Rep. Eberhart’s HB 1208 is scheduled for a hearing in the Legislative Rules Committee this morning. Usually the Rules committee is where the Speaker assigns bills he wants to die a quiet death. But, this one is probably a good fit for the committee since it concerns how the body functions.
It would require legislative committee chairs to swear witnesses in before they provide testimony to the committee. The form of the oath required would be:
> “I, (insert the name of the witness), affirm under the penalties for perjury that the testimony that I am about to give or have given to (insert the name of the committee) is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.”.
If a committee chair believes a witness has violated the oath, the chair can then refer the matter to the legislative council. If the legislative council agrees, it may refer the matter to a prosecutor. A prosecutor would be prohibited from taking up one of these cases without prior referral from the legislative council.
The only thing I disagree with this bill about would be that the perjury charges cannot be independently sought by a prosecutor. This is long, long over due. It’s amazing to watch lobbyists change their tune when faced with the requirement of testifying under oath.
I’d like to see a similar requirement imposed on the legislators. Why must citizens tell the truth while legislators can lie with impunity? Perhaps if a legislator were obligated to tell the truth we’d hear less bull and more substantive discussion.