Commission staff told members that Senate Bill 7014 amended statutory timeframes for each stage of the ethics complaint process and that the agency must update its complaint and referral rules to conform. Staff said the changes are extensive but are ministerial in nature — plugging new time limits into existing rule language — and noted the proposed amendments were noticed in the Administrative Register and submitted to the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee (JAPC) for review; staff reported no comments from JAPC as of yesterday.

The commission voted to file the proposed rule amendments to chapter 34‑5 (complaints), chapter 34‑17 (referrals), and chapter 34‑6 (advisory opinions subject matter) so the agency can complete rulemaking to reflect the statutory deadlines. Staff emphasized there is no discretion around the new timeframes and that the agency will update the rule chapter to mirror the statutory schedule set by the legislature.

Members heard no public opposition during the rule hearings and voted to file the proposed rules as presented.