Oregon Government Ethics Commission reports sharp growth in trainings, advice and complaints

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission told the House Committee on Rules on Jan. 27 that its workload and public outreach have grown markedly since it assumed responsibility for enforcing the public meetings law.

The agency’s executive director, Susan Myers, told committee members that the commission now has jurisdiction beyond chapter 244 ethics rules to include the public meetings law and lobby provisions, and that the agency has expanded personnel and training to respond.

Myers said the commission has 15 staff, up from nine before the last budget cycle, and that the agency’s funding is split roughly 50% on state FTE assessments and 50% from a municipal audit fee assessment. Becky Mason, the commission’s operations and policy analyst, said the commission delivered nearly 14,000 trainings in 2024 across in-person sessions and webinars and that the volume of outreach has driven increased requests for written advice and complaint filings.

Commission staff reported specific operational figures to the committee: about 721…