“There just has to be probable cause that something has happened,” he said. “You’re talking about a much lower standard.

Judges are not included in the legislation, he said, because the judicial system already has its own method for reviewing judges.

“The profession is pretty much self-regulating,” said Gibbons, who is a lawyer.

Noting that other states also exclude judges, Gibbons said he was concerned that if judges were included it could “bog down” the rest of the legislation.

Rapone said that after taxpayers had expressed their concern to him about the inability to recall officials guilty of malfeaseance, he contacted Gibbons about developing legislation.

“You have to be careful,” Rapone said. “You don’t want a witch-hunt.

“I just really feel that what Jaret put together is a solid recall plan.”