About NAAG
Dustin McDaniel (D)
Arkansas Attorney General
Elected: 2006, 2010
323 Center St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201-2610
(800) 482-8982
http://www.ag.arkansas.gov/
Dustin McDaniel began his second four-year term as Attorney General of Arkansas in January 2011.
McDaniel worked during his first term to keep the state’s public school system in compliance with the Arkansas Supreme Court’s Lake View school-funding decision, and he said that would remain a priority through the remainder of his tenure.
Also during his first term, McDaniel worked to eliminate illegal payday lending operations from the state. Under his watch, more than 150 unscrupulous payday lenders left Arkansas, and McDaniel continues to pursue lenders who illegally offer payday loans via the Internet.
The state’s top consumer advocate, McDaniel created the first-ever Attorney General’s Health Care Bureau, which acts as a health care industry watchdog and assists Arkansans with complaints and concerns related to health care. Under McDaniel’s watch, the state secured its largest-ever settlement with a pharmaceutical company: $18.5 million to settle allegations that pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly made improper marketing claims about its drug Zyprexa.
The Attorney General led the charge to pass and enact legislation that would make cruelty to animals a felony, bringing together both agricultural and animal-welfare interests to support the law. The animal cruelty law is a highlight of a successful legislative track record that includes approval of key ethics reforms in addition to the state’s creation of “Leads OnLabs,” an online tool that helps law enforcement officers fight methamphetamine abuse by tracking pseudoephedrine purchases.
The Jonesboro native and former police officer is chairman of the Southern Region of the National Association of Attorneys General and co-chair of the Democratic Association of Attorneys General. He currently serves as co-chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General’s Tobacco Committee. As co-chairman, McDaniel oversees compliance of about $6 billion in annual payments to the states.
General McDaniel is married to the former Bobbi Fowler. He has one daughter, Emma Grace, and two step-children, C.J. and Alex. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law.
