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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

EOB: Party-line vote clears Hart of conflict charge

A special House Ethics Committee has voted 4-3 along party lines to clear Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, of conflict of interest charges over his votes on various tax legislation while pressing his own tax fights against state and federal income tax. "I don't think that the allegations were specific enough," said Rep. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry. "I hope if nothing else that come out of this, that it's a wakeup call for all of us to be very careful about our appearances." The three minority Democrats on the committee said Hart's actions showed a pattern of ignoring the House rule that requires conflicts of interest be disclosed.  They favored a motion to reprimand Hart and recommend his removal from the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, but it failed on a party-line vote. "I think that the behavior does reflect badly on all of us," said Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum. "It reflects badly on the credibility of the body. So I can't vote to dismiss here." More here - Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.