PHOENIX — The Arizona House of Representatives disciplined a House Democrat and ordained minister with a censure vote Tuesday following an Ethics Committee finding that her repeated hiding of two Bibles in a House lounge was “disorderly behavior.”
A vote to expel Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, D-Tucson, motioned by Ethics Committee member Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, failed because of a lack of Democratic support. Expulsion requires the backing of two-thirds of the members.
But Republicans carried off the censure, which needed just a simple majority, with a vote of 30-28. The final vote caused some Democrats to complain that approving the censure should have taken 31 votes.
The House Code of Conduct requires a majority of the House (for censure),” said Democratic Leader Andrés Cano. “That would be 31. This seems to be a flagrant exercise of power.”
Stahl Hamilton, an ordained Presbyterian minister, hid the two Bibles from the House members’ lounge as a prank. In April, she apologized during a House floor speech the day after she was caught in the act by a security camera placed in the lounge.
Stahl Hamilton had called it a “simple little prank” and said it was a “peaceful, playful protest.”
But three Republican members — Reps. Justin Heap, David Marshall, and Lupe Diaz — later filed a complaint against Stahl Hamilton, accusing her of violating House rules as well as committing theft and creating a hostile workplace.
Some Republicans on the five-member Ethics Committee didn’t fully accept her apology. All five, however, including the two Democrats on the panel, found that she violated the House rule against disorderly behavior, a term that’s not defined in the Arizona Constitution.
What lawmakers said during expulsion, censure debate
Stahl Hamilton listened patiently on the House floor on Tuesday as many of her fellow lawmakers argued for or against expulsion and censure.
Some compared the process to the expulsion vote against former Rep. Liz Harris in April, who was booted from the Legislature after the Ethics Committee found that she had lied about her knowledge of the false testimony that her guest aired in a February hearing on Republican election concerns.
Several Republicans felt that the House should show consistency by expelling Stahl Hamilton as they had expelled Harris.
“How we operate while we are here depends greatly on our leadership and our consistency while we’re in session,” said Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Joseph Chaplik. “I vote yes.”
Rep. David Cook said before voting against the expulsion measure that he had worked previously with Stahl Hamilton — whom he called a friend — and found her to be a help to rural Arizonans. He called the expulsion motion “overkill” and also voted against the censure.
Democrats defending Stahl Hamilton included Rep. Nancy Gutierrez who noted that only Bibles are kept in the lounge, not the Quran or other religious texts.
“The righteous indignation is misplaced,” she said. “I’ve known her for many years. … She has never failed to stand up for the people she represents.”
Stahl Hamilton sent a statement via text message when asked for a comment after the censure vote, but would not answer questions.
“The body has spoken,” she wrote. “It’s time to move on. I appreciate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who voted against excessive punitive measures beyond the turmoil and attacks I’ve weathered the last seven weeks.”
Representative caught on camera hiding Bibles
Stahl Hamilton was caught hiding the Bibles after a camera was placed in the House members’ lounge, according to Grantham.
Grantham had previously said the missing Bibles went on for weeks and were a “mystery.” Some of the Bibles were found under seat cushions and one was found in the refrigerator, he said.
Stahl Hamilton at the time described her actions as a protest regarding the separation of church and state.
“I hold Scripture very dear to my heart,” Stahl Hamilton said during her floor speech in April. “I recognize my actions could have been seen something as less than playful – and offensive.”
Follow Ray Stern on Twitter@raystern.