Fletcher, Chief Justice.
Governor Sonny Perdue filed a petition for writ of mandamus seeking to compel Attorney General Thurbert Baker to dismiss an appeal filed on behalf of the State of Georgia in a case involving legislative reapportionment under the Voting Rights Act. The trial court denied the Governor’s petition, ruling that the Attorney General had exclusive authority to decide whether to continue the State’s efforts to enforce a law enacted by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. The issue presented here is whether the Attorney General has the authority under state law to appeal a court decision invalidating a state redistricting statute despite the Governor’s order to dismiss the appeal. Because there is constitutional authority for the General Assembly to vest the Attorney General with specific duties and a state statute vested the Attorney General with the authority to litigate in the voting rights action, we hold that the Attorney General had the power to seek a final determination on the validity of the State Senate redistricting statute under the federal Voting Rights Act. Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s ruling that the Governor had no clear legal right to order the Attorney General to dismiss the appeal filed on behalf of the State of Georgia in the United States Supreme Court.
[2] PRIOR PROCEEDINGS
Following the 2000 decennial census, the General Assembly enacted a bill that reapportioned State Senate districts and Governor Roy Barnes signed the bill into law as Act 1EX6.1 The State then filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking preclearance of the Senate redistricting plan under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a prerequisite to enforcing the law.2 The State sought a declaratory judgment that the plan did not have the purpose or effect of “ ‘denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color’ or membership in a language minority group.”3 Denying the State’s request for a declaratory judgment, the district court held that the State failed to meet its burden of proof under Section 5 that the State Senate redistricting plan did not have a retrogressive effect on the voting strength of African-American voters in Georgia.4 It denied preclearance.
The General Assembly enacted a revised Senate redistricting plan, Act 444, and the State submitted the new plan to the district court for preclearance.5 In June 2002, the three-judge district court approved the revised Senate redistricting plan.6 Act 444, which was not codified into law, expressly provides that its senatorial districts are contingent and shall take effect only if the original Senate redistricting plan cannot lawfully be implemented under the federal Voting Rights Act.7 “This Act [444] does not repeal or amend the provisions of the special session Senate redistricting plan [in Act 1EX6]; and those provisions are merely suspended pending a final determination of their enforceability under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.”8 To obtain a final determination, the Attorney General filed a direct appeal in July 2002 to the United States Supreme Court challenging the federal district court’s order rejecting the original Senate redistricting plan. The Supreme Court granted review in January 2003.9
[3] Ten days later, soon after being installed into office, Governor Perdue requested that Attorney General Baker dismiss the appeal. The Governor contended that the Georgia Constitution vests his office with the chief executive powers to dismiss an appeal pending in the U.S. Supreme Court when the State of Georgia is the sole-named appellant.10 The Attorney General disagreed, citing constitutional provisions that vest his office with exclusive authority in all legal matters related to the executive branch in state government.* 11 Faced with this refusal, the Governor sought a writ of mandamus to require the Attorney General to dismiss the pending appeal in the Supreme Court. The trial court denied the Governor’s petition, and he sought review in this Court.
While this appeal was pending, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Georgia v. Ashcroft.12 The Court vacated the district court’s judgment and remanded the case for the district court to reweigh the facts in light of the Supreme Court’s explication of retrogression. The voting rights case is now pending in the district court.
On the same day the Supreme Court issued its decision, the Attorney General moved to dismiss this appeal as moot since the relief that the Governor sought - dismissal of the appeal pending in the United States Supreme Court - had been achieved. We denied the motion for three reasons.13 First, the underlying voting rights case remains pending in federal court awaiting a final determination. If the Governor has the right to order the Attorney General to cease prosecution of the appeal, then he would have the power to order the Attorney General to cease prosecution of the same claims when they are pending before a trial court. Second, the issue of the Attorney General’s authority, duties, and powers is one capable of repetition that has so far evaded review.14 Third, the case contains an issue of significant public concern concerning the roles of the State’s chief executive officer and chief legal officer in litigation involving the State of Georgia.15
[4] ALLOCATION OF EXECUTIVE POWERS
1. Both the Governor and Attorney General are elected constitutional officers in the executive branch of state government,16 which is responsible for enforcing state statutes.17 The Georgia Constitution provides that the Governor is vested with the chief executive powers.18 Among those powers is the responsibility to see that the laws are faithfully executed.19 Other executive officers, including the Attorney General, are vested with the powers prescribed by the constitution and by law.20 The constitution states that the Attorney General “shall act as the legal advisor of the executive department, shall represent the state in the Supreme Court in all capital felonies and in all civil and criminal cases in any court when required by the Governor, and shall perform such other duties as shall be required by law.”21
Within the executive branch, both the Governor and Attorney General have statutory authority to direct litigation on behalf of the State of Georgia.22 Under the State Government Reorganization Act of 1931, which established the Department of Law, the Governor “shall have power to direct the Department of Law, through the Attorney-General as head thereof, to institute and prosecute in the name of the State such matters, proceedings, and litigations as he shall deem to be in the best interest of the people of the State.”23 The Governor also has the power to provide for the defense of any action in which the State has an interest.24
OCGA § 45-15-3 sets out the Attorney General’s general responsibilities. It repeats his constitutional duties to serve as the executive branch’s legal adviser, represent the State in all capital felony appeals, and represent the State in all civil and criminal actions when required by the Governor; it further provides that the Attorney General may give written legal opinions to state departments on request and prepare all state contracts when advisable.25 Of primary [5] relevance in this case are the last two duties specified in the code section. Subsection (6) gives the Attorney General independent authority to represent the State in any civil action without the Governor’s request: “It is the duty of the Attorney General. . . [t]o represent the state in all civil actions tried in any court.” The final subsection is a catch-all phrase similar to the language in the constitution, giving the Attorney General authority to perform “other services as shall be required of him by law.”26
Construed together, these constitutional provisions and statutes do not vest either officer with the exclusive power to control legal proceedings involving the State of Georgia. Instead, these provisions suggest that the Governor and Attorney General have concurrent powers over litigation in which the State is a party. Both executive officers are empowered to make certain that state laws are faithfully enforced; both may decide to initiate legal proceedings to protect the State’s interests; both may ensure that the State’s interests are defended in legal actions; and both may institute investigations of wrongdoing by state agencies and officials.27 Thus, they share the responsibility to guarantee that the State vigorously asserts and defends its interests in legal proceedings.
A trilogy of decisions from the early twentieth century supports this conclusion that the Governor and Attorney General have joint responsibility to protect the State’s interests in litigation. More than a century ago, this Court stated in Trust Company v. State of Ga.:28
We are inclined to the opinion that the attorney-general has the power to institute suits necessary to the protection of the interests of the State; in case, for instance, where the State’s property is involved, or where public rights are jeopardized, without direction from the Governor; but when directed by the Governor, as in this case, to proceed, he has no discretion in the matter, but should obey the mandates of the chief executive.
Subsequently, we held that when an act is silent about the right of a state board to bring suit, the Governor or Attorney General must decide whether an appeal should be made.29 The final decision, without referring to the first two cases, states as a controlling principle [6] that the constitution and statutes prescribe the duties of the Attorney General, thus suggesting that the State’s chief legal officer possesses no common law powers.30 We find that these decisions do not decide the common law powers, if any, of the Attorney General, but instead support the proposition that neither the Governor nor the Attorney General has the exclusive power to decide the State’s interest in litigation.
As a result, we reject the broader claim by each officer that he has the ultimate authority to decide what is in the best interest of the people of the State in every lawsuit involving the State of Georgia. By giving both the Governor and Attorney General the responsibility for enforcing state law, the drafters of our constitutions and the General Assembly have made it less likely that the State will fail to forcefully prosecute or defend its interests in a court of law or other legal proceeding. This overlapping responsibility is also consistent with the existing practice in state government. Most important, it provides a system of checks and balances within the executive branch so that no single official has unrestrained power to decide what laws to enforce and when to enforce them.
We also reject the dissent’s narrow characterization of the Attorney General’s role as merely that of legal counsel to the Governor. To imply that the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct control the Attorney General’s relationship to the Governor ignores the important and independent role assigned to the Attorney General under our constitution. Accepting the dissent’s argument would eviscerate the Attorney General’s separate constitutional role.
The State of Georgia is not one branch of government, one office, or one officer. The State’s authority resides with the people who elect many officers with different responsibilities under valid law.
2. Our conclusion that both officers have the duty to enforce state laws is consistent with the language and legislative history of article V of the 1983 Georgia Constitution. The first paragraph on the Governor’s duties and powers in the Executive Article states the following: “The chief executive powers shall be vested in the Governor. The other executive officers shall have such powers as may be prescribed by this Constitution and by law.”31 This provision made two changes from previous constitutions. It added the word “chief’ to the first sentence and added the second sentence referring to the [7] relationship between the Governor and other executive officers.32
The Committee to Revise Articles IV and V intended for this paragraph to explain the allocation of powers within the executive branch of state government. First, the drafters wanted to provide a clear statement that the Governor was the chief executive in relationship to other executive officers, both elected and appointed.33 This clarification was necessary to address the past assertions of some constitutional officers that as elected officers they were not subject to the Governor’s power.34 Second, the drafters wanted to indicate that the Governor had not only express powers, but also had reserved powers.35 In other words, the Governor as head of the executive branch possessed those executive powers not expressly granted to other executive officers by the constitution or by law.
Finally, the drafters wanted to ensure that the Governor did not possess unlimited authority over other executive officers. Immediately after granting executive powers to the Governor, the 1983 Constitution places a restraint on those powers: it grants to the other executive officers “such powers as may be prescribed by this Constitution and by law.” This provision means that the other constitutionally elected officers possess powers granted to them by the constitution and other laws.36 Another provision in the Executive Article concerning the “other executive officers” reiterates this point.37 It provides that the General Assembly shall prescribe the powers and duties of the Attorney General and the five other state elected executive officers, except as otherwise provided in the constitution.38 Consistent with these provisions, the drafters retained the language from earlier constitutions on the Attorney General’s duties. There[8] fore, the constitution sets out the general powers and duties of the Attorney General, but enables the legislature to assign other duties to that office through the laws that it enacts.
3. To support his claim that “the Governor, and the Governor alone” is authorized to make decisions related to litigation filed in the State’s name, the Governor relies on the constitutional provision describing the Attorney General’s duties and a section of the 1931 Reorganization Act.39 The 1983 Constitution, like all the constitutions since 1868, provides that the Attorney General “shall represent the state ... in all civil and criminal cases in any court when required by the Governor.”40 In addition, OCGA § 45-15-35 vests the Governor with the power to direct the Department of Law to institute and prosecute litigation in the name of the State. The Governor contends that this language means the Attorney General must follow his orders to dismiss or withdraw an appeal in any case regardless of the circumstances.
Contrary to the Governor’s contention, we do not read these constitutional or statutory provisions as denying power to the Attorney General in representing the State, but instead interpret them as granting additional power to the Governor. They provide specific authority for the Governor to fulfill his duty to enforce state laws by directing the Attorney General to represent the State and its interests in court and other proceedings when necessary.41 Although the drafters did decline to add the Attorney General’s specific statutory duties to the constitution, they preserved his authority to act under statutes by leaving the language on his duties unchanged from previous constitutions.
Even if we adopted the Governor’s view that the constitutional provision and OCGA § 45-15-35 give him the implicit right to order the Attorney General to end litigation on behalf of the State, that interpretation would not resolve the specific dispute in this case. Immediately following the constitutional language on which the Governor relies, the Georgia Constitution provides that the Attorney General “shall perform such other duties as shall be required by law.”42 Under the most restrictive interpretation, the “law” refers to the constitution and statutes of this State.
As a result, we decline to address the Governor’s contention, adopted by the dissent, that his express right to initiate litigation [9] always includes the implicit right to end any lawsuit. Rather, the dis-positive issue is whether any laws of this State grant the Attorney General independent authority to continue the litigation in this case. To decide whether the Governor’s powers as chief executive include the absolute right to direct the Attorney General to dismiss the State’s appeal in Georgia v. Ashcroft, we look to the powers and duties of the Attorney General as prescribed under the Georgia Constitution and statutory law.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S DUTIES
4. The Attorney General is a state executive officer elected at the same time and holding office for the same term as the Governor.43 As an elected state constitutional officer, the Attorney General has the powers prescribed to him by the 1983 Constitution, statutes, and case law.44 The General Assembly has given the Attorney General specific authority to act independently on behalf of the State in a variety of civil and criminal cases. For example, the code chapter on the Attorney General empowers that officer to represent the State in all capital felony actions before this Court,45 prosecute any person for violating a criminal statute while dealing with the State,46 represent the State in all civil actions in any court,47 file and prosecute civil recovery actions against any person who violates a statute in dealing with the State,48 represent the state authorities that are instrumentalities of the State,49 represent the Comptroller General in collecting or securing any state claim,50 and represent the State before the United States Supreme Court.51
In 1975, there were two changes in the law related to the Attorney General’s duties that made explicit what had previously been only implicit: the Attorney General has the power to represent the State in civil actions independently of the Governor’s direction.52 First, this Court held in Coggin v. Davey that the Attorney General [10] was authorized to represent legislators in legal actions arising out of their official duties in the General Assembly.53 In that case, three radio station employees sued members of the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives seeking a declaration that the Open Meetings Act applied to the General Assembly and its committees. Common Cause intervened and sought to bar the Attorney General from representing the legislators because they, and not the Governor, had requested the representation. The trial court ruled that Ga. Code Ann. § 89-920 (OCGA § 45-15-70) applied, the legislators had failed to request the Governor to appoint counsel as that statute required,54 and therefore the Attorney General lacked authority to represent the legislators.
On appeal, then Attorney General Arthur Bolton asserted that the trial court erred in holding that he lacked authority to defend legislators “on his own motion.”55 Although this Court declined to address the broader issue of the Attorney General’s constitutional or statutory powers, the opinion concluded that the trial court erred in its ruling on the legal representation issue. The Court held that Ga. Code Ann. § 89-920 did not prohibit the Attorney General’s representation of legislators in legal actions arising out of their official duties. Because the opinion does not cite any law for its holding, the source of the Attorney General’s authority under Georgia law to represent members of the General Assembly is unclear.
Three months later, the General Assembly amended Ga. Code Ann. § 40-1602 (OCGA § 45-15-3) to expressly grant the Attorney General the authority to represent the State in civil actions without any request from the Governor. The 1975 amendment was enacted “to clarify the duties of the Attorney General and the circumstances under which the Attorney General shall act at the direction of the Governor.”56 Prior to the amendment, the caption of § 40-1602 describing the Attorney General’s duties was entitled “Duties required by Governor.” The first sentence began, “It is the duty of the Attorney General when required so to do by the Governor,” and then listed six separate duties of the State’s chief legal officer.57 The 1975 amendment deleted the words “by Governor” from the caption, “when required so to do by the Governor” in the first sentence, and “when [11] required by the Governor” in subparagraph 6.58 As amended, the statute read:
40-1602. Duties required
It is the duty of the Attorney General-
6. In other courts — To represent the State in all civil cases in any court.59
Thus, this 1975 amendment resolved, at least in part, the broader issue of the Attorney General’s powers that this Court declined to address in Coggin v. Davey. The amended code section provides authority for the Attorney General to represent legislators and other state officials “on his own motion” without any request, requirement, or direction from the Governor.60 We need not decide, however, the full extent of the Attorney General’s power to represent the State under this statute or the circumstances, if any, under which the Governor may compel the Attorney General to end his representation. In this case, a more narrowly drawn statute provides authority for the Attorney General to continue the voting rights litigation despite the Governor’s order to dismiss the appeal.
ACT 444
5. The General Assembly is vested with the power to reapportion the State Senate and House Districts.61 Pursuant to this legislative power, the General Assembly enacted the original Senate redistricting plan in Act 1EX6 and the revised plan in Act 444. Section 1 (b) of Act 444 provides that the original Senate redistricting plan will apply if it “may lawfully be implemented under the federal Voting Rights Act.”62 In the event that the original plan may not be lawfully implemented, section 1 (c) provides that qualifying for the Georgia State Senate shall be conducted according to the revised Senate redistricting plan as described in Act 444. Section 1 (d) states: “This Act does not repeal or amend the provisions of the [original] Senate redistricting plan; and those provisions are merely suspended pending a final determination of their enforceability under the federal [12] Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.”63 Governor Barnes signed the act into law, but it was not codified in the Official Code of Georgia pending resolution of the legality of the original plan.
Act 444 was enacted after the federal district court had denied preclearance to the original Senate redistricting plan, but before the State filed an appeal of that decision to the U. S. Supreme Court. By its terms, Act 444 expresses the legislature’s intent that the original redistricting plan for the State Senate should be followed if allowed by federal law. Section 1 (d) states that the original plan’s provisions are “suspended” until the State can obtain a final determination on the legality of the original plan under the federal Voting Rights Act. At the time the General Assembly enacted Act 444, the first step in the process for the State to obtain a “final determination” on its ability to enforce the reapportionment plan under the federal Voting Rights Act was to file a direct appeal with the Supreme Court seeking to reverse the district court’s opinion. Although the Governor proposes other interpretations of “final determination,” no other action by the State would have achieved a decision upholding the validity of the original Senate redistricting plan under the federal Voting Rights Act.
As the State’s chief legal officer, the Attorney General is the official charged with representing the State in reapportionment cases.64 Before any change affecting voting qualifications, standards, practices, and procedures may take effect, the State must obtain preclearance of the change under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.65 One way to obtain preclearance is by instituting a declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.66 If preclearance is declined, the State’s only remedy is to file a direct appeal to the United States Supreme Court. OCGA § 45-15-9 provides that the Attorney General “shall represent the State in all actions before the Supreme Court.”
Accordingly, after the three-judge court denied preclearance, the Attorney General appealed to the Supreme Court. By appealing, the Attorney General was fulfilling his general duty as chief legal officer to execute state law and his specific duty to defend the reapportionment law as enacted by the General Assembly.
[13] SEPARATION OF POWERS
6. We next consider whether Act 444 violates the doctrine of separation of powers by directing that it takes effect only after a final determination is made regarding the enforceability of the provisions of Act 1EX6 under the Voting Rights Act. Because Act 444 does not impermissibly encroach on the power of the executive branch to control litigation, but instead is a proper assertion of legislative power to determine reapportionment, we conclude that it does not violate separation of powers.
Although the Georgia Constitution provides expressly for separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches, “this separation is not and from the nature of things can not be total.”67 This Court has previously recognized that “[t]he separation of powers principle is sufficiently flexible to permit practical arrangements in a complex government, and ... it is not always easy to draw a line between executive functions and legislative functions.”68 The United States Supreme Court has enunciated a similar view of the federal doctrine of separation of powers - “the system of separated powers and checks and balances established in the Constitution was regarded by the Framers as a self-executing safeguard against the encroachment or aggrandizement of one branch at the expense of the other . . . [but] we have never held that the Constitution requires that the three branches of Government operate with absolute independence.”69 The Supreme Court noted that the Constitution “enjoins upon its branches separateness but interdependence, autonomy but reciprocity.”70 Because the Supreme Court’s exposition of separation of powers is consistent with this Court’s prior rulings on the issue, we find federal precedent persuasive in considering the question before us.
A legislative enactment violates separation of powers when it increases legislative powers at the expense of the executive branch,71 or when the enactment “‘prevent [s] the Executive Branch from accomplishing its constitutionally assigned functions,’ ”72 even if it does not increase legislative powers. Thus, this Court must examine the respective roles of the legislative and executive branches and determine whether Act 444 inappropriately intrudes upon executive [14] branch powers and functions.
The core legislative function is the establishment of public policy through the enactment of laws.73 Reapportionment of state legislative districts is a unique aspect of this legislative function.74 As the U. S. Supreme Court has recognized, reapportionment of a state legislature is the “most political of legislative functions.”75 Thus, the expressed intent of the legislative body to prefer one reapportionment scheme over another is plainly proper and within the sphere of legislative power. Nothing prevents the legislature from expressing this intent through a fallback or contingency provision.76
On the other hand, the executive branch generally has the power and authority to control litigation as part of its power to execute the laws,77 and a law that removes from the executive branch sufficient control of litigation may well violate separation of powers.78 However, the executive branch does not have the authority to decline to execute a law under the guise of executing the laws: “To contend that the obligation imposed ... to see the laws faithfully executed, implies a power to forbid their execution, is a novel construction of the Constitution and entirely inadmissible.”79 The power to forbid the execution of the laws would enable the executive branch to nullify validly enacted statutes. In that situation, the executive branch would encroach upon the legislative power to repeal statutes80 or upon the judicial branch’s power of judicial review.81 What the executive branch cannot do directly, it cannot do indirectly. Thus, even though the executive branch generally has the power and authority to control litigation, it cannot exercise this power in order to prevent the execution of a law.
Balancing these principles in light of this case, we conclude that the legislature may require an appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court so [15] that the legislature’s preferred reapportionment scheme be implemented. The intrusion by the legislature into the executive branch function of control of litigation is justified by the limited nature of the encroachment - pursuit of one case - and by the subject matter of the litigation - legislative reapportionment. Our conclusion is supported by the holding in Sixty-Seventh Minnesota State Senate v. Beens,82 in which the U. S. Supreme Court held that a state senate is a proper party to intervene in litigation challenging an apportionment plan. If one house may intervene to protect its interests in apportionment, then it is also permissible for the legislature to direct that its reapportionment plan be fully defended in court.
Because the legislative encroachment into the executive power of controlling litigation is limited to carrying out the legislature’s chosen reapportionment plan, it does not impermissibly intrude into executive branch functions and does not constitute a separation of powers violation. The dissent’s dire prediction of a political and constitutional crisis is possible only because it ignores the uniqueness of legislative reapportionment.
CONCLUSION
The Constitution mandates that the Attorney General perform “such other duties as shall be required by law.” Act 444 suspends the operation of the new redistricting provisions “pending a final determination of their enforceability under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965,” which requires federal court resolution. Accordingly, when the Attorney General declined to dismiss the appeal, he was fillfilling a duty required by Act 444. Because the Attorney General was acting consistently with his constitutional and statutory duties, we conclude that the Governor does not have a clear legal right to compel the Attorney General to dismiss the appeal or case from the courts. Therefore, the Governor is not entitled to the writ of mandamus.
Judgment affirmed.
All the Justices concur, except Carley and Hines, JJ, who dissent.