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.
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.
