NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WGNS News) - A newly released performance audit from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury found no findings or observations after reviewing selected programs and activities within the Office of the Attorney General and Reporter.
The report, released Wednesday morning by the Comptroller’s Division of State Audit, reviewed the office for the period of July 1, 2021, through December 31, 2025. The audit examined several major areas of the Attorney General’s Office, including consumer complaint processing, settlement collections, bankruptcy and debt recovery, outside counsel appointments, paid expert contracts, and the newly created Civil Rights Enforcement Division.
According to the report, the audit was conducted under Tennessee law, which gives the Comptroller authority to examine the books and records of governmental entities that handle public funds. The Comptroller’s office stated that the audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, giving auditors a basis to evaluate internal controls, compliance, procedures, and program effectiveness.
The most direct takeaway from the 42-page report was simple but significant: “This audit report contains no findings or observations.” In government auditing terms, that means auditors did not identify deficiencies serious enough to be reported as formal findings or observations in the areas reviewed.
One major section of the audit focused on the Consumer Affairs Division, which operates under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977. That division processes consumer complaints, facilitates informal mediation between consumers and businesses, provides consumer education, and reports its activities to the Tennessee General Assembly.
In 2024, Consumer Affairs received 8,536 formal consumer complaints and mediated more than $3 million in consumer recoveries, including cash, merchandise, and services. The top four complaint categories that year were home improvements, repairs and warranties; health services and products; landlord-tenant issues; and internet sales. Home improvement complaints ranked first, with 684 complaints, followed closely by health services and products with 675.
The report also highlighted the division’s consumer education work, especially among older adults. According to the audit, Consumer Affairs completed 37 outreach events between January 1 and October 9, 2025, including 30 presentations of “Scams Stop Here: Consumer Education for Older Adults.” Auditors noted that the division receives a high volume of scam-related calls involving older adults, who can face higher financial losses when targeted by fraud.
Another key part of the report focused on money collected through settlements, bankruptcy proceedings, and other debts owed to the state. Between fiscal years 2022 and 2025, the Attorney General’s Public Protection Section processed more than $494 million in revenue collections. That included more than $435 million in consumer protection settlements and more than $36 million in bankruptcy and other outstanding debt recoveries.
The audit also reviewed Tennessee’s handling of tobacco and opioid settlement funds. The report explains that Tennessee continues to receive payments under the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, while opioid abatement settlement funds are divided under a structured formula: 15% to the state’s General Fund, 70% to the Opioid Abatement Fund, and 15% paid directly to local governments for opioid remediation efforts.
Auditors also examined the Attorney General’s use of outside counsel and paid experts. Between July 2021 and October 2025, outside counsel was appointed 75 times at the request of the Attorney General and Reporter. Those appointments involved state agencies, public universities, and matters directly tied to the Attorney General’s Office. The office spent more than $15.1 million on outside counsel between July 2021 and September 2025 and recovered about $7.68 million from client agencies responsible for those expenses.
The report also found that the office had 165 open paid-expert contracts between June 2021 and October 2025. Those experts were used to support litigation through testimony, reports, professional analysis, or other specialized services. Total expenditures for paid experts were listed at more than $10.2 million between July 2021 and August 2025, with nearly $2.93 million recovered from client agencies.
A newer area of review centered on the Civil Rights Enforcement Division, which was created after the General Assembly passed Public Chapter 471 in 2025. That law transferred responsibility for enforcing the Tennessee Human Rights Act from the Tennessee Human Rights Commission to the Attorney General’s Office, effective July 1, 2025.
The audit noted that the former Tennessee Human Rights Commission was dissolved on June 30, 2025. At the time, Civil Rights Enforcement Division staff estimated more than 1,000 complaints were still pending with the commission. Of those, 116 complaints were refiled with the new division.
From July through December 2025, the Civil Rights Enforcement Division received 858 complaints. Employment discrimination made up the largest category, with 436 complaints, followed by housing with 198, public accommodations with 139, malicious harassment with 38, education with 33, and Civil Rights Act of 1964-related complaints with 14.
Auditors found that the Attorney General’s Office had taken steps to assume the new responsibilities, including setting up complaint intake processes, transferring records, separating the division physically from other office divisions, and restricting access to records in LawBase and iManage. The report said the division had an unwritten process in place by the end of fieldwork in December 2025 and finalized written procedures in January 2026.
The audit also looked back at the prior performance audit of the Attorney General’s Office, which was released in October 2021. That earlier audit also contained no findings.
In a letter dated July 1, 2026, the Division of State Audit said the Attorney General’s Office was given the opportunity to respond to the report. Management stated it had no comments to include.
Overall, the report paints a picture of a large state legal office handling a broad mix of public duties, from consumer protection and settlement money to civil rights complaints and litigation support, without auditors identifying reportable problems in the areas reviewed.
