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Committee backs bill letting solicitors send people to pretrial intervention more than once
Summary
House Bill 3057 would allow a solicitor to consent to a defendant participating in pretrial intervention more than once (with a restriction for prior domestic-violence PTI), and the Judiciary Committee reported the bill favorably after debate about solicitor discretion, victim input and program fees.
The House Judiciary Committee voted to report House Bill 3057 favorably after hearing that the bill would let solicitors consent to a person entering a pretrial intervention (PTI) program multiple times, while explicitly preventing a second PTI for people previously admitted for criminal domestic violence.
Mister Weeks, reporting for the subcommittee, summarized that H.3057 "provides that a solicitor may give consent to allow a person to participate in a pretrial intervention program more than one time," and noted the bill retains a prohibition for domestic-violence-related prior PTI participation.
Members questioned whether removing the single-shot limitation would undercut PTI’s rehabilitative purpose. Mister Quinn asked whether unlimited repeat PTI would "defeat the purpose of pretrial intervention," and raised practical questions about who signs off and whether staff could act in place of the solicitor. Representative Rutherford and others defended the change as a tool for solicitors to tailor responses and reduce recidivism: "Sometimes before you dismiss a case, you'd like to touch them to make sure that they didn't do whatever it was that they did again," Rutherford said, arguing PTI can provide treatment and supervision that a fine does not.
Committee members also discussed PTI fees and transparency: a committee exchange cited statewide PTI fees (an initial $100 application and $250 before admission were mentioned on the record), and members urged consideration of limits or fee adjustments if repeat participation becomes common. Questions were raised about victim input and oversight of solicitor discretion; proponents said victim objections would prevent PTI admission in practice and that solicitors remain accountable to voters.
The committee reported H.3057 favorably (voice vote; tally not specified). The bill as described leaves solicitor discretion intact while expanding the option to use PTI for additional cases in appropriate circumstances.
