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Oregon Government Ethics Commission briefs Rules Committee on enforcement, funding and caseload growth
Summary
The Executive Director and programs administrator of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission outlined the agency's jurisdiction, funding model, staffing, caseload and proposed legislative concepts during an informational hearing before the Senate Rules Committee on Feb. 3, 2025.
Susan Myers, executive director of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, and Becky Mason, the agency's programs administrator, told the Senate Committee on Rules on Feb. 3 that the commission enforces Oregon's ethics laws (Chapter 244), lobby regulations (Chapter 171) and the public meetings law.
Myers said the commission, established about 50 years ago, ‘‘was established just after Watergate’’ and now enforces ethics laws in Chapter 244, lobby registration and reporting in Chapter 171, and public meetings law (including executive sessions). The agency has nine commissioners and a staff of 15 divided among administration, enforcement (a compliance and enforcement coordinator plus four investigators) and training (a curriculum coordinator and four trainers), Myers said.
Mason described the commission's funding model as an "other-fund model." She said 50% of funding is assessed to state agencies based on full-time-equivalent employees and 50% is assessed to local public bodies (cities, counties, fire districts, cemetery districts and other public entities) on a scaled basis tied to the Secretary of State's municipal audit fee schedule. Mason said the agency requested roughly $7,000,000 in the current budget cycle and filed five legislative concepts to clarify filing instructions, extend investigation timelines, clean up gift-offer language, add household-member language for conflict-of-interest rules, and create an exception to allow public officials to hold teaching positions at postsecondary institutions.
Mason and Myers described enforcement and advice activity that has grown sharply: the commission issued 721 pieces of written advice in 2024 ("more than 2 a day"), trained roughly 16,000 people last year, and handled 566 complaints in 2024, of which 272 met jurisdictional thresholds and opened as cases. Myers explained that complaints proceed through a preliminary review period (roughly 60 days for most matters, 135 days for some lobby matters) and, if moved to investigation, an investigation period of 180 days; the commission can extend investigations (current statute allows 30 days; the commission seeks authority to extend to 60 days to better align with commission schedules).
Myers and Mason emphasized the commission's focus on education, describing multiple advice products (phone guidance, informal written advice, informational letters on letterhead subject to DOJ review, and staff and commission advisory opinions) and a range of training formats, including live monthly webinars and customized trainings for local public bodies. "We take pride on answering the phone," Mason said, describing the agency's intake for advice and its public-facing outreach.
Committee members asked about anonymous whistleblower channels; Myers said the commission does not accept anonymous complaints but that the Secretary of State's audit division provides an anonymous hotline and will forward relevant matters to the ethics commission. Senators also asked about the agency's workload and the drivers of the caseload increase; Myers and Mason cited expanded jurisdiction over public meetings law, greater public awareness from training and the shift to remote meetings during the COVID period as contributing factors to increased reporting.
