JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s new Republican attorney general says he doesn’t intend to live in Jefferson City, despite a state law that appears to require him to “reside” there.

Josh Hawley took office Jan. 9 after a campaign that touted his experience as a constitutional lawyer.

A state law says the attorney general “shall reside in the seat of government,” which the Missouri Constitution says is Jefferson City. Hawley lives about 20 miles north Jefferson City near Ashland.

A legal analysis provided Tuesday by a deputy attorney general says Hawley is following the law because his home is within “ordinary commuting distance” of Jefferson City.

However, Assistant House Minority Leader Gina Mitten, a Democrat from St. Louis, says Hawley can either live in Columbia or be attorney general, but he can’t do both.