By John Sittler TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, released a statement Wednesday denying that he broke House rules following allegations that he lobbied behind closed doors against a bill that would have hurt his family’s business.

The issue will be considered at a House Ethics Committee meeting next month.

“I am extremely confident the House Ethics Committee will find I have acted within the rules of the House of Representatives, as I have for my entire 24 year career in the Indiana General Assembly,” Turner said.

Ethics Chairman Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon, said he is working to coordinate the best time to meet because it’s “extremely important” for all members to be present for the hearing. That hearing will probably be the week of April 7-11, he said.

House Speaker Brian Bosma referred questions about Turner’s actions to the Ethics Committee following a request by Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody.

In a letter to the House Ethics Committee and its chairman, Rep. Greg Steuerwald, the speaker asked the group to determine whether Turner violated House rules or the ethics code.

“If you find a violation, please recommend any actions you feel should be taken,” Bosma said.

He also asked the committee to consider whether the legislature’s ethics code or statement of economic interest should be changed “to give further transparency and openness to the legislative process.”

Turner had recused himself from voting on the measure in committee and then again on the House floor.

Indiana placed a moratorium on nursing home construction in 2009 in part to curb private-paying residents from switching to newer facilities. Proponents of that law say without it, older facilities would have a harder time affording the care for Medicaid patients who would be left.

Hoosier lawmakers were considering legislation that would have extended the moratorium but it died on the session’s last day. A report by the Associated Press says that happened after Turner lobbied in a private caucus against it. That’s when the Zody requested an investigation.

Turner said Wednesday his actions and statements were completely within legislative rules.

He said he is looking forward to cooperating with the committee and that once the facts are presented, “it will be determined that I acted well within the House Rules and the House Code of Ethics.”

John Sittler is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.