BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A five-member, permanent House Ethics Committee is slated to replace the chamber's current ad hoc panel that considers complaints against representatives. That's according to a measure introduced Monday in the House Judiciary & Rules Committee. House Speaker Scott Bedke has been pushing changes since taking office in December. Rep. Lynn Luker, a Boise Republican, helped draft the measure that will now get a full public hearing.

A new ethics panel would consist of five members, three majority and two minority. That's down from the seven-member ethics committees now that are called up only after a complaint has been lodged. Complaints would initially be confidential, becoming public only after members of the committee agree that hearings are merited. At Monday's hearing, minority Democrats say they were consulted on the proposed changes.

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