State Rep. Jay Barnes said Wednesday his new committee has no pre-planned idea of what it will find.
"We'll look at facts, only, to figure out how we might change Missouri law for the better," Barnes, R-Jefferson City, told the News Tribune after outgoing House Speaker Tim Jones named him as chairman of the new House Oversight Committee on Public Officials and Government Accountability.
Jones, R-Eureka, announced the new panel Wednesday, a little more than two weeks after the New York Times reported that Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and several other state attorneys general had a too-cozy relationship with lobbyists for several major businesses - like AT&T and Pfizer, a prescription drugs maker. The Times said those relationships have interfered with the states getting the best settlements possible in lawsuits against those companies.
Koster has said the New York Times report distorts how his office dealt with the companies.
His office declined to make any further comment after Jones announced the committee's creation.
"As Missourians, we expect our elected officials to serve with honesty and integrity, and it is imperative that we hold them accountable when it appears they have betrayed the trust of those who elected them to office," Jones said in Wednesday's news release announcing the new committee.
"I am confident the oversight committee can delve deeper into these issues so that the truth is revealed and we know once and for all whether the Attorney General's office was for sale."
Barnes said his plan for the committee is the same as other special committees he's chaired.
"I've tried, in every one of these hearings, to go in with a blank slate," he explained.
"The thing I've said at the start, I think, of every one is that we're going to conduct a fair and open hearing that follows the basic rules of due process - that allows people to have their say and, also, allows for questioning - with the goal of figuring out how we can improve Missouri law."
He needed to visit with other committee members before scheduling any hearings, Barnes said, but he hopes to have one in December. He doesn't expect the panel to take "a long, drawn-out process" to decide what, if anything, it needs to recommend.
"We're going to ask questions about things that were reported in the New York Times," Barnes said. "And the attorney general will have a chance to explain, in detail, why he had that response, as well."
Jones named 10 House members to the panel - six Republicans and four Democrats.
Other Mid-Missourians on the panel include Reps. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia, vice-chair, and Columbia Democrats Chris Kelly and Stephen Webber.
Seven of the 10 members, including all four Democrats, are attorneys.
Barnes said Wednesday that will help the committee do its work, "because these cases involve legal judgments."
The Associated Press contributed some information used in this story.