HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. ____
1 ETHICS COMMITTEE 2 RULES OF PROCEDURE
3 RULE 1. Scope and Authority 4 These Rules of Procedure govern the conduct of the investigation 5 of complaints of ethical misconduct by a member of the House and are 6 adopted pursuant to House Rule 37.
7 RULE 2. Definitions 8 As used in these Rules, unless the context requires otherwise, 9 the following words and terms shall have the following meanings, and 10 the use of masculine gender shall include the feminine. 11 (1) Letter of reproval - A sanction which expresses disapproval 12 of conduct based on the appropriateness of such conduct by a member, 13 regardless of whether the conduct constitutes a legal or moral wrong 14 and is included as part of the Committee's report. 15 (2) Reprimand - A sanction which recognizes the member's conduct 16 constituted a legal or moral wrong and which may include punishment in 17 the form of denying privileges of office, which recommendation is 18 included as part of the Committee's report, is issued by the Speaker 19 and the recommendation for reprimand is made a public record. 20 (3) Censure - A sanction which recognizes the member's conduct 21 constituted a legal or moral wrong, and which shall include punishment 22 in the form of denying privileges of office, which recommendation is 23 included as part of the Committee's report and requires the presence 24 of the member in the chamber during consideration and vote by the 25 entire House on such resolution. 26 (4) Expulsion A sanction which recognizes the member's conduct 27 constituted a legal or moral wrong and which may include punishment in 28 the form of removal from office as provided in Article III, Section 18 29 of the Missouri Constitution, which recommendation is included as part 30 of the Committee's report. 31 (5) Ethical misconduct 32 (a) A crime; 33 (b) Willful neglect of duty; 34 (c) Corruption in office; 35 (d) Any conduct constituting a legal or moral wrong which 36 materially impairs the member's ability to perform the duties of his 37 office or substantially impairs public confidence in the General 38 Assembly; 39 (e) Any conduct constituting a conflict of interest under 40 Chapter 105, RSMo; 41 (f) The intentional filing of a false complaint or the filing of 42 a complaint in reckless disregard of the truth; or 43 (g) Any breach of confidentiality provided for under these 44 rules.
1 1 (6) Member Any Missouri State Representative or Missouri State 2 Representative-Elect. 3 RULE 3. Quorum 4 A quorum exists when a majority of the members of the Committee 5 are present.
6 RULE 4. Form of Complaints 7 A. All complaints filed against a member shall be made under the 8 authority of Rule 37 of the House Rules of Procedure. The complaints 9 shall be confidential and shall be referred to the Committee on Ethics 10 within fourteen (14) calendar days. Each complaint shall be in 11 writing and under oath from the member, or in the case of alleged 12 sexual harassment, the investigative report shall be sufficient to be 13 considered a proper complaint. All complaints shall contain: 14 (1) The name and address of the member or members or other 15 individual or individuals acting as complainant; 16 (2) The name of the member alleged to have engaged in conduct 17 constituting ethical misconduct; 18 (3) The nature of the alleged act constituting ethical 19 misconduct, including when applicable, the specific law, rule, 20 regulation, or ethical standard violated; 21 (4) The facts alleged to have given rise to the act constituting 22 ethical misconduct; and 23 (5) Where the facts are alleged upon the information and belief 24 of the complainant, the complaint shall so state and set forth the 25 basis for such information and belief. 26 B. All records in the possession of the complainant that are 27 relevant to and in support of the allegations shall be appended to the 28 complaint.
29 RULE 5. Jurisdictional Hearing of the Complaint by the Committee 30 A. Within thirty (30) calendar days of the assignment of the 31 complaint, the Committee shall determine if it is in compliance with 32 Rule 4 of these Rules, and whether on the face of the complaint, the 33 allegations contained therein are within the jurisdiction of the 34 Committee. No person named in the complaint shall act as a member of 35 the Committee for purposes of such complaint. The jurisdictional 36 hearing to examine the complaint and report or other evidence provided 37 to the Committee, and the determination under Rule 5. C. shall be 38 conducted in a closed hearing. 39 B. Complaints determined not to be in compliance with Rule 4 of 40 these Rules shall be returned to the complainant with a statement that 41 it is not in compliance with the Rules of Procedure. The complaint 42 may be resubmitted in the proper form. 43 C. Once a determination has been made that the complaint 44 complies with Rule 4 of these Rules, a majority of the Committee 45 appointed shall vote by roll call to: 46 (1) Proceed to a preliminary hearing; 47 (2) Defer action pending completion of any other administrative, 48 disciplinary, commission, or judicial proceeding; or
2 1 (3) Dismiss the complaint. When a motion to proceed to a 2 preliminary hearing fails on a recorded vote, the complaint shall be 3 immediately dismissed. The Committee may, in its discretion, issue a 4 report in conjunction with the dismissal of the complaint. 5 D. In determining whether or not to proceed to a preliminary 6 hearing, the Committee shall consider the following: 7 (1) The credible evidence of ethical misconduct contained in the 8 complaint, any report, or other evidence appended thereto; 9 (2) Other administrative or disciplinary action by other 10 interested bodies; 11 (3) Criminal investigation, Missouri Ethics Commission 12 proceeding, or judicial proceedings, either civil or criminal; and 13 (4) Other relevant circumstances that would justify expediting, 14 declining, or deferring action by the Committee. 15 E. Complaints determined to be in compliance with Rule 4 of 16 these Rules and accepted for a preliminary hearing shall be 17 transmitted to the respondent with a copy of the Rules of Procedure 18 and notice in writing that the respondent has twenty-one (21) calendar 19 days to respond to the complaint either by way of answer or motion 20 pursuant to Rule 7 of these Rules. The complainant and alleged victim 21 shall also be notified, in writing, of the action of the Committee. 22 F. Any party may make an objection to the participation of any 23 member of the Committee in an examination of the complaint on the 24 grounds that the member cannot render an impartial and unbiased 25 decision in the case. The majority of the members present shall rule 26 on the objection to the participation of any member of the Committee. 27 A temporary replacement shall be made to serve on the Committee on 28 Ethics for all actions concerning a particular complaint for any 29 member of the Committee who is prevented from acting on a complaint 30 under these rules. Any temporary replacement made shall be of the 31 same party as the replaced member and shall be chosen by the Speaker 32 for the replacement of a member of the majority party or chosen by the 33 Minority Floor Leader for the replacement of a member of the minority 34 party; except that, if the Speaker is the respondent, the complainant, 35 or the victim, the temporary replacement shall be chosen by the Chair 36 of the Committee or, if the Minority Floor Leader is the respondent, 37 the complainant, or the victim, the temporary replacement shall be 38 chosen by the Vice Chair of the Committee.
39 RULE 6. Confidentiality 40 A. Counsel for the Committee on Ethics, with the consent of the 41 Chair and Vice Chair, may redact any of the names and identifying 42 information of the parties mentioned in any report, or provide a 43 summary of the report. 44 B. No member or staff of the Committee on Ethics shall disclose, 45 to any person or entity outside the Committee, any information 46 received in the course of service with the Committee, except as 47 authorized by the Committee or in accordance with its rules. 48 C. No person, other than House staff or employees properly part 49 of the complaint process by rule or policy, who reviews or receives
3 1 the results of any investigation or report shall disclose any 2 information contained in the report, except to his counsel or in 3 accordance with these rules. 4 D. If the complaint proceeds to a preliminary hearing, an 5 unredacted report shall be provided to the complainant, respondent, 6 and alleged victim. Any document provided by the Committee shall 7 contain a watermark indicating that the document is confidential and 8 shall list the name of the recipient.
9 RULE 7. Answers and Motions 10 A. If the Committee determines that the complaint merits 11 proceeding to a preliminary hearing, the respondent shall have 12 twenty-one (21) calendar days in which to respond to the complaint by 13 way of answer or motion, unless this time period is waived by the 14 respondent. Any answer or motion shall be in writing, signed by the 15 respondent and his counsel, if he has one, and shall be limited to the 16 following: 17 (1) An admission or denial under oath, of the allegations set 18 forth in the complaint, including negative and affirmative defenses, 19 and any other relevant information, including supporting evidence 20 which the respondent may desire to submit. Failure to file an answer 21 within the time prescribed shall be considered by the Committee as a 22 denial of each allegation; or 23 (2) An objection to the jurisdiction of the Committee to 24 investigate the complaint. 25 B. Any motion submitted pursuant to this rule is not in lieu of 26 an answer and shall be accompanied by a memorandum of points and 27 authorities. Answers or motions not submitted within the twenty-one 28 (21) calendar-day period shall not be considered by the Committee. 29 C. The Chair of the Committee shall pass upon such motions as 30 soon as practicable and notice of the decision shall be furnished to 31 the respondent and the complainant. A motion to quash a subpoena 32 shall be decided by the Chair of the Committee. 33 D. Time limitations imposed by this Rule may be extended when, 34 in the discretion of the Chair, such extension would facilitate a fair 35 and complete inquiry and may be shortened when the Chair determines 36 that there are special circumstances compelling expedition, and upon 37 twenty-four (24) hours notice of said action to the respondent and the 38 claimant. 39 E. In the event that a special counsel is retained by the 40 Committee, the attorney-client privilege is applicable to the 41 Committee and not to the House.
42 RULE 8. Preliminary Hearings 43 A. A preliminary hearing may be held to hear arguments based on 44 the evidence submitted in the case. The preliminary hearing may be 45 closed at the discretion of the Committee. The Committee shall 46 provide the complainant and the respondent or counsel for the 47 complainant and respondent an opportunity to present, orally or in 48 writing, a statement, which shall be under oath or affirmation,
4 1 regarding the allegations and any other relevant questions arising out 2 of the complaint or other evidence provided to the committee. Opening 3 statements made during a preliminary hearing shall be limited to 4 fifteen minutes for the complainant and fifteen minutes for the 5 respondent; however, such time limitations may be increased at the 6 discretion of the Chair of the Committee. 7 B. The Committee shall require that testimony be given under 8 oath or affirmation. The form of the oath or affirmation shall be: "Do 9 you solemnly swear (or affirm) that the testimony you will give before 10 this Committee in the matter now under consideration will be the 11 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (so help you God)?" 12 The oath or affirmation shall be administered by the Chair or 13 Committee member designated by him to administer oaths. The Committee 14 may take testimony from the complainant, alleged victim, respondent, 15 and any other witness at the discretion of the Chair. The 16 complainant, alleged victim, and respondent may submit a list of 17 proposed witnesses to the Chair for consideration at least twenty-four 18 hours in advance of the hearing. Only the Committee members, or 19 special counsel for the Committee, may question a witness at the 20 preliminary hearing. 21 C. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, a majority of 22 the Committee shall vote by roll call to: 23 (1) Dismiss the complaint, which may be accompanied by a report 24 issued by the Committee; 25 (2) Proceed by undertaking a formal hearing; or 26 (3) Offer a recommended sanction to the member which may include 27 one of the following: 28 (a) Letter of reproval; 29 (b) Reprimand; 30 (c) Censure; or 31 (d) Expulsion.
32 If the member accepts the Committee's recommended sanction, the 33 sanction shall be enforced and the complaint shall be concluded. If 34 the member does not accept the recommended sanction, the Committee 35 shall then proceed to a formal hearing which shall take place no later 36 than ninety (90) calendar days after the date that the recommended 37 sanction was rejected or as scheduled or extended by a majority vote 38 of the Committee.
39 RULE 9. Formal Hearings 40 A. A formal hearing shall be held on the record to receive 41 evidence upon which to base findings, conclusions, and 42 recommendations, if any, to the House; except that, such hearing may 43 be closed at the discretion of the Committee. The Committee may 44 require, by subpoena or otherwise, or by subpoena duces tecum, the 45 attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such 46 books, records, correspondence, memorandums, papers, electronic 47 communications, and documents as it deems necessary. The Committee 48 may issue and enforce subpoenas as allowed by law.
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