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Senate committee advances bill allowing ethics commission to subpoena out-of-state entities
Summary
A Senate committee voted to pass legislation expanding the ethics commission
Chairman Burns and members of the committee advanced legislation that would expand the stateethics commission
Representative Holcomb presented the measure on behalf of Representative Todd Jones, who was reported to be ill. Holcomb said the bill "is designed to cure an issue within our ethics laws" by adding nonresidents to the statute's coverage and allowing the commission to subpoena out-of-state entities and, if subpoenas are ignored, petition a superior court to convert the subpoena into a court order for enforcement in other jurisdictions.
The bill specifies Fulton County as the venue for enforcement when the subject of an enforcement action is an out-of-state resident, because the ethics commission is headquartered there, David Amati, executive director of the agency, confirmed during questioning. A committee member asked about the venue on lines 40 and 41; Amati replied, "That's gonna be the Fulton County."
After presentation and brief questions, the committee made and seconded a motion to pass the bill, and the chair called for the voice vote. The motion carried on a voice vote; no named no-votes were recorded in the transcript.
Why it matters: extending subpoena and enforcement authority to out-of-state entities could affect out-of-state vendors, donors and organizations that engage in state-level political activity by making them subject to commission oversight and to enforcement actions beginning in Fulton County. The bill was described in the hearing as bipartisan.
What's next: The bill was reported favorably by the committee and will be carried forward to the Senate for further consideration.
