Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, says his conversation with Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, at the Legislature's organizational session wasn't confrontational. "I did approach him and I did say, 'Eric, if you need to get together or if you see a need for us to get together and talk, I want you to know that I'm open to doing that and available,'" Hart told Eye on Boise. "And that was the first thing I said to him." He said, "We talked for a little while. I do remember that that's the way I initiated the conversation. It was not confrontational and it didn't go on for too long. I did not tell him he's being watched."

Hart added, "I did tell him that I felt that in these types of situations, it should've started with a one-on-one conversation between he and I, I do remember telling him that. ... That's what I thought the starting point should have been," as opposed to an ethics complaint. Anderson filed an ethics complaint against Hart; the House Ethics Committee voted 6-1 today to investigate it further and convene again in January.