Committee advances bill clarifying attorney general investigators' authority after lengthy debate

The Law and Justice Committee on Feb. 24 considered a series of amendments to Engrossed House Bill 2156, which concerns the authority, training and prosecutorial boundaries for investigators in the Attorney General's Office. After debate spanning several offered amendments, the committee adopted technical cleanup changes and recommended the bill for passage to the Rules Committee.

Staff counsel Maya Aita outlined the bill and the slate of amendments. Senator Fortunato argued the proposal should separate investigation and prosecution roles, saying "the concern is that the attorney general's office can't be both the investigator and the prosecutor." The chair responded that the Attorney General's Office already conducts investigations and prosecutions in some contexts, noting instances such as the missing and murdered Indigenous women's unit where the office "does the investigation and the prosecution."

Amendment Kilo was adopted to refine definitions and remove some attestation/background-check specifics. Other amendments seeking to tighten investigator certification (Lima), repurpose recovered legal-financial obligations to the crime victims' compensation account (Mike), and narrow the list of economic/financial crimes (November) were not adopted. Several senators expressed concerns about concentrating investigative and prosecutorial power in a single office and urged careful review of the bill's checks and balances.

The bill as amended received a due-pass recommendation and was sent to the Rules Committee subject to signatures.

Provenance: topicintro SEG 226; topfinish SEG 977

Speakers (attributions used in this article): Maya Aita (first speaking SEG 226), Senator Fortunato (first speaking SEG 741), Chair (first speaking SEG 001), Senator Holy (first speaking SEG 779), Senator Trudeau (first speaking SEG 938).