PHOENIX — House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-25) announced Wednesday that he has accepted the resignation of Arizona Representative David Stringer.

The Prescott lawmaker was facing a 5 p.m. deadline to hand over documents related to a 1983 sex abuse case and racially insensitive statements he made in 2018 as part of a House Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct.

Stringer resigned rather than face expulsion for not complying with the committee's subpeona.

"Today I accepted the resignation of David Stringer," said Speaker Bowers. "I'm grateful that the House will not be forced to take action against one of our members, and we can begin to put this matter behind us."

Bowers says the resignation ends the House Ethics Committee's investigation against him.

"While the Ethics Committee will not release a formal report on the investigation, it will release public documents gathered over the course of the investigation as soon as possible," Bowers released in a statement Wednesday.

His resignation ends the Republican majority in the House until Stringer is replaced and will likely hamstring some of the GOP's top priorities just as the legislative session heats up. By law, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors must choose a Republican to replace him.