The Arizona House Ethics Committee adopted its rules of procedure and voted to return the House-adopted code of ethics and personal financial interest rules to the full House with a recommendation that they be affirmed.

The committee's organizational meeting for the 57th Legislature, held pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes §38-519, approved the committee rules and forwarded the code of ethics and personal financial interest rules (adopted as House Rules 33 and 34 on Jan. 13, 2025) for consideration by the full House. Representative Carter moved both measures; the committee approved the rules by voice vote and voted 5-0 to recommend the code and financial rules.

The newly adopted committee rules are substantially the same as those used in prior legislatures, with one explicit change memorialized on page 2. Tim Fleming, rules attorney in the House Rules Attorney's office, described the change as adding a few words to Rule 14 to clarify that the chair "may distribute a copy of the complaint and implement that process that way." Fleming said the language reflects past practice in which a committee chair exercised discretion at intake to determine whether to route or distribute certain complaints, including those that "might be...clearly motivated by political reasons." Representative Mathis asked whether the updated wording was intended to reflect past inconsistent practice; Fleming replied that it "clarifies that the discretion of the chairman, ultimately at the intake point of receiving a complaint is...that it may or may not be distributed."

Representative Carter moved that "the proposed rules of procedure for the ethics committee be adopted." The chair conducted a voice vote and declared the ayes had it. Carter then moved that the committee return the code of ethics and personal financial interest rules to the whole House "with the recommendation that they are approved as written and affirmed." The secretary called the roll for that motion; Representatives Contreras, Griffin, Mathis, Vice Chairman Carter and Chairman Diaz were recorded as voting aye, producing a 5-0 vote in favor.

The rules attorney told members the code and personal financial interest rules have already been adopted by the whole House and have been consistent across many cycles. Fleming summarized that those rules "set forth very clear requirements about what members may or may not do with regard to their own financial benefit and their participation in the process," and that they also "spell out what happens if there is a conflict of interest where a member should not be participating perhaps on a vote." The committee's action was a recommendation back to the full House, consistent with the statute that requires the committee to consider and recommend such rules.

With no further business, the chair adjourned the organizational meeting.