BATON ROUGE -- A House panel agreed to a bill prompted by Anna Pou, the cancer surgeon charged with murder for the deaths of hospital patients after Hurricane Katrina.

CBS News

Doctor Anna Pou. (File Photo)

Supporters of the bill say Pou was wrongfully charged with murder for the deaths of patients in a hospital flooded by Katrina. And they want to ensure the case doesn't deter medical professionals from working in Louisiana during disasters.

The measure would establish a three-member disaster medical panel that the state attorney general or a local district attorney could use to determine whether medical personnel responded improperly during a disaster. The panel would issue an advisory opinion recommending whether prosecutors should proceed with charges.

But the panel would only be optional for prosecutors, not mandatory.

The proposal by House Speaker Jim Tucker moves next to the full House for debate.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)