Celina Babauta
THE Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law has prepared a substitute to House Bill 23-22, whose original version would authorize the attorney general “to serve subpoenas, arrest and perform all other functions lawfully authorized for police officers.”
The substitute bill will make the original version, which was introduced by Rep. Marissa Flores, “unrecognizable,” Sen. Celina Babauta, the Senate committee chair, said on Wednesday.
Babauta said most of the provisions in the original version of H.B. 23-22 as passed by the House in May 2023 were struck out and replaced with new language.
It’s almost like a total overhaul of the bill, she added.
She said she has already provided the other senators a copy of the substitute bill and as soon as some of the committee members are back on island, she will call for a meeting to discuss the substitute bill, and hopefully they can get it to the floor for further deliberation.
Babauta anticipates the creation of a bicameral conference committee that will draft a final version acceptable to both chambers.
Among the substantial changes to the original bill is its title.
H.B. 23-22, as introduced in the House, aimed to “establish an investigative division of the Office of Attorney General, codify investigative subpoena power and improve the investigation of cases involving public corruption.”
The Senate substitute bill states that it will “codify an investigative subpoena process for the Office of the Attorney General and provide discovery for a defendant.”
However, the Senate substitute bill retains the provision that states, “A person summoned to attend and testify shall appear and testify under oath before the Attorney General in private. The attorney for the witness, if any, shall remain outside the room while the witness is being questioned. The witness, at any time, may pause questioning and consult with the attorney. A recording or court reporter transcript of the testimony shall be created and maintained by the Attorney General.”
The Office of the Public Defender, the Office of the Public Auditor and 16 private lawyers have expressed concerns with the version of the bill passed by the House.
Asked about the Senate substitute bill, Robert T. Torres, one of the attorneys who oppose H.B. 23-22, said it is still a “dangerous and irresponsible [piece of] legislation.”
“Imagine being hauled in by AG…investigators into the AG’s interrogation room, questioned by them and the Attorney General, without your lawyer, who is muzzled outside,” Torres said.
“How much trust would you have if that were you in that room?” he asked.
A former AG, Torres believes that the bill “would empower the Attorney General to be investigator, interrogator, self-‘Grand Jury,’ and prosecutor of every target and non-target witness, bound to the unchecked whims of that office.”
