Ethics in Government

Oregon lawmakers jetted off to Taiwan, Portugal, Denmark and tech hubs in California this fall, all paid for by companies and groups that have a keen interest in the laws they’ll pass.  These junkets, once common, have been rarer in recent years due to the COVID pandemic and associated travel restrictions. One planned trip to […]

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission should have an efficient and transparent way to inform reporters and Oregonians when it has voted to investigate public officials.

State ethics watchdogs will pause their investigation into Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission employees implicated in bourbon-hoarding.

Newly released records show Gov. Kate Brown’s state staff shifted into overdrive to lay out her policy positions — and accomplishments — on education and other central campaign issues as the governor was running for re-election last year.

The state representative may have run afoul of Oregon ethics laws by lobbying for a controversial coal export project with a state agency whose budget he votes on.

Former Oregon House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, a Portland Democrat, announced on Monday she would suspend her campaign for secretary of state in light of a forthcoming story about her use of campaign funds.

Jennifer Williamson was considered a top candidate to be Oregon's next secretary of state. She is dropping out because of a forthcoming news story on her campaign expenditures. 

Williamson served in the legislature from 2012 to 2019, when she resigned to run for secretary of state.

Internal emails show a tax-funded agency created to educate people about forestry has acted as a public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon's timber industry, in some cases skirting legal constraints that forbid it from doing so.

Oregon law currently bars legislators and other public officials from accepting more than $50 per year from any entity that wants to influence a government decision. Lawmakers are considering eliminating that limit.

Oregon state auditors released a report Wednesday that recommended several opportunities for legislators and other officials to strengthen the state's ethics laws and increase the independence of the state's ethics commission.

A state commission on government ethics could be strengthened and more independent, state auditors said in a report Wednesday.

In February 2020, Gov. Kate Brown's staff asked state procurement officials to prepare a no-bid contract worth up to $150,000 for her former communications director so he could assist with Oregon’s share of work on the Western Governors’ Association electric vehicle recommendations.

Internal emails show a tax-funded agency created to educate people about forestry has acted as a public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon's timber industry, in some cases skirting legal constraints that forbid it from doing so.

A draft proposal by the five-person salary commission proposes a pay hike for officials elected to Portland’s new form of government in 2025, which will expand the size of City Council from four to 12 members.

"I had promised several legislators during the session, including Betsy, access to Pappy when available," he wrote

Oregon's new elections director worked for the Democratic Party of Oregon but will nonetheless oversee an investigation of the party's large cryptocurrency donation.

An email from a state division director asking customers to advocate for the agency’s budget raised eyebrows.

The secretary of state says she made clear to staff in February that she could no longer be involved in the audit, due to an impending contract with a couple whose business practices have since come into question.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, has been consulting since February for a cannabis company with strong political ties to elected Democrats — and large sums of unpaid taxes.

Records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive show the performance audit was all but finalized by the time Fagan pulled out of the audit.

The Oregon Secretary of State’s office audited cannabis regulation as the agency’s head worked as a paid consultant in the industry.

Drama surrounding the secretary of state's role with a private cannabis company overshadowed a report about how the state is handling pot businesses.

Justice Clarence Thomas might be the most egregious when it comes to taking gifts and not disclosing them, but he’s not alone. His colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court also haven’t been shy about taking fancy freebies from rich people — many of whom have an interest in the actions of the court. The justices […]