Rep. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, questioned Rep. Phil Hart as to whether he was "accepting as part of the responsibility for your actions" that he'd step down from his vice-chairmanship, or whether he just wanted the committee to take no action against him because he made that offer. "I guess that's where I have some trepidation," Wills said.

Hart said, "I have to say that I'm in a bit of a different place, because I know there's a fourth complaint out there. Now I haven't seen it, you haven't seen it. I don't know what the issues are. But I'm concerned about the process gets reinitiated because there's a fourth complaint. How long will this go on? How many times might I be standing here offering to step off of this or that committee, and what will be left of my work here if I'm continually down here with another fourth complaint?"

Ethics Chairman Tom Loertscher said if the committee recommends Hart be removed from the vice-chairmanship, the speaker could choose to carry that out in the House's 13th order through changes in committee assignments without any big debate.

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