Committee advances revisions to prosecuting‑attorney oversight; limits search‑warrant authority, grants narrow subpoena power and adds likeness‑rights language

Senate Bill 218 was advanced by the House Judiciary Committee after the sponsor announced a series of deletions and amendments that significantly narrowed the bill and added language from House Bill 566 on voice and visual likeness liability.

“...prosecutorial qualification moving it over to AOC from PAC,” the sponsor summarized, describing the primary change as an administrative transfer of responsibilities and citing cost savings and the potential to provide subpoena power to the receiving office. The sponsor said the original request for search‑warrant authority had been struck from the bill.

The committee chair outlined multiple sections the sponsor would remove from the bill; the chair repeated a long list of sections to be stricken before members considered amendments. The sponsor said the committee had added penalties for misuse of any subpoena power granted by the bill.

Ian Heap, director of the Prosecuting Attorney Qualifications Commission, testified to the committee about the commission’s experience. Heap said the commission received about 40 complaints historically, many filed before the commission was fully set up and missing a required affidavit, and that the commission typically has about 11 cases on its docket for each meeting. Heap said none of the commission’s matters had progressed to public hearings that would make them publicly available.

During the session the floor leader offered an amendment to add language from House Bill 566, described in the hearing as providing liability and penalties for misuse of an individual’s voice or visual likeness; the chair referred to it as the “John Fogarty Amendment.” That amendment was placed into SB 218 by the committee, and members approved final passage of SB 218 as amended by voice vote.

Committee members thanked witnesses who had provided background, including a Criminal Law Academy presentation and testimony from defense attorneys earlier in the day; the sponsor recommended members review those materials for fuller context.

The committee did not provide a roll‑call tally in the transcript; the chair called for the ayes and declared passage in committee.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 218 (as amended to transfer prosecutorial qualification duties, grant limited subpoena power with penalties, remove search‑warrant authority, and incorporate HB 566 language on voice/visual likeness): advanced by committee on a voice vote; numeric counts not specified in the transcript.