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Committee shifts prosecuting-attorney oversight to Administrative Office of the Courts, grants limited subpoena power
Summary
Senate Bill 218 passed the Judiciary Committee with committee amendments to move the Prosecuting Attorneys' Qualification Commission to the Administrative Office of the Courts, add limited subpoena authority, and change appellate review language to allow a full hearing in superior court and subsequent review by the Supreme Court.
Representative Whit Robertson told the committee that Senate Bill 218 would transfer the Prosecuting Attorneys' Qualification Commission (PAQC) from its current structure to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), a change he said would reduce costs and place the commission with a body experienced in judicial matters. "We are moving the prosecuting attorney's qualification commission away from PAC and moving them over to the AOC," Robertson said, describing the administrative and budget reasons behind the proposal.
Robertson said the bill would also provide limited subpoena power to the commission. He told members that a proposed provision for search-warrant authority was removed in committee because it was unnecessarily intrusive: "I was not comfortable with search warrants being a part of that," Robertson said.
Committee members proposed and approved two committee amendments during debate. One amendment struck the word "review" in the appeal provision and replaced it with language directing that a petitioner receive "a full hearing to the superior court," and that any superior-court decision would be subject to review by the Supreme Court. Robertson described that change as balancing protections for respondents.
A second amendment, introduced by Chairman Smith, inserted language requiring that members of the commission be "members of the State Bar in good standing." That language was added at two points in the bill to clarify qualifications for commission membership.
After amendment and discussion, the committee moved and passed SB 218. The transcript records the committee's voice vote approving the bill; no roll-call tally appears in the hearing excerpt.
Ending: With committee amendments adopted, SB 218 passed out of the Judiciary Committee and will proceed according to the legislature's referral schedule. Supporters said the changes concentrate subject-matter expertise and reduce costs; lawmakers added procedural safeguards for appeals and clarified commission membership.
