A Senate bill that targeted noncompliant prosecutors has likely died in the House.
Senate Bill 284 originally aimed to regulate prosecutors who refuse to prosecute certain crimes. In order to be considered noncompliant, the prosecutor would have to make a public statement that they would not prosecute certain crimes and show a pattern of not bringing charges in those instances. If found noncompliant, a special prosecutor would step in and take over those cases.
The bill underwent significant changesafter it passed a House committee vote last week. The most recent iteration focused on a prosecutor review board that would decide if a special prosecutors unit would handle cases for any reason the board found necessary.
After passing the House Courts and Criminal Code committee, the bill was forwarded to the House Ways and Means Committee. But House Speaker Todd Huston said Rep. Greg Steuerwald (R-Avon) asked the committee chair not to hear the bill.
“My understanding is that is dead for the year,” Huston said.
Similar bills introduced in the Senate in recent years have all died.
However, because SB 284 passed out of the Senate earlier in the session, the language can be included in other bills before the session ends.
Contact WFYI criminal justice reporter Katrina Pross at kpross@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @katrina_pross.
