TRENTON - Strip away the rhetoric and it seems no big deal to bolster the power of the State Commission of Investigation.

But it's not that simple.

A Senate bill released after a stormy committee meeting Monday would get that done by weakening the power of the state Comptroller.

It is that office, as its acting head Kevin Walsh noted, that has looked into such things as misuse of Covid funding, the failure of a Mercer County government official to pay payroll taxes, police allowing suspected drunk drivers to go free because they had PBA cards and government handing out "no show or low-show jobs."

When you challenge how politics has been traditionally played in New Jersey, feathers are ruffled.

John G. Donnadio, the executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, complained to the committee that the Comptroller often acts arbitrarily and gives those cited, or perhaps accused, no chance to defend themselves.

The proposed solution is to take investigatory powers away from the Comptroller and give them to the State Commission of Investigation, or SCI, which was created 57 years ago.

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari of Union County said the SCI is better equipped to conduct serious investigations. He said investigatory duties are not being ended, they are just being reallocated.

The SCI executive director is Bruce Keller, who worked with the U.S. Attorney's Office of New Jersey.  He called the legislation a "reform bill" and pledged to lead an independent agency.

Keller has a stellar background. At the U.S. Attorney's Office, he said he worked on cases involving Paterson police corruption, the Lucchese crime family and in his words, the "now infamous" Bridgegate case.

Keller was hired after the previous executive director, Tiffany Williams Brewer, resigned amid allegations she was living in Maryland where she had another job.

That is an "only in New Jersey" story but to the bill's many critics, it did little to foster confidence in the SCI.

Recent history is also in play. Over the last few years, the Legislature and Gov. Phil Murphy have  weakened both the Election Law Enforcement Commission or ELEC and the Open Public Record Act. Critics deplored what they said would be an additional blow to transparency.

And when these critics began speaking, things got a bit wild.

One of those opposing the bill was U.S. Sen. Andy Kim.

It is usual for a committee to allow officials - like a U.S. Senator - to speak at the beginning of a meeting.

Sen. James Beach of Camden County, the committee chair, did not see it that way. To the dismay of many in the crowd, he made Kim sit in the audience for about four hours before letting him speak.

When challenged by some in the crowd, Beach said, "Nobody's special. I have a list and we're going in order."

Finally speaking,  Kim said he was concerned that a more powerful SCI would not be independent, noting that its four members would simply be picked by the governor (two members) and one each by the Senate President and Assembly Speaker. They would also be paid $75,000 a year, a nice bump from the current $35,000.

Beach clearly did not enjoy Kim's criticism. Despite Kim's current status, it seems some New Jersey Democrats are still smarting from his successful challenge to the "county line" in 2024.

Before Kim left, Beach fired questions at him, asking why he backed Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary.

It was a bizarre exchange. Kim said only that he will continue to fight the Trump Administration.

Walsh, the acting comptroller, and Matt Platkin, the state AG, also spoke against the bill.

They, too, were made to wait four hours-plus, and they also sparred with Beach and others.

Sen. John Burzichelli said he had problems with "how things have been running” at the comptroller’s office, but presented no detailed complaints.

The bill was unanimously released from the 5-person committee, although some senators said their votes were just to send the bill to the floor.

Sen. John McKeon was unhappy with the nasty tone of the hearing. He called it "sad" and said it should not have come to that.