Panel finds disorderly behavior by Tucson lawmaker who hid Bibles

PHOENIX — Tucson Democratic Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton is guilty of “disorderly behavior’’ for moving and hiding Bibles in the lounge used by lawmakers, the House Ethics Committee says.

In a unanimous, bipartisan report issued Friday, the committee found that Stahl Hamilton:

Purposely removed the Bibles from the lounge on three separate occasions;

Intentionally concealed the books in a manner disrespectful to other members;

Violated the “inherent obligation to protect the integrity of the House,’’ offended some members, and caused the House to expend resources to place a hidden camera to find where the Bibles were going.

Stahl Hamilton never fully apologized for her actions after they were made public and gained national attention but, at best, said she was apologizing to those who she had offended, the report says.

Any chance she had to personally rectify that when the committee heard evidence last month disappeared when she did not show up but instead sent two lawyers. it says.

The committee made no recommendation, however, on what punishment, if any, should be imposed. Instead, it urged all lawmakers to read the report and decide for themselves what action is appropriate.

Any action could come on Monday. Stahl Hamilton said she won’t comment until it happens.

Ouster takes two-thirds vote

The chances of her being ejected from the House are virtually nil.

The last two times that penalty was imposed were against a lawmaker who violated House policies on sexual harassment, Don Shooter of Yuma in 2018, and, earlier this year, against Liz Harris of Chandler for facilitating false testimony to a committee and lying about her role when questioned.

It takes a two-thirds vote to remove a lawmaker. There is little chance that Democrats, who control 29 of the 60 seats, would go along.

A more likely punishment is censure, essentially a formal reprimand by colleagues.

Whether Democrats would support even that, however, remains unclear.

In a prepared statement Friday, House Democratic leaders said they have seen the report and “accept its findings.’’

But they also said they accept the apologies Stahl Hamilton made and that she has “owned her actions.’’

“We will not engage in any further divisive rhetoric or political opportunism that this incident has inspired,’’ the statement said. “It is time to focus and devote our attention to the important work we have left at our Capitol.’’

Video evidence

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In March, some members first noticed that two Bibles, which are placed on tables in the lounge just outside the House chambers, were missing. A search by security staff turned them up — underneath the cushions of chairs.

Another incident about a week later found a Bible in a refrigerator in the lounge.

House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, then authorized the placement of a hidden camera, which took video on April 10 of Stahl Hamilton moving the books.

After that video went public, aired by a Phoenix TV station, Stahl Hamilton explained her actions briefly to Capitol Media Services, calling them “just a little playful commentary on the separation of church and state.’’

In a floor speech that followed, she said: “I acknowledge that a conversation about the separation of church and state should have began with a conversation.”

Stahl Hamilton, who holds a master’s of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and is an ordained Presbyterian minister, said she recognized that her actions “could have been seen as something less than playful, and offensive.’’

That didn’t satisfy three first-term Republican lawmakers who filed a complaint. They said that, in putting the Bibles under seat cushions, she was “potentially causing Christian members of the House, staff, and guests to unknowingly sit on their own holy text.’’ They said her placement of one in a refrigerator was “disrespectful in the extreme.’’

That led to the hearing last month where the Ethics Committee took testimony and sought to question Stahl Hamilton, who chose not to attend on “the advice of my excellent lawyers,” both of them former lawmakers.

‘Deeply offensive’

The committee’s report Friday says there is no question that Stahl Hamilton removed the Bibles, not only the time she was seen on video but in at least two other prior incidents.

Then there was what she did with them. “Rep. Stahl Hamilton could have placed the Bibles on a bookshelf or even placed them on the Sergeant-at-Arms’ desk after removing them from their usual places and still accomplished her stated goal,’’ the report says.

“Instead, she twice decided to put the Bibles within pieces of furniture where people — including her — frequently sit,’’ it continues. “Her choice was not only disrespectful of the Bible itself but was deeply offensive to those members who revere the Bible as their holy text.’’

Beyond that, the report says that, in hiding he books, she “deprived members who choose to exercise their religious beliefs by referring to the biblical text of any opportunity to do so during the time periods when the Bibles were missing.’’

“Her actions would have been equally offensive and disrespectful if it had been the Book of Mormon, Qur’an, or any other religious text,’’ the report says.

“On one hand, the committee recognizes that Rep. Stahl Hamilton might believe that her public acknowledgment of the matter and expressing remorse sufficiently addressed it,’’ the report says. “Conversely, the committee also recognizes that some might believe that her decision to apologize expressly for external reactions but not likewise to do so for her personal actions falls short of fully taking responsibility for her behavior.’’

Committee members would have preferred to hear directly from her during its hearing “to help discern how to approach these competing inferences.’’