SALT LAKE CITY - As state legislators begin looking into allegations against Attorney General John Swallow, Democrats are calling for a committee with equal membership.
Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, says one goal of the committee that will investigate Swallow is to earn the public's trust.
"The public might look at this and say if by chance he were acquitted or there were not findings by the committee, the reverse argument might be, 'Look of course, they've got a disproportionate number of Republicans. Of course it would come out this way,'" Chavez-Houck said.
If a possible 10-person committee were to be built to reflect the House membership, it would have eight Republicans and two Democrats.
"We need to look at this through the prism of did the individual shirk his responsibility to the public and are there some individuals and some players in this community that have more weight with this particular office than others, than the public."
House Speaker Rebecca Lockhart, R-Provo, says legislators haven't really discussed whether the committee would have an equal number of Democrats and Republicans or reflect the makeup of the Legislature, which has mostly Republicans.
