On Friday, the Arizona Attorney General's office said the public utility regulator did not violate the state's conflict of interest rules. 

The complaint against Commissioner Burns centered on his relationship to an economic development non-profit, called the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council.

Burns had been listed as a registered lobbyist for the group while in office, until just last year. The commissioner said that was merely an administrative oversight, not because he was actively lobbying. The attorney general’s investigation affirmed that.

The corporation commission regulates telecommunications companies. Recently, former Commission Chair Susan Bitter Smith resigned because of her ties to the telecom industry; however, unlike Bitter Smith, there was no evidence Burns received any payment or lobbied.