Gittens Files Bill to Expand Ethics Complaint Window

When a staffer filed a sexual harassment complaint in March against Sen. Angel Bolques Jr., the expectation was that the Legislature’s Ethical Conduct Committee would review the allegations and deliver a finding. Instead, the case laid bare a weakness in the Legislature’s own rule book: a 60-day filing deadline that stopped the committee from considering some of the most serious claims – a restriction that one senator is moving to change.

Senators have stated that to protect the employee, they were unable to release the full complaint, though in press releases, the Ethics Committee has said it included allegations of financial mismanagement and creating a hostile work environment, among other things. Rule 810(e) limits the Ethical Conduct Committee to complaints filed within two months of the alleged misconduct, and that restriction put some of the more serious claims out of reach, including at least one incident they said had occurred some months prior to the filing.

With the scope narrowed, Bolques entered a no-contest plea on July 24 to a single charge — violation of his oath of office — sidestepping the broader accusations.

The full Senate took up the committee’s recommendation for a reprimand in mid-August, but added, on a 7–6 vote, a suspension without pay for 30 working days. Fifteen of those days take effect immediately; the other half are held in abeyance through the end of the year, provided Bolques complies with Senate rules. If he violates the rules again before Dec. 31, the remaining suspension — which Bolques is challenging — will be enforced.