Subcommittee votes not to open investigation after hearing on complaint over Senator Mitchell’s vote

The Minnesota Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct voted not to proceed with an investigation after a contested hearing about an ethics complaint alleging Senator Nicole Mitchell improperly voted to block consideration of a motion that could have led to her expulsion.

The complaint, introduced at the hearing by fellow senators, argued Mitchell cast the deciding vote on a procedural appeal Jan. 27 that prevented the body from considering a motion to expel her. Mitchell told the subcommittee she had taken a “procedural vote” and argued the statutes and rules cited in the complaint did not require recusal.

Why it matters: The hearing centered on when lawmakers must recuse themselves and what counts as a financial interest under Minnesota law. Complainants said the vote was uniquely personal because it affected Mitchell’s salary, benefits and staff. Mitchell said the legal definition of financial interest does not cover ordinary legislative employment and that voting on procedural questions does not carry the same recusal requirements as voting on an actual expulsion.

At…