Two San Diego County lawmakers are questioning whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has picked the right vehicle for reform in asking for an investigation into how parole agents handled the 2000 molestation case of John Albert Gardner III, now charged in the death of Chelsea King.

Stung by revelations that the state missed chances to put Gardner back in prison long before the Poway teenager was killed, Schwarzenegger last week ordered the Sex Offender Management Board to investigate the case, from prosecution to parole.

Lawmakers questioned whether the agency - part of the state corrections system - was the right pick. Supporters say the board has shown a willingness to be critical.

The 17 unpaid panel members answer only to the people who appoint them - the governor and legislative leaders. Their three staff members are civil-service employees of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which is the agency ultimately in charge of parolees like Gardner.

"I look forward to the results, but I prefer to see reviews done by entities that are independent of the system," said Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego.

Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth of Temecula, who represents a large swath of northern San Diego County, also expressed concern.

"Ultimately, it's going to take outside forces - from the public, the administration and the Legislature - to really get (the corrections agency) to make these needed changes to parole," Hollingsworth said.

Spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola said Schwarzenegger "always believes in transparency" and noted that after the recommendations are released they will be subject to review by the governor and lawmakers.

"The governor supports further levels of review," Arrezola said. "He took this step because we must look at what can be done to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again."

Board members say the governor's trust is well-placed.

"We pride ourselves on being independent," said Jerry Powers, a member of the sex offenders management panel and chief probation officer for Stanislaus County who was a San Diego County probation officer from 1984 to 2000. "If you look at the reports we have written, you will see the board's not a rubber stamp for anybody."

The appointees have issued reports raising sensitive issues and making recommendations in line with their statutory directive to achieve safer communities.

Among recent suggestions to the Legislature and governor: Change residency policies to focus on the most serious offenders, tighten loitering restrictions, increase funding to improve investigations and prosecution, and elevate crisis support for victims reluctant to testify.

The board has representatives of different interests, such as mental health professionals, public defenders and victims' advocates. Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said he trusts the board's autonomy.

"Absolutely," Leno said. "I have no reason to doubt it."

Leno last year carried legislation extending the life of the panel. It was created by law in 2006 for four years for the purpose of advising policymakers on sex-offender issues, with the goal of making communities safer.

On Monday, board members discussed the governor's order, but also voted to send Schwarzenegger a letter highlighting that it is open to the public and therefore may not have access to all of Gardner's confidential records.

Robert Coombs, who advocates on behalf of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault and has worked closely with the board, said appointees are independent-minded with no particular allegiance to the corrections agency.

"There's enough diversity there," Coombs said. "There is nobody there who would keep quiet and toe the company line."

Gardner has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and murder in the death of 17-year-old Chelsea King. He is also being investigated in the death of Amber Dubois, an Escondido teenager. He pleaded guilty in 2000 to molesting a 13-year-old Rancho Bernardo neighbor. He spent five years in prison and three years on parole, from 2005 until 2008.

Under pressure, the state's prison agency has released limited records indicating that agents on several occasions may have had sufficient evidence of parole violations to send Gardner back to jail. If that had occurred, he could have been subject to tougher laws that may have kept him locked up for years.

The most serious violation occurred in September 2007 when he lived in an apartment near Miramar College and its day-care center. It also was close to Scripps Ranch High School and Hourglass Field Community Park.

Records also indicate Gardner had a low battery in his GPS tracking device, missed a meeting with parole agents and faced an allegation of possessing marijuana. It's those types of asterisks to his record that have infuriated the public and forced the governor to step in.

In an interview, a top-ranking corrections official said it's far from certain that any of those potential violations would have resulted in an automatic parole revocation.

"To my knowledge, he did not engage in behaviors resulting in him being put away for a long period of time," said Terri McDonald, a chief deputy secretary in the corrections agency.