On Tuesday, the Arizona House of Representative censured Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton for violating House rules when she stole Bibles from the Member’s Lounge in the House.
Rep. Travis Grantham proposed expulsion of Stahl Hamilton, but his effort to ensure his colleagues are held to the same standards that apply to petty thieves was thwarted by a handful of Republicans, including Reps. Alex Kolodin and David Cook, who joined all Democrats in rejecting that proposal.
The motion to censure passed on a 30-28 vote.
Reps. Justin Heap, David Marshall, and Lupe Diaz filed a formal complaint with the House Ethics Committee on May 1, after Stahl Hamilton admitted to removing and concealing Bibles displayed in the House Members Lounge.
Rep. Justin Heap said during Tuesday’s debate that Stahl Hamilton’s actions were “flagrantly offensive, and something the House needs to take seriously.”
“What do we as a body value more?” asked Heap. “The reputations of Arizona politicians or the reputation of God in the world? I know which side of that debate that I come down on,” Heap said.
The three Representatives alleged in their complaint that Stahl Hamilton “engaged in disorderly behavior, potentially committed repeated acts of theft, and created a hostile work environment, which demonstrate a lack of respect for other members of the Legislature, staff, visitors, and their property, and the rule of law.”
On March 23, 2023, Capitol Security received a report that a pair of Holy Bibles, which had been proudly displayed in the House Members Lounge for decades, were missing. The next day, House security staff initiated a comprehensive search for the missing Bibles. Subsequently, it was discovered that the Bibles had been taken from their display tables, and concealed underneath the cushions of two chairs where House members commonly sit while not engaged in Floor activity.
One week later, on March 29, 2023, one of the Bibles went missing again, this time discovered inside a shared kitchens’ refrigerator, having been removed from the Members Lounge by an unknown individual, later identified as Stahl Hamilton.
Committee Report Complaint and Response
On May 1, 2023, Representatives Justin Heap, David Marshall, and Lupe Diaz filed an Ethics Complaint against Representative Stahl Hamilton, then filed an Amended Complaint on May 8, 2023, which included the required notarizations that were missing from the original complaint and is the operative version of the Complaint the Ethics Committee considered. The Complaint alleges that Representative Stahl Hamilton engaged in disorderly behavior in violation of House Rule 1 and potentially both committed theft under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-1802(A)(l) and created a hostile work environment as defined by state and federal law. The Representatives alleged that her actions demonstrated “a lack of respect for other members of the Legislature, staff, visitors, and their property, and the rule of law” and “may have caused offense to the practicing Christians in Arizona, who hold the Bible as a sacred text and expect their elected officials to uphold basic principles of respect and civility.” Complaint at 5-6.
Pursuant to the House Ethics Committee Rule of Procedure 13, the Committee provided Representative Stahl Hamilton, who elected to exercise her right under Rule 15 to engage legal counsel, with an opportunity to respond to the Complaint in writing. She did so, submitting an Initial Response on May 8, 2023, and a Supplemental Response (to the Amended Complaint) on May 11, 2023. Although the Supplemental Response was submitted two days after the Chairman’s deadline to respond to the Amended Complaint, the Chairman accepted the Supplemental Response and the Committee considered it.
In her Initial Response, Representative Stahl Hamilton asserted that she “is an ordained Presbyterian minister” and that “[h]er actions were a peaceful protest regarding the separation of church and state, and in response to the weaponizing of religion in politics.” However, she did not provide further explanation for the proposition that the mere presence of Bibles in the Members’ Lounge violates the separation of church and state or any of her constitutional rights. She further asserted that her conduct did not constitute theft because “she has the legal right to use items in the members’ lounge,” but she did not articulate how using a Bible is equivalent to removing Bibles from their designated locations and concealing them in a disrespectful manner.
Representative Stahl Hamilton’s actions made it impossible for other members to exercise their legal right to use the House’s Bibles in the Members’ Lounge.
Representative Stahl Hamilton also posited that “[u]nder relevant case law, it is legally impossible” for her to create a hostile work environment for other sitting Members because “she is neither an employer nor supervisor of legislators,” but no case law or other legal authority was submitted to the Committee to support this contention. Id.
In her Supplemental Response, Representative Stahl Hamilton submitted a typed statement, which she signed and dated May 11, 2023, she “acknowledge[d] those [she] offended by [her] actions of hiding Bibles” and apologized for not having “a conversation about the separation of church and state[.]” Representative Stahl Hamilton wrote that she “recognize[d] that [her] actions could have been seen as something less than playful” and that she was sorry “for those [Members]” whom she had “deeply offended.” Id.
Rule 15 Evidentiary Hearing
On May 25, 2023, the Committee held an evidentiary hearing open to the public and press pursuant to Rule 15 of the Committee’s Rules of Procedure. In anticipation of that hearing, four exhibits were submitted for the Committee’s consideration:
A. A tweet by Representative Stahl Hamilton dated June 2, 2020, at 12:51 p.m. This was also attached as “Exhibit A” to the Complaint.
B. Photographs of the Bibles found in the Members’ Lounge couch cushion and Coffee Bar refrigerator.
C. Security video footage, approximately five minutes in length, dated April 10, 2023, from the House Members’ Lounge.
D. Legislative Video Clip, approximately three minutes in length, dated April 1, 2021, of Representative Stahl Hamilton raising a point of personal privilege on the Floor to make religious comments in reference to the crisis at the border.
During the hearing, the Ethics Committee played the videos of Exhibits C and D. Additionally, the Committee heard testimony from Mr. Fitzgerald and Representative Heap. Representative Stahl Hamilton exercised her right to be represented by counsel and did not appear at the hearing.
Given the fact-intensive allegations in the Complaint, the Committee would have preferred to hear testimony from Representative Stahl Hamilton. Indeed, the Committee had prepared questions for Representative Stahl Hamilton relevant to this investigation. Representative Stahl Hamilton’s counsel declined to substantively answer some of the Committee’s questions, but instead deferred to Representative Stahl Hamilton’s previous statements.
Nonetheless, the Committee made best efforts to determine the facts and deems its investigation complete and final.
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