COLUMBIA, S.C. - Businesses that break environmental laws resulting in more than a $1 million cleanup effort could face grand jury subpoenas under a bill that cleared a Senate Judiciary subcommittee Wednesday.

If law enforcement officers can't investigate the environmental crime using regular methods, the state attorney general can sign a petition for a grand jury investigation. The State Law Enforcement Chief and the grand jury judge would have to sign off on the investigation.

Lawmakers couldn't pass similar legislation last year, mainly because state business leaders were afraid they could face a grand jury investigation for burning trash. Legislators also have addressed concerns that companies could face prosecution for the same incident from state and federal authorities.

The bill now heads to the full Senate Judiciary. The House Judiciary is considering a similar bill.

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On the Net: http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/web_bh10.exe?bill122&session 116