Bill would make changes to Attorney General’s investigatory powers over county officials

Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, introduced legislation today that would make changes to a 2014 law that empowered the Idaho Attorney General’s office to investigate wrongdoing by county elected officials. The bill, which Rice is co-sponsoring with the Idaho Sheriffs Association, would allow the Attorney General to not only do a preliminary investigation, but to handle the entire investigation. It also would limit the investigations to criminal laws, removing civil violations.

“We’re narrowing it some, but we’re focusing it on what we really need the law to do,” Rice told the Senate Judiciary Committee, which agreed to introduce the bill. He said county elected officials previously were investigated for wrongdoing by the county prosecutor – who’s also their lawyer, creating a conflict of interest. When the Attorney General could do only a preliminary investigation, the case could end up back with that same county prosecutor. Today’s committee vote clears the way for a full hearing on the bill.