A state Senate committee voted down Monday a proposal to give Georgia’s attorney general power to call statewide grand juries to investigate public corruption.
Senate Resolution 6, sponsored by Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, was one of several proposals ethics advocates have pushed in the aftermath of last year’s historic vote to place limits on lobbyists’ influence under the Gold Dome.
The proposal would have required a two-thirds vote of the Legislature before it could have been put on the ballot for a public vote — a tough task in an election year. Still, McKoon said it was something that could hold government more accountable and ensure the public’s trust in its elected officials.
He told members of the Senate Judiciary Non-Civil Committee that other states including Florida and South Carolina have had success with similar legislation. It would create a uniform process to handle accusations or suspicions of criminal behavior rather than what he called an “ad hoc process” used by the state currently.
The committee voted 7-2 to reject it. Some members, including Sen. John Crosby, R-Tifton, a former State Court judge, worried the power the proposal gave to the Attorney General’s Office could be misused and that it could also be costly to the state.
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