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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Hill: Close to making appointments for six-member Senate Ethics Committee

Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill said he's close to making the appointments for a six-member Senate Ethics Committee to handle a complaint against Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, charging  undeclared conflict of interest. Hill said he's still trying to reach two potential appointees to see if they can serve; once that's settled, he plans to issue a news release. By Senate rules, Hill will appoint six members including the panel's chair; three of those will be with the concurrence of the Senate's minority leader.

Also to be addressed in the news release: Hill's response to Senate Democrats' requests that Pearce be removed from his chairmanship of the Senate Resources Committee and recuse himself from any votes on oil and gas issues while the issue is pending. The complaint charges that Pearce failed to disclose that he'd signed oil and gas leases on his Payette County property before 22 votes in committee and in the full Senate on oil and gas legislation; he disclosed the leases before the Senate's vote Wednesday on HB 464, the most controversial of the oil and gas bills taken up by the Legislature this year.

Late yesterday, Pearce released a statement, saying in part, "As a landowner, the only measure where I could have a conflict was H464, and on that bill I made the proper declaration." Pearce said today that he can't comment further. "I've got an attorney, and I guess I've been told to keep my mouth shut," he said. "It's political assassination, that's all I can say." He added, "I maintain I will be cleared."



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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