year will be $89.6 million, with $21.5 million from the state's general fund making up the largest share.

Other significant contributions come from agencies using the office's legal services and an anti-racketeering fund that receives seized RICO assets from criminal cases. Each contributes approximately $13.5 million, and smaller funding levels to the office come from the federal government and the successful prosecution of consumer fraud cases.

After the meeting, Goddard said he did not think additional cuts and resulting layoffs would be "palatable."

"I don't think we could accommodate any additional losses in prosecutors and attorneys defending the state," he said. "Everyone bears a significant burden right now, whether it's for abused children or for representing the state in serious litigation."

Kavanagh, the committee chairman, told the ~Arizona Capitol Times~ he believes that actual cuts for the Attorney General's Office would not be as high as listed in the chairmen's option plan. The totals in the plan produce a higher figure than what legislators will have to cut to present a balanced 2010 fiscal year budget.

"I don't imagine the cuts being everything we could take," he said. "I imagine them being less."

The 2010 chairmen's budget plan also calls for a $500,000 sweep of the collection enforcement revolving fund, an account established to assist the Attorney General's Office recover money owed to the state through bankruptcies, fraudulent activities and other matters.

In 2009, lawmakers swept funds operated by the agency totaling approximately $750,000.

Earlier this month, Goddard announced employees in his office making more than $50,000 a year would be required to take eight days off without pay before the end of the fiscal year.

The announcement came after the Attorney General's Office laid off 20 employees in order to handle 2009 budget cuts.