Kamala Harris as Attorney General of California

{{see also|Electoral history of Kamala Harris}}

{{main|2010 California Attorney General election}}

File:Kamala Harris (5122897990).jpg in October 2010|left]]

Nearly two years before the 2010 election, Harris announced she planned to run.{{Cite web |date=November 12, 2008 |title=Kamala Harris, an early Barack Obama backer, begins her ascent |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/kamala-harris-a.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129043217/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/kamala-harris-a.html |archive-date=January 29, 2021 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |website=LA Times Blogs – Top of the Ticket |language=en-US}} She also stated she would run only if then-Attorney General Jerry Brown did not seek re-election for that position.{{cite web |last=Marinucci |first=Carla |date=November 12, 2008 |title=D.A. Harris plans run for attorney general |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/D-A-Harris-plans-run-for-attorney-general-3262181.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128060418/https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/D-A-Harris-plans-run-for-attorney-general-3262181.php |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US |quote=Harris said she will run [for attorney general] only if Brown, who was governor before term limits were imposed, makes another run for governor. "I will not run against Jerry Brown," Harris told The Chronicle on Tuesday.}} Brown instead chose to run for governor and Harris consolidated support from prominent California Democrats.{{cite news |last=Rizo |first=Chris |date=April 16, 2010 |title=Villaraigosa eschews local candidates, backs Harris for Calif. attorney general |url=http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/226664-villaraigosa-eschews-local-candidates-backs-harris-for-calif.-attorney-general |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723184208/http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/226664-villaraigosa-eschews-local-candidates-backs-harris-for-calif.-attorney-general |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |access-date=August 20, 2010 |newspaper=Legal Newsline}} Both of California's senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, United Farm Workers cofounder Dolores Huerta, and mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa all endorsed her during the Democratic primary. In the June 8, 2010, primary, she was nominated with 33.6 percent of the vote, defeating Alberto Torrico and Chris Kelly.{{cite web |title=Statement of Vote June 8, 2010, Direct Primary Election |url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2010-primary/pdf/2010-complete-sov.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731084633/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2010-primary/pdf/2010-complete-sov.pdf |archive-date=July 31, 2019 |access-date=April 22, 2020 |work=California Secretary of State}}

In the general election, she faced Republican Los Angeles County district attorney Steve Cooley, who led most of the race.{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Phil |date=October 22, 2010 |title=With L.A.'s help, Cooley leads in attorney general's race, Times/USC poll finds |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/10/poll-california-attorney-general.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115041225/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/10/poll-california-attorney-general.html |archive-date=November 15, 2020 |access-date=November 8, 2020 |website=LA Times Blogs – PolitiCal |language=en-US}}{{cite news |last=Lagos |first=Marisa |date=October 27, 2010 |title=Harris leads in at least one poll, Cooley supporters think Democrats will claim gov's office |url=https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/10/27/harris-leads-in-at-least-one-poll-cooley-supporters-think-democrats-will-claim-govs-office/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111081004/https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/10/27/harris-leads-in-at-least-one-poll-cooley-supporters-think-democrats-will-claim-govs-office/ |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=November 8, 2020 |work=SF Gate}} Cooley ran as a nonpartisan,{{cite web |last=Stoltze |first=Frank |date=October 28, 2010 |title=Cooley says he'd be a nonpartisan attorney general |url=https://archive.kpcc.org/news/2010/10/28/20523/cooley-says-hed-be-non-partisan-attorney-general/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504211721/https://archive.kpcc.org/news/2010/10/28/20523/cooley-says-hed-be-non-partisan-attorney-general/ |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=Southern California Public Radio}} distancing himself from Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's campaign.{{cite news |last=Willon |first=Phil |date=October 29, 2010 |title=L.A. County a major hurdle for Democrat Kamala Harris in attorney general race |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-oct-29-la-me-1029-attorney-general-20101029-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} The election was held November{{nbsp}}2 but after a protracted period of counting mail-in and provisional ballots, Cooley conceded on November 25.{{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Jack |date=November 24, 2010 |title=Kamala Harris wins attorney general's race as Steve Cooley concedes |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/steve-cooley-kamala-harris-attorney-general.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802190612/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/steve-cooley-kamala-harris-attorney-general.html |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times}} Harris was sworn in on January 3, 2011; she was the first woman, the first Indian American, and the first South Asian American to hold the office of Attorney General in the state's history.{{citation |last=Bacerra |first=Xavier |title=Kamala D. Harris Takes Oath as California Attorney General |date=January 3, 2011 |url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/kamala-d-harris-takes-oath-california-attorney-general |access-date=August 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929161259/https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/kamala-d-harris-takes-oath-california-attorney-general |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |url-status=live |publisher=State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General |quote=Harris is the first woman, and the first Indian American and the first South Asian American, to hold the office of Attorney General in the history of California}}

{{Main|2014 California Attorney General election}}

In September 2011, Donald Trump donated $5,000 to Harris's 2014 re-election campaign.{{cite web | title=Kamala Harris campaiagn filing | access-date=November 19, 2024 | url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2011/oct/11/kamala-harris-campaiagn-filing/ | work=sandiegoreader.com }}

Harris announced her intention to run for re-election in February 2014 and filed paperwork to run on February 12.{{cite news |last=Chitnis |first=Deepak |date=February 14, 2014 |title=As Kamala Harris announces bid for re-election, GOP scratching their heads for a candidate to face her |url=https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2014/02/14/kamala-harris-announces-bid-re-election-gop-scratching-heads-candidate-face/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2014/02/14/kamala-harris-announces-bid-re-election-gop-scratching-heads-candidate-face/ |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=The American Bazaar}} The Sacramento Bee,{{cite news |last=Reilly |first=Mollie |date=August 25, 2014 |title=Endorsement: Attorney General Kamala Harris, all but unchallenged, deserves a second term |url=https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/election-endorsements/article2607527.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520100703/https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/election-endorsements/article2607527.html |archive-date=May 20, 2020 |access-date=April 25, 2020 |work=The Sacramento Bee}} Los Angeles Daily News,{{cite news |date=October 3, 2014 |title=Re-elect Kamala Harris as attorney general – but demand more: Endorsement |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2014/10/03/re-elect-kamala-harris-as-attorney-general-but-demand-more-endorsement/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003256/https://www.dailynews.com/2014/10/03/re-elect-kamala-harris-as-attorney-general-but-demand-more-endorsement/ |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Daily News}} and Los Angeles Times endorsed her for re-election.{{cite news |date=September 23, 2014 |title=For attorney general, Kamala Harris |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-end-attorney-general-20140924-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233959/https://www.latimes.com/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-end-attorney-general-20140924-story.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times}}

On November 4, 2014, Harris was re-elected against Republican Ronald Gold, winning 57.5 percent of the vote to 42.5 percent.{{cite news |last=Reilly |first=Mollie |date=November 5, 2014 |title=Kamala Harris Re-Elected As California Attorney General |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/kamala-harris-election-results_n_5819890.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525071358/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/kamala-harris-election-results_n_5819890.html |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=HuffPost}}

File:AG_Kamala_Harris_meets_with_California_Foreclosure_Victims_10.jpg

In 2011, Harris announced the creation of the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force in the wake of the 2010 United States foreclosure crisis.{{cite news |last=Veiga |first=Alex |date=May 23, 2011 |title=Calif. creates task force to probe mortgage fraud |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-calif-creates-task-force-to-probe-mortgage-fraud-2011may23-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803062251/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-calif-creates-task-force-to-probe-mortgage-fraud-2011may23-story.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |agency=San Diego Union Tribune}} That same year, Harris obtained two of the largest recoveries in the history of California's False Claims Act{{snd}}$241{{nbsp}}million from Quest Diagnostics and then $323{{nbsp}}million from the SCAN healthcare network{{snd}}over excess state Medi-Cal and federal Medicare payments.{{cite web |last=Lifsher |first=Marc |date=May 20, 2011 |title=Quest Diagnostics settles Medi-Cal whistleblower suit |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-may-20-la-fi-quest-settlement-20110520-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-may-20-la-fi-quest-settlement-20110520-story.html |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite web |last=Karmasek |first=Jessica M. |date=May 20, 2011 |title=Harris: $323M SCAN settlement record recovery for Calif. program |url=https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510527871-harris-323m-scan-settlement-record-recovery-for-calif-program |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510527871-harris-323m-scan-settlement-record-recovery-for-calif-program |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |publisher=Legal Newsline}}

In 2012, Harris leveraged California's economic clout to obtain better terms in the National Mortgage Settlement against the nation's five largest mortgage servicers{{snd}}JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Bank.{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Barbara |last2=Kaplan |first2=Rebecca |date=March 5, 2012 |title=Kamala Harris' foreclosure deal a win for state |url=https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Kamala-Harris-foreclosure-deal-a-win-for-state-3381270.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106225939/http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Kamala-Harris-foreclosure-deal-a-win-for-state-3381270.php |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |access-date=June 18, 2012 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}} The mortgage firms were accused of illegally foreclosing on homeowners. After dismissing an initial offer of $2–4{{nbsp}}billion in relief for Californians, Harris withdrew from negotiations. The offer eventually was increased to $18.4{{nbsp}}billion in debt relief and $2{{nbsp}}billion in other financial assistance for California homeowners.{{cite news |last=Lazo |first=Alejandro |date=May 12, 2012 |title=Mortgage deal cash is divvied |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-may-12-la-fi-0512-harris-housing-20120512-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223155/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-may-12-la-fi-0512-harris-housing-20120512-story.html |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=June 18, 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite news |last=Willon |first=Phil |date=October 16, 2016 |title=$25-billion foreclosure settlement was a victory for Kamala Harris in California, but it wasn't perfect |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-harris-banks-20161016-snap-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712063845/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-harris-banks-20161016-snap-story.html |archive-date=July 12, 2020 |access-date=July 11, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times}}

Harris worked with Assembly speaker John Pérez and Senate president pro tem Darrell Steinberg in 2013 to introduce the Homeowner Bill of Rights, considered one of the strongest protections nationwide against aggressive foreclosure tactics.{{cite web |date=July 30, 2012 |title=Calif. attorney general Kamala Harris fights for struggling homeowners |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/calif-attorney-general-kamala-harris-fights-for-struggling-homeowners/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223141/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/calif-attorney-general-kamala-harris-fights-for-struggling-homeowners/ |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=June 18, 2012 |work=CBS News}} The Homeowner Bill of Rights banned the practices of "dual-tracking" (processing a modification and foreclosure at the same time) and robo-signing and provided homeowners with a single point of contact at their lending institution.{{cite web |date=July 12, 2012 |title=Gov. Brown signs Homeowner Bill of Rights |url=https://abc7news.com/archive/8732388// |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://abc7news.com/archive/8732388// |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |publisher=ABC 7 News}} Harris achieved multiple nine-figure settlements for California homeowners under the bill mostly for robo-signing and dual-track abuses, as well as prosecuting instances in which loan processors failed to promptly credit mortgage payments, miscalculated interest rates, and charged borrowers improper fees. Harris secured hundreds of millions in relief, including $268{{nbsp}}million from Ocwen Financial Corporation, $470{{nbsp}}million from HSBC, and $550{{nbsp}}million from SunTrust Banks.{{cite news |last=Sangree |first=Hudson |date=December 19, 2013 |title=Sacramento homeowners to receive $20 million under settlement with Ocwen Financial |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article2586881.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003310/https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article2586881.html |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee}}{{cite news |last=Smythe |first=Christie |date=February 5, 2016 |title=HSBC Reaches $470 Million Accord Over Foreclosure Abuses |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-05/hsbc-reaches-470-million-accord-over-foreclosure-abuses |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206082545/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-05/hsbc-reaches-470-million-accord-over-foreclosure-abuses |archive-date=February 6, 2016 |access-date=June 18, 2012 |work=Bloomberg}}{{cite web |last=Reckard |first=E. Scott |date=July 30, 2012 |title=SunTrust to pay nearly $1 billion to settle mortgage-abuse allegations |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-suntrust-mortgage-settlement-20140618-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619003539/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-suntrust-mortgage-settlement-20140618-story.html |archive-date=June 19, 2014 |access-date=June 18, 2012 |work=CBS News}}

From 2013 to 2015, Harris pursued financial recoveries for California's public employee and teacher's pensions, CalPERS and CalSTRS against various financial giants for misrepresentation in the sale of mortgage-backed securities. She secured multiple nine-figure recoveries for the state pensions, recovering about $193{{nbsp}}million from Citigroup, $210{{nbsp}}million from S&P, $300{{nbsp}}million from JPMorgan Chase, and over half a billion from Bank of America.{{cite news |last=Vigil |first=Jennifer |date=July 14, 2014 |title=California to Receive $200 Million in Citibank $7 Billion Mortgage Settlement |url=https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2014/07/14/california-receive-200-million-citibank-7-billion-mortgage-settlement/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611022704/https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2014/07/14/california-receive-200-million-citibank-7-billion-mortgage-settlement/ |archive-date=June 11, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=Times of San Diego}}{{cite news |last=Starkman |first=Dean |date=February 3, 2015 |title=S&P to pay $1.4 billion in claims it misled investors with rosy ratings |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sp-settles-20150203-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803235611/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sp-settles-20150203-story.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite news |date=November 19, 2013 |title=Public Employee Pensions Gets $299M In JPMorgan Chase Settlement |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/19/public-employee-pensions-gets-299m-in-jpmorgan-chase-settlement/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802184922/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/19/public-employee-pensions-gets-299m-in-jpmorgan-chase-settlement/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=CBS San Francisco}}{{cite news |date=August 22, 2014 |title=California To Receive Hundreds Of Millions in Bank Of America Settlement |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/08/22/california-to-receive-hundreds-of-millions-in-bank-of-america-settlement-mortgage-kamala-harris-department-of-justice/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802205844/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/08/22/california-to-receive-hundreds-of-millions-in-bank-of-america-settlement-mortgage-kamala-harris-department-of-justice/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=CBS San Francisco |location=Sacramento}}

In 2013, Harris declined to authorize a civil complaint drafted by state investigators who accused OneWest Bank, owned by an investment group headed by future U.S. treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin (then a private citizen), of "widespread violation" of California foreclosure laws.{{cite news |last=Fitzpatrick |first=David |date=January 4, 2017 |title=California investigators wanted to sue Mnuchin bank over foreclosures |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/news/mnuchin-onewest-california-memo/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924171801/https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/news/mnuchin-onewest-california-memo/index.html |archive-date=September 24, 2019 |access-date=July 4, 2020 |publisher=CNN}} During the 2016 elections, Harris was the only Democratic Senate candidate to receive a donation from Mnuchin. Harris was criticized for accepting the donation because Mnuchin purportedly profited from the subprime mortgage crisis through OneWest Bank;{{cite web |last=Chappell |first=Carmin |date=January 26, 2019 |title=Kamala Harris' complicated history with Wall Street will come under scrutiny in the 2020 race |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/26/kamala-harris-has-complicated-history-with-wall-street.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612094609/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/26/kamala-harris-has-complicated-history-with-wall-street.html |archive-date=June 12, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |publisher=CNBC}} she later voted against his confirmation as treasury secretary in February 2017. In 2019, Harris's campaign stated that the decision not to pursue prosecution hinged on the state's inability to subpoena OneWest. Her spokesman said, "There was no question OneWest conducted predatory lending, and Senator Harris believes they should be punished. Unfortunately, the law was squarely on their side and they were shielded from state subpoenas because they're a federal bank."{{cite news |last=Marinucci |first=Carla |date=October 22, 2019 |title=New book whacks Kamala Harris' AG record during housing crisis |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/22/kamala-harris-attorney-general-california-housing-053716 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120185534/https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/22/kamala-harris-attorney-general-california-housing-053716 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |access-date=December 5, 2020 |work=Politico}}

In 2014, Harris settled charges she had brought against rent-to-own retailer Aaron's on allegations of incorrect late charges, overcharging customers who paid off their contracts before the due date, and privacy violations. In the settlement, the retailer refunded $28.4{{nbsp}}million to California customers and paid $3.4{{nbsp}}million in civil penalties.{{cite web |last=Armental |first=Maria |date=October 13, 2014 |title=Aaron's to Settle Spyware Allegations in California |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/aarons-to-settle-spyware-allegations-in-california-1413226841 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223140/https://www.wsj.com/articles/aarons-to-settle-spyware-allegations-in-california-1413226841 |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=November 17, 2020 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}

In 2015, Harris obtained a $1.2 billion judgment against for-profit post-secondary education company Corinthian Colleges for false advertising and deceptive marketing targeting vulnerable, low-income students and misrepresenting job placement rates to students, investors, and accreditation agencies.{{cite web |date=October 10, 2013 |title=California lawsuit claims for-profit colleges misled students, investors |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2579497.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115203603/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2579497.html |archive-date=November 15, 2019 |access-date=April 28, 2020 |work=The Sacramento Bee}} The Court ordered Corinthian to pay $820{{nbsp}}million in restitution and another $350{{nbsp}}million in civil penalties.{{cite web |date=March 23, 2016 |title=Corinthian Colleges must pay nearly $1.2 billion for false advertising and lending practices |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-corinthian-colleges-judgment-false-advertising-20160323-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609164838/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-corinthian-colleges-judgment-false-advertising-20160323-story.html |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |access-date=April 28, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times}} That same year, Harris also secured a $60{{nbsp}}million settlement with JPMorgan Chase to resolve allegations of illegal debt collection with respect to credit card customers, with the bank also agreeing to change practices that violated California consumer protection laws by collecting incorrect amounts, selling bad credit card debt, and running a debt-collection mill that "robo-signed" court documents without first reviewing the files as it rushed to obtain judgments and wage garnishments. As part of the settlement, the bank was required to stop attempting to collect on more than 528,000 customer accounts.{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Don |date=November 2, 2015 |title=California settles debt collection suit with JPMorgan Chase |url=https://apnews.com/c0349c9e21374744b7010e7b5eff6e0c/california-settles-debt-collection-suit-jpmorgan-chase |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://apnews.com/c0349c9e21374744b7010e7b5eff6e0c/california-settles-debt-collection-suit-jpmorgan-chase |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 26, 2020 |work=Associated Press}}

In 2015, Harris opened an investigation of the Office of Ratepayer Advocates, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison regarding the closure of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. California state investigators searched the home of California utility regulator Michael Peevey and found handwritten notes that allegedly showed he had met with an Edison executive in Poland, where the two had negotiated the terms of the San Onofre settlement, leaving San Diego taxpayers with a $3.3{{nbsp}}billion bill to pay for the closure of the plant. The investigation was closed amidst Harris's 2016 run for the U.S. Senate position.{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Erik |date=November 20, 2014 |title=San Onofre Settlement Puts Ratepayers On Hook For $3.3B |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/nov/20/cpuc-approves-controversial-san-onofre-settlement-/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228171448/http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/nov/20/cpuc-approves-controversial-san-onofre-settlement-/ |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |access-date=February 28, 2017 |work=KPBS Public Media}}{{cite news |last=Sharma |first=Amita |date=April 5, 2016 |title=Critics Unhappy With Kamala Harris' Approach To San Onofre Probe |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/apr/05/california-critics-kamala-harris-san-onofre-probe/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228171626/http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/apr/05/california-critics-kamala-harris-san-onofre-probe/ |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |access-date=February 28, 2017 |work=KPBS Public Media}}

In February 2012, Harris announced an agreement with Apple, Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Research in Motion to mandate that apps sold in their stores display prominent privacy policies informing users of what private information they were sharing, and with whom.{{cite news |last1=Guynn |first1=Jessica |last2=Olivarez-Giles |first2=Nathan |date=February 22, 2012 |title=Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, tech giants agree on mobile app privacy |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-22-la-fi-tn-calif-ag-kamala-harris-agreement-with-apple-amazon-google-hp-microsoft-rim-on-app-privacy-policies-20120222-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233743/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-22-la-fi-tn-calif-ag-kamala-harris-agreement-with-apple-amazon-google-hp-microsoft-rim-on-app-privacy-policies-20120222-story.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} Facebook later joined the agreement. That summer, Harris announced the creation of a Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit to enforce laws related to cyber privacy, identity theft, and data breaches.{{cite news |last=Elinor |first=Mills |date=July 19, 2012 |title=California beefing up privacy-protection enforcement |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/california-beefing-up-privacy-protection-enforcement/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://www.cnet.com/news/california-beefing-up-privacy-protection-enforcement/ |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=CNet}} Later the same year, Harris notified a hundred mobile-app developers of their non-compliance with state privacy laws and asked them to create privacy policies or face a $2,500 fine each time a non-compliant app is downloaded by a resident of California.{{cite news |last=Thomson |first=Iain |date=October 31, 2012 |title=California begins crackdown on mobile app developers |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/31/california_privacy_crackdown_mobile/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701030458/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/31/california_privacy_crackdown_mobile/ |archive-date=July 1, 2018 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=The Register}}

In 2015, Harris secured two settlements with Comcast, one totaling $33{{nbsp}}million over allegations that it posted online the names, phone numbers and addresses of tens of thousands of customers who had paid for unlisted voice over internet protocol (VOIP) phone service and another $26{{nbsp}}million settlement to resolve allegations that it discarded paper records without first omitting or redacting private customer information.{{cite news |date=September 18, 2015 |title=Comcast agrees to pay $33 million in California privacy breach |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-comcast-california-settlement-20150918-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233822/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-comcast-california-settlement-20150918-story.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} Harris also settled with Houzz over allegations that the company recorded phone calls without notifying customers or employees. Houzz was forced to pay $175,000, destroy the recorded calls, and hire a chief privacy officer, the first time such a provision had been included in a settlement with the California Department of Justice.{{cite news |last=Paresh |first=Dave |date=October 2, 2015 |title=Why Kamala Harris is making start-up Houzz hire a "chief privacy officer" |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-houzz-privacy-20151002-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233837/https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-houzz-privacy-20151002-story.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}

In November 2013, Harris launched the California Department of Justice's Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry in partnership with district attorney offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Alameda County.{{cite web |last=Palta |first=Rina |date=November 20, 2013 |title=Calif. Attorney General Kamala Harris announces new division to stop ex-prisoners from committing new crimes |url=https://www.scpr.org/news/2013/11/20/40494/attorney-general-kamala-harris-announces-new-divis/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://www.scpr.org/news/2013/11/20/40494/attorney-general-kamala-harris-announces-new-divis/ |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 22, 2020}} In March 2015, Harris announced the creation of a pilot program in coordination with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department called "Back on Track LA". {{clarify span|reason=It is unclear how first part of sentence is related to the second part.|text=Like Back on Track, first time, non-violent, non-sexual, offenders aged between 18 and 30{{Failed verification|date=January 2021}} – 90 men participated in the pilot program for 24–30 months.|date=August 2024}} Assigned a case manager, participants received education through a partnership with the Los Angeles Community College District and job training services.{{cite news |last=Veiga |first=Alex |date=March 11, 2015 |title=Sheriff, AG Harris Unveil Program to Curb Recidivism |url=https://scvnews.com/sheriff-ag-harris-unveil-program-to-curb-recidivism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803011814/https://scvnews.com/sheriff-ag-harris-unveil-program-to-curb-recidivism/ |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |agency=SCV News}}

Harris's record on wrongful conviction cases as attorney general has been criticised by academics and activists.{{cite web |last=Bazelon |first=Lara |date=December 4, 2019 |title=Kamala Harris's Criminal Justice Record Killed Her Presidential Run |url=https://theappeal.org/kamala-harris-criminal-justice-record-killed-her-presidential-run/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817223213/https://theappeal.org/kamala-harris-criminal-justice-record-killed-her-presidential-run/ |archive-date=August 17, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=The Appeal}} Law professor Lara Bazelon contends Harris "weaponized technicalities to keep wrongfully convicted people behind bars rather than allow them new trials". After the 2011 United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Plata declared California's prisons so overcrowded they inflicted cruel and unusual punishment, Harris fought federal supervision, explaining "I have a client, and I don't get to choose my client".{{cite news |last=Bazelon |first=Emily |date=May 25, 2016 |title=Kamala Harris, a 'Top Cop' in the era of Black Lives Matter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/kamala-harris-a-top-cop-in-the-era-of-black-lives-matter.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301010318/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/kamala-harris-a-top-cop-in-the-era-of-black-lives-matter.html |archive-date=March 1, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=The New York Times Magazine}} Harris declined to take any position on criminal sentencing-reform initiatives Prop{{nbsp}}36 (2012) and Prop{{nbsp}}47 (2014), arguing it would be improper because her office prepares the ballot booklets. John Van de Kamp, a predecessor as attorney general, publicly disagreed with the rationale.

In September 2014, Harris's office argued unsuccessfully in a court filing against the early release of prisoners, citing the need for inmate firefighting labor. When the memo provoked headlines, Harris spoke out against it, saying she was unaware that her office had produced the memo.{{cite news |last=Tolan |first=Casey |date=August 1, 2019 |title=Democratic debate: Fact-checking the attacks on Kamala Harris' criminal justice record |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/01/democratic-debate-kamala-harris-tulsi-gabbard-joe-biden-fact-check/amp/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815030540/https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/01/democratic-debate-kamala-harris-tulsi-gabbard-joe-biden-fact-check/amp/ |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |agency=Mercury News}} Since the 1940s, qualified California inmates have the option of volunteering to receive comprehensive training from the Cal Fire in exchange for sentence reductions and more comfortable prison accommodations; prison firefighters receive about $2 a day, and another $1 when fighting fires.{{cite news |last=Singh |first=Lakshmi |date=November 18, 2018 |title=Serving Time And Fighting California Wildfires |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/11/18/669088658/serving-time-and-fighting-california-wildfires-for-2-a-day |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818111955/https://www.npr.org/2018/11/18/669088658/serving-time-and-fighting-california-wildfires-for-2-a-day |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=NPR.org |publisher=NPR}}

File:Kamala Harris Img64.jpg in 2013]]

{{Main|Hollingsworth v. Perry}}

In 2008, California voters passed Proposition{{nbsp}}8, a state constitutional amendment providing that only marriages "between a man and a woman" are valid. Legal challenges were made by opponents soon after its approval, and a pair of same-sex couples filed a lawsuit against the initiative in federal court in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger (later Hollingsworth v. Perry). In their 2010 campaigns, California attorney general Jerry Brown and Harris both pledged to not defend Prop{{nbsp}}8.{{cite news |last=Egelko |first=Bob |date=November 8, 2010 |title=Kamala Harris-Steve Cooley race could affect Prop. 8 |url=https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/11/08/kamala-harris-steve-cooley-race-could-affect-prop-8/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223145/https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/11/08/kamala-harris-steve-cooley-race-could-affect-prop-8/ |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=April 29, 2020 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}

After being elected, Harris declared her office would not defend the marriage ban, leaving the task to Prop{{nbsp}}8's proponents.{{cite news |last=Baume |first=Matt |date=December 2, 2010 |title=Kamala Harris Vows to Abandon Prop 8 |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/harris-vows-to-abandon-prop-8/1860319/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426211608/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/harris-vows-to-abandon-prop-8/1860319/ |archive-date=April 26, 2020 |access-date=April 29, 2020 |newspaper=NBC Bay Area |publisher=NBC News |location=San Francisco, CA}} In February 2013, Harris filed an amicus curiae brief, arguing Prop{{nbsp}}8 was unconstitutional and that the initiative's sponsors did not have legal standing to represent California's interests by defending the law in federal court.{{cite web |date=February 27, 2013 |title=Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief in Support of Marriage Equality |url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-files-us-supreme-court-brief-support-marriage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803072255/https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-files-us-supreme-court-brief-support-marriage |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=Office of the California Attorney General}} In June 2013, the Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that Prop{{nbsp}}8's proponents lacked standing to defend it in federal court.{{cite news |last=Savage |first=David G. |date=June 26, 2013 |title=Prop. 8: Supreme Court clears way for gay marriage in California |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223146/https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=December 3, 2013 |work=Los Angeles Times}} The next day Harris delivered a speech in downtown Los Angeles urging the Ninth Circuit to lift the stay banning same-sex marriages as soon as possible.{{cite web |last=Almendrala |first=Anna |date=June 27, 2013 |title=Kamala Harris On Prop 8 Decision: Same-Sex Marriages In California Should Begin Immediately |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-prop-8_n_3505292 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803093101/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-prop-8_n_3505292 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=HuffPost}} The stay was lifted two days later.{{cite news |last=Dolan |first=Maura |date=June 28, 2013 |title=Prop 8: Gay marriages can resume in California, court rules |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223146/https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=December 3, 2013 |work=Los Angeles Times}}

In 2014, Attorney General Kamala Harris co-sponsored legislation to ban the gay and trans panic defense in court,{{cite web |date=September 5, 2014 |title=California On Track To Become First State To Ban 'Gay Panic' Defense in Courtrooms |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/05/california-on-track-to-become-first-state-to-ban-gay-panic-defense/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007065248/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/05/california-on-track-to-become-first-state-to-ban-gay-panic-defense/ |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |access-date=August 21, 2020}} which passed and California became the first state with such legislation.{{cite news |last=Chokshi |first=Niraj |date=September 5, 2014 |title=California could become the first state to ban the 'gay panic' defense |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/09/05/california-could-become-the-first-state-to-ban-the-gay-panic-defense/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815002204/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/09/05/california-could-become-the-first-state-to-ban-the-gay-panic-defense/ |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |access-date=March 11, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US}}

In February 2014, Michelle-Lael Norsworthy, a transgender inmate at California's Mule Creek State Prison, filed a federal lawsuit based on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's failure to provide her with what she argued was medically necessary sex reassignment surgery (SRS).{{cite web |date=November 18, 2014 |title=Jeffrey B. Norsworthy (a/k/a Michelle-Lael B. Norsworthy), Plaintiff, v. Jeffrey Beard, et al., Defendants |url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/inadvfdco151116000237 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005111758/https://www.leagle.com/decision/inadvfdco151116000237 |archive-date=October 5, 2018 |access-date=August 2, 2017 |publisher=United States District Court, N.D. California, Case No. 14-cv-00695-JST}} In April 2015, a federal judge ordered the state to provide Norsworthy with SRS, finding that prison officials had been "deliberately indifferent to her serious medical need".{{cite news |last=Egelko |first=Bob |date=February 10, 2017 |title=Parolee has sex-reassignment surgery after years of battling state |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Former-California-inmate-finally-has-10924841.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803005158/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Former-California-inmate-finally-has-10924841.php |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |access-date=August 2, 2017 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle}}{{cite web |title=Norswrthy v. Beard et al 14-cv-00695- |url=https://transgenderlawcenter.org/norsworthy-v-beard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012202552/https://transgenderlawcenter.org/norsworthy-v-beard |archive-date=October 12, 2017 |access-date=October 12, 2017 |website=Transgender Law Center}} Harris, representing CDCR, appealed the order to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,{{cite news |last=St. John |first=Paige |date=May 21, 2015 |title=Inmate who won order for sex reassignment surgery recommended for parole |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-prison-board-approves-parole-for-sexreassignment-inmate-20150521-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731235653/http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-prison-board-approves-parole-for-sexreassignment-inmate-20150521-story.html |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |access-date=August 2, 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} arguing that psychotherapy,{{cite web |last=Strangio |first=Chase |date=February 5, 2019 |title=Op-ed: I'm Not Ready to Trust Kamala Harris on LGBTQ+ Issues |url=https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2019/2/04/kamala-harris-lgbtq-trans-prison |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815002218/https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2019/2/04/kamala-harris-lgbtq-trans-prison |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=Out}} as well as the hormone therapy Norsworthy had been receiving for her gender dysphoria over the preceding fourteen years, were sufficient medical treatment,{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Chris |date=April 10, 2015 |title=Harris appeals order granting gender reassignment to trans inmate |url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/04/10/harris-appeals-order-granting-trans-inmate-gender-reassignment/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013013117/http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/04/10/harris-appeals-order-granting-trans-inmate-gender-reassignment/ |archive-date=October 13, 2017 |access-date=October 12, 2017 |newspaper=Washington Blade |ref=1}} and there was "no evidence that Norsworthy is in serious, immediate physical or emotional danger". While Harris defended the state's position in court, she said she ultimately pushed the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to change their policy.{{cite web |last=Gilchrist |first=Tracy E. |date=September 20, 2019 |title=Kamala Harris on Denying Gender Affirmation Surgery to Trans Inmates |url=https://www.advocate.com/election/2019/9/20/kamala-harris-denying-gender-affirmation-surgery-trans-inmates |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206155324/https://www.advocate.com/election/2019/9/20/kamala-harris-denying-gender-affirmation-surgery-trans-inmates |archive-date=December 6, 2019 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=Advocate}} In August 2015, while the state's appeal was pending, Norsworthy was released on parole, obviating the state's duty to provide her with inmate medical care{{cite web |last=Barmann |first=Jay |date=March 21, 2016 |title=Former Trans Inmate Michelle-Lael Norsworthy Speaks Out About Her New Transition, To Civilian Life |url=https://sfist.com/2016/03/21/former_trans_inmate_michelle-lael_n/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105215549/http://sfist.com/2016/03/21/former_trans_inmate_michelle-lael_n.php |archive-date=November 5, 2017 |access-date=August 2, 2017 |website=SFist |publisher=Gothamist |location=San Francisco, California}} and rendering the case moot.{{cite magazine |last=Brown |first=Annie |date=May 17, 2016 |title=Michelle's Case |url=https://story.californiasunday.com/michelle-lael-norsworthy-sex-reassignment-prison |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803005634/https://story.californiasunday.com/michelle-lael-norsworthy-sex-reassignment-prison |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |access-date=August 2, 2017 |magazine=The California Sunday Magazine |publisher=Emerson Collective |location=San Francisco, CA}} In 2019, Harris stated that she took "full responsibility" for briefs her office filed in Norsworthy's case and others involving access to gender-affirming surgery for trans inmates.{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Chris |date=January 21, 2019 |title=Harris takes 'full responsibility' for briefs against surgery for trans inmates |url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2019/01/21/harris-takes-full-responsibility-for-briefs-against-surgery-for-trans-inmates/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224145320/https://www.washingtonblade.com/2019/01/21/harris-takes-full-responsibility-for-briefs-against-surgery-for-trans-inmates/ |archive-date=December 24, 2020 |access-date=December 24, 2020 |work=Washington Blade |language=en-US}}

File:Attorney_General_Kamala_Harris_visits_Peterson_Middle_School_to_discuss_online_safety_and_cyberbullying_06.jpg) in 2010]]

In 2011, Harris urged criminal penalties for parents of truant children as she did as District Attorney of San Francisco, allowing the court to defer judgment if the parent agreed to a mediation period to get their child back in school. Critics charged that local prosecutors implementing her directives were overzealous in their enforcement and Harris's policy adversely affected families.{{cite web |last=Redden |first=Molly |date=March 29, 2019 |title=The Human Costs Of Kamala Harris' War On Truancy |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-truancy-arrests-2020-progressive-prosecutor_n_5c995789e4b0f7bfa1b57d2e |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200525165327/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-truancy-arrests-2020-progressive-prosecutor_n_5c995789e4b0f7bfa1b57d2e |archive-date=May 25, 2020 |access-date=May 25, 2020 |website=HuffPost}} In 2013, Harris issued a report titled "In School + On Track", which found that more than 250,000 elementary school students in the state were "chronically absent" and the statewide truancy rate for elementary students in the 2012–2013 school year was nearly thirty percent, at a cost of nearly $1.4{{nbsp}}billion to school districts, since funding is based on attendance rates.{{cite web |title=In School + On Track: Attorney General's 2013 Report on California's Elementary School Truancy and Absenteeism Crisis |url=https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/tr/truancy_2013.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422013023/https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/tr/truancy_2013.pdf |archive-date=April 22, 2020 |access-date=May 25, 2020 |website=California Attorney General}}

Harris prioritized environmental protection as attorney general, first securing a $44{{nbsp}}million settlement to resolve all damages and costs associated with the Cosco Busan oil spill, in which a container ship collided with San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and spilled 50,000{{nbsp}}gallons of bunker fuel into the San Francisco Bay.{{cite news |last1=Fimrite |first1=Peter |date=September 19, 2011 |title=$44 million settles Cosco Busan oil spill in bay |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/44-million-settles-Cosco-Busan-oil-spill-in-bay-2308869.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223153/https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/44-million-settles-Cosco-Busan-oil-spill-in-bay-2308869.php |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 8, 2020 |work=SFGate}} In the aftermath of the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which deposited about 140,000{{nbsp}}gallons of crude oil off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, Harris toured the coastline and directed her office's resources and attorneys to investigate possible criminal violations.{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Randol |last2=Bell |first2=Jordan |last3=Osborn |first3=Lisa |date=June 4, 2015 |title=State Attorney General investigates whether oil spill was result of criminal activity |url=https://www.kcbx.org/post/state-attorney-general-investigates-whether-oil-spill-was-result-criminal-activity |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110080336/http://www.kcbx.org/post/state-attorney-general-investigates-whether-oil-spill-was-result-criminal-activity |archive-date=November 10, 2018 |access-date=November 9, 2018 |work=KCBXfm}} Thereafter, operator Plains All American Pipeline was indicted on 46 criminal charges related to the spill, with one employee indicted on three criminal charges.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Doug |last2=Mejia |first2=Brittny |date=May 17, 2016 |title=Pipeline company indicted in 2015 Santa Barbara County oil spill |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-county-oil-spill-20160517-snap-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110120122/http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-county-oil-spill-20160517-snap-story.html |archive-date=November 10, 2018 |access-date=November 9, 2018 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} In 2019, a Santa Barbara jury returned a verdict finding Plains guilty of failing to properly maintain its pipeline and another eight misdemeanor charges; they were sentenced to pay over $3{{nbsp}}million in fines and assessments.{{Cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=Steve |last2=McWilliams |first2=Garry |date=September 8, 2018 |title=Plains All American Pipeline convicted in 2015 California oil spill |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-plains-all-amer-oilspill-court/plains-all-american-pipeline-convicted-in-2015-california-oil-spill-idUSKCN1LN2SN |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-plains-all-amer-oilspill-court/plains-all-american-pipeline-convicted-in-2015-california-oil-spill-idUSKCN1LN2SN |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |newspaper=Reuters}}

From 2015 to 2016, Harris secured multiple multi-million-dollar settlements with fuel service companies Chevron, BP, ARCO, Phillips 66, and ConocoPhillips to resolve allegations they failed to properly monitor the hazardous materials in its underground storage tanks used to store gasoline for retail sale at hundreds of California gas stations.{{cite web |last=Veklerov |first=Kimberley |date=September 16, 2011 |title=Chevron settlement helps Sacramento Co. district attorney avoid job cuts |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2011/09/07/chevron-sacramento-district-attorney-job.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317094812/http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2011/09/07/chevron-sacramento-district-attorney-job.html |archive-date=March 17, 2012 |access-date=May 31, 2020 |work=Sacramento Business Journal}}{{cite news |last=Veklerov |first=Kimberley |date=November 17, 2016 |title=BP, Arco to pay $14 million in suit over gas tanks in California |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BP-Arco-to-pay-14-million-in-suit-over-gas-10621426.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223146/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BP-Arco-to-pay-14-million-in-suit-over-gas-10621426.php |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}{{cite web |last=Siciliano |first=Stephen |date=May 10, 2015 |title=ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66 to Spend $11.5 Million in California Tank Settlement |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/conocophillips-phillips-66-to-spend-115-million-in-california-tank-settlement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/conocophillips-phillips-66-to-spend-115-million-in-california-tank-settlement |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |work=Bloomberg Law}} In summer 2016, automaker Volkswagen AG agreed to pay up to $14.7{{nbsp}}billion to settle a raft of claims related to so-called Defeat Devices used to cheat emissions standards on its diesel cars while actually emitting up to forty times the levels of harmful nitrogen oxides allowed under state and federal law.{{cite web |last=Egelko |first=Bob |date=September 1, 2016 |title=Judge approves Volkswagen-state settlement over diesel cheating |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Judge-approves-Volkswagen-state-settlement-over-9198583.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223152/https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Judge-approves-Volkswagen-state-settlement-over-9198583.php |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=April 28, 2020 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}} Harris and the chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary D. Nichols, announced that California would receive $1.18{{nbsp}}billion as well as another $86{{nbsp}}million paid to the state of California in civil penalties.

California's Prop 69 (2004) required law enforcement to collect DNA samples from any adult arrested for a felony and from individuals arrested for certain crimes. In 2012, Harris announced that the California Department of Justice had improved its DNA testing capabilities such that samples stored at the state's crime labs could now be analyzed four times faster, within thirty days. Accordingly, Harris reported that the Rapid DNA Service Team within the Bureau of Forensic Services had cleared California's DNA backlog for the first time.{{cite web |last=Megerian |first=Chris |date=January 25, 2012 |title=California attorney general says DNA backlog is gone |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/01/california-dna-evidence-attorney-general.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802232618/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/01/california-dna-evidence-attorney-general.html |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} Harris's office was later awarded a $1.6{{nbsp}}million grant from the Manhattan District Attorney's initiative to eliminate the backlogs of untested rape kits.{{cite web |date=September 17, 2015 |title=Grant awarded to test rape kits |url=https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/crime/grant-awarded-to-test-rape-kits/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629145222/https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/crime/grant-awarded-to-test-rape-kits/ |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=Turlock Journal}}

In 2015, Harris conducted a 90-day review of implicit bias in policing and police use of deadly force. In April 2015, Harris introduced the first of its kind "Principled Policing: Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias" training, designed in conjunction with Stanford University psychologist and professor Jennifer Eberhardt, to help law enforcement officers overcome barriers to neutral policing and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the community. All Command-level staff received the training. The training was part of a package of reforms introduced within the California Department of Justice, which also included additional resources deployed to increase the recruitment and hiring of diverse special agents, an expanded role for the department to investigate officer-related shooting investigations and community policing.{{cite news |date=April 17, 2015 |title=California Attorney General Launches Top-Down Policing Reforms |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/10493776/california-attorney-general-launches-top-down-policing-reforms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://www.kqed.org/news/10493776/california-attorney-general-launches-top-down-policing-reforms |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |work=KQED}} The same year, Harris's California Department of Justice became the first statewide agency in the country to require all its police officers to wear body cameras.{{cite news |date=June 27, 2019 |title=Harris on requiring police to wear body cameras |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/live-updates/general-election/fact-checking-the-first-democratic-debate/harris-on-requiring-police-to-wear-body-cameras/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614013255/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/live-updates/general-election/fact-checking-the-first-democratic-debate/harris-on-requiring-police-to-wear-body-cameras/?arc404=true |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Harris also announced a new state law requiring every law enforcement agency in California to collect, report, and publish expanded statistics on how many people are shot, seriously injured or killed by peace officers throughout the state.{{cite web |date=December 30, 2015 |title=State to Improve Police Use-of-Force Data Next Year Under New Law |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/10813726/state-to-improve-police-use-of-force-data-next-year-under-new-law-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802185109/https://www.kqed.org/news/10813726/state-to-improve-police-use-of-force-data-next-year-under-new-law-2 |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=KQED}}

File:Kamala_Harris_Delivers_Remarks_on_50th_Anniversary_of_the_Signing_of_the_Civil_Rights_Act_03.jpg chief Charlie Beck, Harris, and civil rights lawyer Constance L. Rice celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.]]

Later that year, Harris appealed a judge's order to take over the prosecution of a high-profile mass murder case and to eject all 250 prosecutors from the Orange County district attorney's office over allegations of misconduct by Republican D.A. Tony Rackauckas. Rackauckas was alleged to have illegally employed jailhouse informants and concealed evidence.{{cite news |last=Powell |first=Sidney |date=October 17, 2016 |title=California AG Appeals Booting Of Orange County DA From Mass Murder Case Over Misconduct Allegations |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/scott-dekraai-case_n_6911258 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802193345/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/scott-dekraai-case_n_6911258 |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=May 1, 2020 |website=HuffPost}} Harris noted that it was unnecessary to ban all 250 prosecutors from working on the case, as only a few had been directly involved, later promising a narrower criminal investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation into Rackauckas in December 2016, but he was not re-elected.{{cite news |last=Saavedra |first=Tony |date=February 25, 2019 |title=New Orange County DA willing to undergo federal probation to end 'snitch' investigation |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2019/02/25/new-orange-county-da-willing-to-undergo-federal-probation-to-end-snitch-investigation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223145/https://www.ocregister.com/2019/02/25/new-orange-county-da-willing-to-undergo-federal-probation-to-end-snitch-investigation/ |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 1, 2020 |website=Orange County Register}}

In 2016, Harris announced a patterns and practices investigation into purported civil rights violations and use of excessive force by the two largest law enforcement agencies in Kern County, California, the Bakersfield Police Department and the Kern County Sheriff's Department.{{cite news |last1=Laughland |first1=Oliver |last2=Swaine |first2=Jon |date=December 22, 2016 |title=Two 'deadliest' police departments in US to be investigated in California |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/22/california-police-kern-county-investigation-kamala-harris |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530073210/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/22/california-police-kern-county-investigation-kamala-harris |archive-date=May 30, 2020 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |website=The Guardian}} Labeled the "deadliest police departments in America" in a five-part Guardian expose, a separate investigation commissioned by the ACLU and submitted to the California Department of Justice corroborated reports of police using excessive force.{{cite news |last1=Laughland |first1=Oliver |last2=Swaine |first2=Jon |date=November 9, 2017 |title=ACLU says violence at Kern County police departments violated rights |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11631037/aclu-report-slams-central-valley-law-enforcement-agencies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://www.kqed.org/news/11631037/aclu-report-slams-central-valley-law-enforcement-agencies |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |website=The Guardian}}

In 2016, Harris's office seized videos and other information from the apartment of an antiabortion activist who had made secret recordings and then accused Planned Parenthood doctors of illegally selling fetal tissue. Harris had announced that her office would investigate the activist in the summer of 2015. She was facing increasing criticism for not taking public action by the time Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the activist.{{cite web |last=St John |first=Paige |date=April 6, 2016 |title=State attorney general seizes videos behind Planned Parenthood sting |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-attorney-general-seizes-planned-parenthood-videos-20160405-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201022162320/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-attorney-general-seizes-planned-parenthood-videos-20160405-story.html |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |access-date=October 22, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{cite web |last=Breningstall |first=Jeremy |date=March 30, 2018 |title=How anti-abortion activists used undercover Planned Parenthood videos to further a political cause |url=https://graphics.latimes.com/planned-parenthood-videos/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008232025/https://graphics.latimes.com/planned-parenthood-videos/ |archive-date=October 8, 2020 |access-date=October 22, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times}}

In 2011, Harris obtained a guilty plea and a four-year prison sentence from a stalker who used Facebook and social engineering techniques to illegally access the private photographs of women whose social media accounts he hijacked. Harris commented that the Internet had "opened up a new frontier for crime".{{cite web |last=Mandell |first=Nina |date=July 24, 2011 |title=Facebook stalker turned email hacker sentenced to four years in prison; sent nude photos of victims |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/facebook-stalker-years-prison-article-1.156894 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223522/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/facebook-stalker-years-prison-article-1.156894 |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=Daily News}} Later that year, Harris created the eCrime Unit within the California Department of Justice, a 20-attorney unit targeting technology crimes.{{cite web |last=Margie |first=Shafer |date=December 11, 2011 |title=California Attorney General Creates eCrime Unit |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/12/13/california-attorney-general-creates-ecrime-unit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003305/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/12/13/california-attorney-general-creates-ecrime-unit/ |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=KPIX |location=San Jose}} In 2015, several purveyors of so-called revenge porn sites based in California were arrested, charged with felonies, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.{{cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Sara Ashley |date=July 2, 2015 |title=Revenge porn hacker pleads gulty, faces 7 years |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/02/technology/revenge-porn-hacker-charlie-evens/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223529/https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/02/technology/revenge-porn-hacker-charlie-evens/index.html |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=CNN |location=New York}}{{cite web |last=Larry |first=Gordon |date=February 2, 2014 |title=Oklahoma man arrested in alleged 'revenge porn' extortion |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-xpm-2014-feb-14-la-me-ln-porn-extortion-20140214-story.html/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223532/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-xpm-2014-feb-14-la-me-ln-porn-extortion-20140214-story.html |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times}} In the first prosecution of its kind in the United States, Kevin Bollaert was convicted on 21 counts of identity theft and six counts of extortion and sentenced to 18 years in prison.{{cite web |last=Littlefield |first=Dana |date=April 3, 2015 |title=Revenge porn site operator gets 18 years |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-kevin-bollaert-revenge-porn-case-sentencing-2015apr03-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223447/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-kevin-bollaert-revenge-porn-case-sentencing-2015apr03-story.html |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=The San Diego Union-Tribune}} Harris brought up these cases when California Congresswoman Katie Hill was targeted for similar cyber exploitation by her ex-husband and forced to resign in late 2019.{{cite web |last=Clancy |first=Molly Hensley |date=October 28, 2019 |title=Let's Also Speak the Truth": Kamala Harris Said Katie Hill is a Victim of "Cyber-Exploitation |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/kamala-harris-katie-hill-resign-sex-life-cyber-exploitation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223451/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/kamala-harris-katie-hill-resign-sex-life-cyber-exploitation |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=Buzzfeed News |publisher=BuzzFeed}}

In 2016, Harris announced the arrest of Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer on felony charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. The warrant alleged that 99 percent of Backpage's revenue was directly attributable to prostitution-related ads, many of which involved victims of sex trafficking, including children under the age of 18.{{cite news |date=December 23, 2016 |title=California attorney general pursues new pimping charges against Backpage site |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/23/backpage-new-pimping-charge-kamala-harris-california/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418215943/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/23/backpage-new-pimping-charge-kamala-harris-california |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |access-date=May 12, 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press}} The pimping charge against Ferrer was dismissed by the California courts in 2016 on the grounds of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, but in 2018, Ferrer pleaded guilty in California to money laundering and agreed to give evidence against the former co-owners of Backpage.{{cite news |last=Jackman |first=Tom |date=April 13, 2018 |title=Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer pleads guilty in three states, agrees to testify against other website officials |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/13/backpage-ceo-carl-ferrer-pleads-guilty-in-three-states-agrees-to-testify-against-other-website-officials/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222131341/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/13/backpage-ceo-carl-ferrer-pleads-guilty-in-three-states-agrees-to-testify-against-other-website-officials/ |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |access-date=April 22, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Ferrer simultaneously pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to facilitate prostitution in Texas state court and Arizona federal court.{{Cite news |last=Thompson |first=Don |date=April 12, 2018 |title=Backpage.com CEO pleads guilty to California money charges |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-backpagecom-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-california-money-charges-2018-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425230047/http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-backpagecom-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-california-money-charges-2018-4 |archive-date=April 25, 2018 |access-date=April 13, 2018 |work=Business Insider |agency=Associated Press}} Under pressure, Backpage announced that it was removing its adult section from all its U.S. sites.{{Cite news |last=Hawkins |first=Derek |date=January 10, 2017 |title=Backpage.com shuts down adult services ads after relentless pressure from authorities |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/10/backpage-com-shuts-down-adult-services-ads-after-relentless-pressure-from-authorities/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110151217/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/10/backpage-com-shuts-down-adult-services-ads-after-relentless-pressure-from-authorities/ |archive-date=January 10, 2017 |access-date=January 11, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Harris welcomed the move, saying, "I look forward to them shutting down completely."{{cite news |last=Wire |first=Sarah D. |date=January 10, 2017 |title=Sen. Kamala Harris praises closure of Backpage.com adult section |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201701-htmlstory.html#sen-kamala-harris-praises-closure-of-backpage-com-adult-section |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421153141/https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201701-htmlstory.html#sen-kamala-harris-praises-closure-of-backpage-com-adult-section |archive-date=April 21, 2020 |access-date=April 22, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} The investigations continued after she became a senator, and, in April 2018, Backpage and affiliated sites were seized by federal law enforcement.

File:101_Gang_Members_Arrested_in_Central_Valley_07.jpg, California.]]

During her term as attorney general, Harris's office oversaw major investigations and prosecutions targeting transnational criminal organizations for their involvement in violent crime, fraud schemes, drug trafficking, and smuggling. Significant arrests and seizures (of weapons, drugs, cash, and other assets) under Harris targeted the Tijuana Cartel (2011),{{cite web |last=Dean |first=Monica |date=February 18, 2011 |title=Murder-for-Hire Plot Tied to Cartel: Feds |url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/cartel-suspected-in-murder-for-hire-plot/1916017/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003316/https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/cartel-suspected-in-murder-for-hire-plot/1916017/ |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=NBC San Diego |publisher=NBC News}} the Nuestra Familia, Norteños, and the Vagos Motorcycle Club (2011),{{cite web |date=May 4, 2011 |title=17 Charged in East Bay Meth, Weapons Bust |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/05/04/17-charged-in-east-bay-meth-weapons-bust/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802213234/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/05/04/17-charged-in-east-bay-meth-weapons-bust/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=CBS Bay Area}}{{cite news |last=McKinley |first=Jesse |date=June 8, 2011 |title=California Raids Net Dozens Suspected of Being Gang Members |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/us/09gang.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731053909/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/us/09gang.html |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=The New York Times}}{{cite web |date=October 6, 2011 |title=Vagos gang crackdown nets arrests, weapons, drugs' |url=https://www.sbsun.com/2011/10/06/vagos-gang-crackdown-nets-arrests-weapons-drugs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802213443/https://www.sbsun.com/2011/10/06/vagos-gang-crackdown-nets-arrests-weapons-drugs/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=Digital First Media |newspaper=The San Bernardino Sun}} the Norteños (2015),{{cite web |date=October 1, 2015 |title=52 arrested in Tulare County Norteño gang sweep |url=https://abc30.com/norteo-gang-norteno-tulare-county-visalia/1012269/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802203259/https://abc30.com/norteo-gang-norteno-tulare-county-visalia/1012269/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=KFSN-TV}}{{cite web |date=May 28, 2015 |title=75 arrests, guns and drugs seized in Merced gang take down |url=https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/crime/article22510827.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003309/https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/crime/article22510827.html |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=Merced Sun-Star}} the Crips (2015),{{cite web |date=August 10, 2015 |title=32 Gang Members, Associates Indicted In $14.3M ID Theft, Tax Fraud Scheme |url=https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/10/32-gang-members-associates-indicted-in-14-3m-id-theft-tax-fraud-scheme/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802225818/https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/10/32-gang-members-associates-indicted-in-14-3m-id-theft-tax-fraud-scheme/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=CBS}} the Mexican Mafia (2016),{{cite web |date=June 9, 2016 |title=Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Bust of Corona Varrio Locos and La Eme Gangs Operating in Riverside County |url=https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_safety/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-bust-of-corona-varrio-locos-and-la-eme-gangs/article_18de916c-2e95-11e6-84b8-cb0981f66017.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803054810/https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_safety/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-bust-of-corona-varrio-locos-and-la-eme-gangs/article_18de916c-2e95-11e6-84b8-cb0981f66017.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=Highland Community News}} and businesses in the Los Angeles Fashion District accused of operating a major money-laundering hub for Mexican narcotics traffickers (2014).{{cite news |last=Gorman |first=Steve |date=September 10, 2014 |title=Los Angeles Fashion District raided in drug money-laundering probe |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fashion-raids/los-angeles-fashion-district-raided-in-drug-money-laundering-probe-idUSKBN0H52GZ20140910 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803004716/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fashion-raids/los-angeles-fashion-district-raided-in-drug-money-laundering-probe-idUSKBN0H52GZ20140910 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |work=Reuters}}

In summer 2012, Harris signed an accord with the Attorney General of Mexico, Marisela Morales, to improve coordination of law enforcement resources targeting transnational gangs engaging in the sale and trafficking of human beings across the San Ysidro border crossing. The accord called for closer integration on investigations between offices and sharing best practices.{{cite web |date=October 1, 2012 |title=Porous Mexican Border Allows Alarming Trend in Human Trafficking into US |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/porous-mexican-border-allows-alarming-trend-in-human-trafficking-into-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://www.foxnews.com/world/porous-mexican-border-allows-alarming-trend-in-human-trafficking-into-us |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |work=Fox News}} In 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law two bills advanced by Harris to combat human trafficking.{{cite web |date=September 24, 2012 |title=Gov. Jerry Brown signs bills targeting human trafficking |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/gov-jerry-brown-signs-bills-targeting-human-trafficking.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/gov-jerry-brown-signs-bills-targeting-human-trafficking.html |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times}} In November, Harris presented a report titled "The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012" at a symposium attended by U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Attorney General Morales, outlining the growing prevalence of human trafficking in the state, and highlighting the involvement of transnational gangs in the practice.{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Kamala |title=The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012 |url=https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/ht/human-trafficking-2012.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719180010/https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/ht/human-trafficking-2012.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=California Department of Justice}}{{Cite news |last=Simmonds |first=Yussuf |date=November 21, 2012 |title=Attorney General Harris takes on Human Trafficking |url=https://lasentinel.net/attorney-general-harris-takes-on-human-trafficking.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://lasentinel.net/attorney-general-harris-takes-on-human-trafficking.html |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |access-date=April 28, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Sentinel}}

In early 2014, Harris issued a report titled, "Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Crime",{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Kamala |date=March 2014 |title=Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime |url=https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/toc/report_2014.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802200557/https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/toc/report_2014.pdf |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=California Department of Justice}} addressing the prominent role of drug, weapons, and human trafficking, money laundering, and technology crimes employed by various drug cartels from Mexico, Armenian Power, 18th Street Gang, and MS-13 and offering recommendations for state and local law enforcement to combat the criminal activity.{{cite web |last=White |first=Jeremy |date=March 20, 2014 |title=California Attorney General Kamala Harris targets transnational organized crime |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2593534.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816235149/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2593534.html |archive-date=August 16, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=The Sacramento Bee}} Later that year, Harris led a bipartisan delegation of state attorneys general to Mexico City to discuss transnational crime with Mexican prosecutors.{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Melanie |date=February 19, 2014 |title=Atty. Gen. Harris announces trip to Mexico to address gang issue |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2014-feb-19-la-me-pc-kamala-harris-20140219-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803235728/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2014-feb-19-la-me-pc-kamala-harris-20140219-story.html |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times}} Harris then convened a summit focused on the use of technology to fight transnational organized crime with state and federal officials from the U.S., Mexico, and El Salvador.{{cite web |date=March 17, 2014 |title=States' Attorneys General to Powwow with Mexican Counterparts |url=https://scvnews.com/states-attorneys-general-to-powwow-with-mexican-counterparts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803004613/https://scvnews.com/states-attorneys-general-to-powwow-with-mexican-counterparts/ |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2020 |publisher=SCV News}}

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Attorney General of California

Harris, Kamala

Harris, Kamala