SJR 16 on ethics commission procedures moves forward after unanimous committee approval

Sen. Milner introduced the second substitute of SJR 16, a joint rules resolution that would amend legislative-ethics procedures. He told the committee the ethics commission’s chair recommended removing member term limits in practice because the commission rarely meets, clarifying when the commission can dismiss complaints that do not warrant further review, and allowing the commission to require affidavits from complainants and witnesses to help substantiate claims.

Sen. Milner also said the resolution would provide subpoena authority to the ethics commission under certain circumstances and improve privacy protections so that dismissed complaints would not become public. "Not every complaint is a valid complaint or meets the criteria for an ethics complaint, and you want to make sure we're maintaining privacy if the ethics commission dismisses the complaint," he said.

Representative Ballard moved the resolution out of committee with a favorable recommendation; the committee adopted SJR 16 by unanimous voice vote.