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Beginning July 1, 2027, this bill would overhaul how the Office of the Attorney General charges state agencies for legal services, replacing the current flat-rate internal service fund model with a system based on actual time spent, billed in increments of no more than fifteen minutes at hourly rates set by attorney or paralegal category. Each year, the Attorney General's office and every state agency that uses its legal services would agree on an estimated annual cost — called a retainer — which would be included in the governor's budget proposal, appropriated by the Legislature, and then transferred by each agency into a new Legal Services Retainer Fund; if an agency's legal costs exceed its retainer balance, the agency would have to cover the difference from its own existing budget. The bill would also create a Legal Services and Litigation Program, funded by direct legislative appropriations, to cover the costs of defending the state in civil lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of state laws, involve matters of statewide importance, or are not covered by the state's Risk Management Fund; the Attorney General would be required to notify legislative leaders for cases expected to cost between $100,000 and $500,000, and to notify the Legislative Management Committee — in a closed meeting — for cases expected to exceed $500,000. This version adds the requirement that such Legislative Management Committee briefings on high-cost litigation be held in closed session and specifies that the Risk Management Fund is one basis for determining which cases qualify for the new litigation program.