Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hb365 Election Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee grants Attorney General optional authority to investigate election crimes; bill sent to floor
Summary
House Bill 365 would explicitly give the Attorney General the authority to investigate and prosecute criminal and civil violations of election statutes; proponents said the role would complement county prosecutors and the Secretary of State, while opponents warned of duplication.
Representative Joe Alfieri (Representative, District 4) presented House Bill 365, a one-sentence bill stating that the Attorney General may investigate and prosecute criminal and civil violations of Chapter 23, Title 18 (election crimes) and Title 34 (elections) of the Idaho Code.
Alfieri told the committee the authority is discretionary — "may" — and intended to be complementary to county prosecutors and the Secretary of State. "This authority we're providing the Attorney General is envisioned to be complimentary of the good work that's already being done by the County prosecutors and the Secretary of State's office," Alfieri said.
Committee members questioned how the office would avoid duplicative or overlapping investigations. Jeff Knight (chief of the criminal law division in the Attorney General's office) explained the office lacks general criminal jurisdiction except where statute grants it; when jurisdiction overlaps, the AG's office uses established deconfliction and coordination procedures to prevent duplicative efforts. "We would utilize that exact same process here," Knight said.
Some members said they were comfortable giving the AG discretionary authority, while others urged caution about adding a state-level layer of investigation. Representative Hostetler moved to send HB365 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; the motion carried. Representatives Green and Achilles asked to be recorded as voting no on the motion.
