Taking away centralized control of the state’s legal business would create governmental chaos, Attorney General Jim Hood said Thursday.

Bills in the Republican-controlled House and Senate seek to limit the power of Hood — the only statewide elected Democrat — in hiring outside attorneys to represent the state in court if the state agency’s views of the case differ from that of the attorney general.

The legislation essentially would let each governmental department hire its own attorney, Hood told Vicksburg Rotary Club on Wednesday.

“That would be chaos,” he said. “The state has to speak with one voice in a court of law.”

A personal review board made up of governmental department heads who are appointed by the governor would have final say over legal contracts, according to the legislation.

“I’m not sure where it’s going, but I’m going to keep doing my job,” Hood said.

Sponsors of the bill have said it will keep the state from lining the pockets of outside lawyers appointed by the AG’s office and provide more government transparency.

Hood also vowed to continue challenging a Supreme Court ruling that former Gov. Haley Barbour’s pardons are valid.

On March 8, the high court ruled that the governor has sole power of determining if pardons meet constitutional requirements. Just before the end of his eight years in office, Barbour pardoned or gave clemency to more than 200 people.

Hood argued that in order to receive a pardon an offender must publish intentions to be pardoned in a local newspaper for at least a month.

“We only had two days to prepare for argument,” Hood said of the first hearing. “We think that they missed some things.”

The AG’s office also will continue its programs to fight electronic crimes such as cyber-bullying, Hood said.

For some reason telecommunications seem to bring out the worst in people when it comes to bullying, Hood said. Many people — especially teenagers — who would never think of bullying in person suddenly become Internet tough guys when they have a computer or cell phone, Hood said.

“They wouldn’t say it to somebody on school grounds and they wouldn’t do it over the phone, but they’ll do it on the Internet and by text message,” Hood said.

That same technology makes it easier to track crimes, Hood said, citing a recent case in which a nurse sent a text message admitting to a friend that she had defrauded a patient of $35,000.

When he took office in 2003, Mississippi ranked fifth in the nation in domestic violence homicides but since has dropped to 22nd because of more stringent laws and education for police and offenders, Hood said.

In 2010, Hood pushed for legislation to make any domestic violence involving strangulation to be a felony. In many cases women were being choked to the point of unconsciousness by their partners, Hood said.

“It’s almost like an aggravated assault, but the law wouldn’t let us charge it like aggravated assault,” Hood said.

The AG’s office also has given extensive training to police and prosecutors on domestic violence law, Hood said. Offenders are now required to complete a domestic violence prevention class or face jail time. Fewer than 1 percent of people who complete the course offend again, Hood said.