Government
Jan. 5, 2017
Environmental lawyer to serve as acting state attorney general
Outgoing Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has named Kathleen A. Kenealy as chief deputy attorney general.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO — Outgoing Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has named Kathleen A. Kenealy as chief deputy attorney general.
Kenealy will serve as acting attorney general while the state Legislature considers the nomination of U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles.
A former environmental attorney, Kenealy is a 13-year veteran with the California Department of Justice who most recently served as chief assistant in the Civil Law Division.
Harris was sworn into the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, after appointing Kenealy. Shortly after, Gov. Jerry Brown officially nominated Becerra.
The state Legislature now has 90 days to approve the nomination. But given the enthusiasm leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature have shown for Becerra since Brown first announced his choice on Dec. 1, it is likely they will do so earlier.
David R. Pettit, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said he hopes Kenealy will have a prominent role under Becerra.
"There is talk in D.C. of attempting to weaken the federal Clean Air Act and go backwards on the Clean Water Act and on clean power plants," Pettit said. "That is going to be an issue Kamala Harris didn't have to confront, but the new attorney general will."
Pettit worked with Kenealy in the late 1990s at a Los Angeles civil litigation firm then known as Caldwell Leslie Newcombe & Pettit. He said Kenealy is a smart, tough litigator who would be "ideally situated" to help Becerra defend California's environmental policies.
She joined the Natural Resources Law Section of the attorney general's office in 2003. Kenealy was involved in California's fight to set its own greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks. In 2009, she successfully defended the state's emissions limits on off-road vehicles in federal court.
Kenealy replaces Nathan Barankin, who served as chief deputy for the past four years. Barankin is now Harris' chief of staff in the Senate.
malcolm_maclachlan@dailyjournal.com
Malcolm Maclachlan
malcolm_maclachlan@dailyjournal.com
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