The Georgia House on Tuesday passed legislation that would let the newly created panel tasked with overseeing the state’s prosecutors begin its work.
Senate Bill 332 passed 97-73 in a mostly party-line vote and now heads to the governor for his signature.
The House sponsor, state Rep. Joseph Gullett, an Acworth Republican, said the change was necessary so the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission could begin its work of disciplining “rogue” attorneys.
“Once this bill is passed, that commission will be able to get to its real work — bringing accountability to those rogue prosecuting attorneys who abuse their office, sexually harass their employees and do not show up for work,” he said.
Last year, lawmakers created the commission and empowered it to sanction prosecutors once the state Supreme Court approved rules to guide the panel.
The law was challenged in court, and the Supreme Court said it had “grave doubts” about whether it had the constitutional authority to approve rules and standards of conduct for the commission as required by the law.
SB 332 would remove the required Supreme Court oversight, allowing the commission to begin its work.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Democrats say the commission is not needed because there already are ways to discipline prosecutors through the state bar, the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia and state voters.
House Democratic Whip Sam Park of Lawrenceville said the state’s prosecutors often work with budgets that don’t keep up with the amount of arrests that occur in their districts.
“Passing this bill as opposed to additional funding and additional support for our district attorneys undermines them,” he said. “This is a partisan attempt to control and discipline prosecutors who hand down decisions that Republican politicians do not like.”
Republicans have singled out Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, whose critics accuse her of being incompetent and ineffective. They have criticized her decision not to prosecute certain low-level crimes.
The battle over the commission is also being closely watched partly because Donald Trump’s allies aim to use the law to punish Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after she sought election interference charges against the former president and more than a dozen others in their efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
After the bill passed, House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington stressed that the bill was not in reaction to any one prosecutor or any specific action or inaction.
“It is about ensuring that our district attorneys enforce the rule of law, keep our citizens safe in every jurisdiction they’re responsible for around our state,” Burns said. “Our district attorneys should be focused on doing doing what they were elected to do — enforcing the law and holding criminals responsible.”
