JEFFERSON CITY — A panel of state lawmakers met for the third time Wednesday as they continued an ethics probe into the speaker of the Missouri House.
With the clock ticking down toward the beginning of the 2024 legislative session in January, the House Ethics Committee met behind closed doors for more than two hours as they attempt to determine if Rep. Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, should be punished for falsely billing taxpayers for travel to conferences in Hawaii and elsewhere.
Committee chairwoman Hannah Kelly, a Mountain Grove Republican, signaled the panel had made progress, but added there was more work to be done.
“The committee’s work is continuing,” Kelly said.
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She did not say when the committee would meet again, suggesting that the annual legislative session could begin with the scandal looming over the 163-member House heading into an election year.
Rep. Robert Sauls, D-Kansas City, who serves as vice chair of the bipartisan panel, acknowledged the probe could be drawn out over a lengthy period of time.
But he said the committee wants to make sure they make the right decision.
“Nobody wants to be accused of rushing and making a wrong decision,” Sauls said.
Plocher, who was not at the meeting, also has stirred controversy in September for his efforts to muscle through the purchase of an $800,000 software program without going through normal bidding channels.
In the wake of the software scandal, Plocher fired his chief of staff, Kenny Ross. Another top Plocher aide, legal counsel Julia Baker, also departed.
Both staffers have returned to the state government payroll in other positions and Plocher has replaced Ross as his chief of staff with former House Speaker Rod Jetton.
Jetton, who led the House from 2005 to 2009, pleaded guilty in 2011 to misdemeanor assault while admitting that he hit and choked a woman during a sexual encounter in 2009. He was sentenced to probation.
While Plocher’s plight and his hiring of Jetton triggered calls for him to step down as speaker, a majority of House Republicans who selected the attorney and former municipal judge as their leader remain supportive of him.
Others, including Rep. Ed. Lewis, R-Moberly, say they are withholding judgment until the ethics panel issues a finding.
It is not clear how long the committee will take to determine if a punishment is warranted.
Under House rules, the committee investigates complaints of ethical misconduct by members of the House. The harshest punishment the panel can recommend is the expulsion of a member. They also can issue lesser sanctions, such as a letter of reprimand.
Members of the committee are held to strict confidentiality guidelines because of discussions about sensitive matters.
“Our job is to maintain the integrity of the House. Period,” Kelly said.
The latest hearing comes as Plocher, who has one more year left in his speakership, is running for lieutenant governor next year.
One of his GOP opponents, former Sen. Bob Onder, R-Lake Saint Louis, has amassed more than $1 million in his campaign coffers since the scandal broke in October.
Originally posted at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday.