The chairman of the Vermont Senate’s Judiciary Committee says lawmakers may want to consider expanding the power of legislative committees to subpoena witnesses and take testimony under oath.
Senator Richard Sears says his panel was frustrated at times in recent months during hearings looking into how Vermont responds to sex crimes against children.
Sears cites the cases of a prosecutor who refused to testify, a probation officer believed by some committee members to have been less than fully truthful and a teacher at an alternative school for young sex offenders who lost his job after testifying.
Legislative committees currently can issue subpoenas only with the approval of the full Senate or House or both.