Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane told the Senate Ethics Committee this morning that there is a "broad presumption" that a senator may vote on a bill, even despite a conflict of interest. "This preference for voting arises from the strong interest in insuring that a Senator's constituents do not find themselves unrepresented on a piece of legislation," he said. "The rule requires disclosure, but once disclosure is made, a senator may fully participate in all proceedings of the Senate, through its committees and the body as a whole."

Kane noted that the Senate's ethics rule regarding conflicts of interest specifically cites committees as well as the full Senate. "You'll notice in the second line there that it includes the word 'committees,'" he said.

The ethics complaint against Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, is for failing to disclose a conflict regarding oil and gas legislation; he has maintained that he wasn't required to make such disclosures in committee, and that he really only had a conflict with the final bill, HB 464, on which he made a disclosure before the full Senate vote. According to the complaint, he cast 22 previous votes in committee or in the full Senate, on both rules and legislation, without disclosing that he holds oil and gas leases on his Payette County property, including one signed in November.