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Panel backs clarifying amendment to SEI form to cover LLC/LLP listings
Summary
House Committee on Rules heard testimony that House Bill 2923 would clarify where filers must report membership in LLCs or LLPs on statements of economic interest; agency staff described the change as housekeeping to reduce filing confusion.
House Bill 2923 drew an informational presentation and questioning in the House Committee on Rules on Jan. 27, when Oregon Government Ethics Commission staff described the measure as a clarification to the statement-of-economic-interest form.
Susan Myers, executive director of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, told the committee the bill would amend ORS 244.06 to specify where a filer should list businesses that are LLCs or LLPs and to clarify that question 1(a) should include all businesses in which the filer is an officer, director, manager, member or partner.
Myers said filers have sometimes omitted such firms because the form and statute did not expressly call out LLCs and LLPs, and that the intent of the bill is to reduce confusion and the number of technical errors. Becky Mason, the commission’s operations and policy analyst, affirmed the agency’s position.
Committee members asked whether failures to list an entity had led to enforcement actions. Myers said most instances are technical mistakes; complainants may trigger investigations, and the commission may open a case, but the agency often assists filers to amend SEIs and prefers educational remedies for inadvertent errors.
Rep. Boshart Davis and Vice Chair Drazen questioned whether the statute’s technical complexity imposes burdens on volunteer local officials; Myers and staff described prior statutory changes (including HB 2038) that had added reporting complexity and said the bill is intended to make reporting clearer rather than to create new substantive obligations.
Why it matters: the bill aims to make the SEI clearer for filers, which supporters say will reduce inadvertent omissions and the associated administrative burden of investigations and corrections. The committee closed the hearing and moved to the next bill on the agenda.
