Committee hears bill to limit school board ethics filings to members receiving stipends

Representative Mark Owens, House District 60, and the Oregon School Boards Association urged the House Committee on Rules on Feb. 10 to narrow the state's statement-of-economic-interest filing requirement for locally elected school board members to those who receive a stipend.

"This has been a very, oh, controversial and frustrating conversation for my district and all of Eastern Oregon for at least 4 years," Representative Mark Owens said, describing volunteer boards in small districts and the difficulty of filling seats after some members resigned when the SEI requirement took effect.

The bill under consideration, House Bill 3130, would limit the requirement that a school district board member file an annual verified statement of economic interest to those members who receive a stipend from the district school board, Melissa (committee staff) read into the…