Subpoena bills likely to reappear next session

By Dana Beyerle Montgomery Bureau Chief
Published: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 15, 2009 at 10:55 p.m.

MONTGOMERY | Sponsors of failed bills to give subpoena power to the Ethics Commission said Monday that they would reintroduce the legislation in the 2010 legislative session.

Gov. Bob Riley has said he supports granting subpoena power to the Ethics Commission, but the bills

did not pass in the 2009 session, which ended last month.

The bills' sponsors, Rep. Mac Gipson, R-Prattville, and Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, said they would try again next year.

'I hope to be meeting with folks to get something on the table,' Gipson said.

A subpoena is a legal document compelling production of records or a personal appearance. Without compelled records, an investigative body cannot adequately look into complaints.

'Nobody is going to voluntarily give records,' Ward said.

The Ethics Commission, which investigates complaints against public officials, can obtain a subpoena through the attorney general's office or a district attorney's office.

'We do it all the time,' said James L. Sumner Jr., director of the Ethics Commission, adding that commission investigators have to go 'hat in hand' to get a subpoena.

'[Subpoena power] will allow us to get to documents, bank records, cell phone records, things we would need to complete our investigation more quickly and more efficiently,' Sumner said.

Proponents of stronger ethics enforcement in government contend the Ethics Commission cannot effectively investigate public corruption without subpoena power.

One often repeated, but false, rumor claims that even the state Board of Cosmetology has subpoena power.

'That got out there by all the subpoena-power advocates,' Sumner said.

Years ago, the cosmetology board did try to vote itself subpoena power as an administrative rule, but it learned that only the Legislature can grant that power.

Some agencies, such as the Board of Hearing Instrument Dealers and the Board of Physical Therapy, have subpoena power and go through the attorney general's office for subpoenas.

'When you need information for an investigation and you can't subpoena, you're kind of stymied,' said N.K. Horner, executive director for the physical therapists group.

Chris Bence, a spokesman for Attorney General Troy King, said King does not oppose subpoena power for the Ethics Commission.

'The Legislature is the body that decides whether or not they have that power,' Bence said. 'In that light, it would not be appropriate for us to make a recommendation.'

Bence said small agencies with one or two employees and no staff frequently use the AG's office for subpoenas.