Questions about whether Representative Jonathan Stickland was involved in a scheme to falsely fill out witness registration cards for a bill at the Capitol have been referred to the House General Investigating & Ethics Committee.
“There will be an investigation looking into the alleged violations of House rules regarding witness registration,” said committee Chairman John Kuemple, R-Seguin. “Our rulebook, it clearly states you have to fill it out yourself at the Capitol.”
The investigation at first will be conducted behind closed doors, Kuemple said.
Stickland and Pickett declined to discuss the incident.
Filing a false witness statement may not just be a violation of House rules. It potentially could be a violation of a state law prohibits tampering with a government document.
The investigation was prompted by transportation committee Chairman Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, throwing Stickland out of a committee meeting Thursday night after discovering that witnesses who had signed up in favor of a Stickland bill were not even in Austin. The bill was on the question of whether red light cameras should be banned.
Earlier in the day, Stickland had used a parliamentary procedure to knock one of Pickett’s bills off the House calendar.
