Facing push back from their rank and file, House Democratic leaders decided Monday to take more time before trying to change House rules to create an outside ethics commission.

As envisioned, the new panel would filter complaints from members as well as non-members — a dramatic change for lawmakers unaccustomed to outsiders having the standing to file formal complaints.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, plans to meet with her caucus Tuesday to help assuage the fears of a sizable group of Democrats who believe that allowing non-members to file complaints will open a floodgate of politically motivated attacks.

“This affects people’s lives, and they don’t want [merely] one week to talk about it” before a vote, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois said after a leadership meeting late Monday.

The proposed rules change, devised by a task force headed by Michael E. Capuano, a Democrat from Massachusetts, would call for the appointment of a four-person panel to investigate complaints and recommend to the House ethics committee whether the allegations should be pursued further.

The commission would have no subpoena power, and the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the ethics committee is formally known, would not be required to follow its advice. But for the first time in many years, complaints would be reviewed no matter the origin, whether inside or outside Congress. Currently, only sitting members can file ethics complaints.

A number of House Democrats grumbled after getting a briefing on the plan for the first time last week. Many who were interviewed after the meeting said they were opposed to allowing outsiders file complaints.

Pelosi will have to sell the Capuano plan to 53 members who have signed on to an alternative bill introduced by Baron P. Hill, a Democrat from Indiana, who was elected to a fourth, non-consecutive term in November 2006, after a 2004 election loss sidelined him from the 109th Congress.

Hill is pushing an alternative to the rules change Pelosi favors. His bill (HR 1754) would give substantial investigative powers to a panel of 12 former members while limiting to sitting members the authority to file ethics complaints.

“Baron Hill leading the charge,” a Democratic leadership aide said. “He and others are worried that because they are in tough districts, every Tom, Dick and Harry will file a charge against them.”

Pelosi is not expected to soften her plan, despite the complaints, and even those who back Hill’s initiative admit that it will be either difficult or impossible to vote against Capuano’s proposal once it is on the House floor.

“He’s just trying to present an alternative because currently there isn’t one out there,” said Hill’s spokeswoman, Katie Moreau.

Capuano, meanwhile, was scheduled to meet Monday evening with the task force that devised his plan. The bipartisan group “is close to finalizing” some remaining details, according to Capuano’s spokeswoman, Alison Mills.

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, said the rules change was never officially on the schedule this week anyway.

“It’s not on the schedule at this point,” Hoyer said. “We’re working on it.”