Bill Description: House Bill 743 would give the Attorney General expanded authority to enforce any law against a public officer, public employee, or public entity. It would also require withholding appropriated funds from the accused while a court action is ongoing.
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Does it create, expand, or enlarge any agency, board, program, function, or activity of government? Conversely, does it eliminate or curtail the size or scope of government?
House Bill 743 would create Chapter 17, Title 7, Idaho Code, granting the Attorney General broad authority to initiate enforcement actions, issue withholding orders for funds, and seek court remedies against public entities and officials.
Such enforcement actions could be based on an accusation that a public officer, public employee, or public entity “failed to perform a duty assigned to the officer, employee, or entity by law” or “violated a prohibition imposed on the officer, employee, or entity by law.”
The bill would introduce new civil penalties of up to $50,000 and contempt punishments (potentially including fines or imprisonment) against public officers and public employees for failing to perform a lawful duty or violating a lawful prohibition.
The bill says that a city or county accused of violating a law “shall” have all scheduled installment payments from the revenue-sharing account withheld. And if “the court finds that the city or county failed to comply with the law, the withheld moneys shall be distributed to the tax relief fund.”
Additionally, any public entity accused of violating a law “shall” have any “general fund appropriation” or “distribution from general fund moneys” “withheld until the action is resolved in a court of competent jurisdiction.” If the court finds that the public entity failed to comply with the law, the withheld money shall be retained in the general fund.
A public officer, public employee, or public entity that would otherwise be entitled to legal representation by the office of the attorney general would have to fund their own legal counsel when subject to an enforcement action under this law.
The automatic suspension of scheduled installment payments and withholding of appropriated funds required by this chapter could significantly hinder the operations of cities, counties, and other public entities during a period of investigation and litigation. In many cases, a public entity’s legal obligation to perform certain duties (the enforcement of which is supposed to be the purpose of this chapter) is contingent upon the receipt of these funds.
While a substantiated violation may justify reasonable penalties, the withholding of funds prior to a judicial conclusion and the wholesale forfeiture of withheld funds (the amount of which is more tied to the length of the process than the severity of the violation) is disproportionate and could unfairly harm the public entity’s constituents.
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