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Committee hears bill to change Oregon Advocacy Commission office head title to executive director
Summary
Senate Bill 790 would change the title of the head of the Oregon Advocacy Commission office from "administrator" to "executive director" to reflect expanded programmatic responsibilities; agency staff said the office now supervises additional staff and program work tied to four advocacy commissions.
On April 22, 2025, the House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans heard testimony on Senate Bill 790, which changes the statutory title of the head of the Oregon Advocacy Commission’s office from “administrator” to “executive director.”
Kyle Myers, operations and policy analyst at the Oregon Advocacy Commission’s office (OACO), told the committee that the OACO was established as an agency in 2005 to provide administrative support to four legislatively established advocacy commissions: the Commission on Hispanic Affairs, the Commission on Black Affairs, the Commission for Women, and the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. Myers said the role now includes programmatic direction (for example, work under House Bill 4052, enacted in 2022) and supervision of additional staff, so the title change would align the position with similar agency heads.
Myers said the agency currently has four permanent staff, three limited‑duration staff and one temporary staff member supporting 44 commissioners (11 commissioners on each of four commissions, including one House and one Senate member on each commission). Committee members asked about the number of supervised staff and commissioners, and one former commissioner who testified in support said the title update was overdue.
No fiscal or policy controversy was raised during the hearing; proponents described the change as a recognition of the expanded scope of duties of the agency head rather than a substantive policy shift. The committee closed the public hearing with no vote taken April 22, 2025.
