Can the Attorney General bring a civil action on behalf of the State?

In Pierce v. Superior Court, 1 Cal.2d 759, 37 P.2d 453, 460, 96 A.L.R. 1020, it was held that the Attorney General, as the chief law officer of the state, had broad powers derived from the common law, and in the absence of any legislative restriction, had the power to file any civil action or proceeding directly involving the rights and interests of the state, or which he deemed necessary for the enforcement of [220 Cal.App.2d 82] the law of the state, the preservation of order, and the protection of public rights and interests. It was said therein 1 Cal.2d at pages 761 and 762, 37 P.2d at page 461 that Political Code, section 1109, was not 'to be construed as a restriction upon the broad powers of the Attorney General. The fact that a remedy is given to a private individual to institute such an action could not operate to deny the power of the Attorney General to bring a similar action on behalf of the state, which power exists independent of said section.'