Ethics

About the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC)

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC), established by vote of the people in 1974, is a 7 member citizen commission charged with enforcing government ethic laws. Oregon government ethic laws prohibit public officials from using office for financial gain, and require public disclosure of economic conflict of interest. The OGEC also enforces state laws which require lobbyists and the entities they represent to register and periodically report their expenditures. The 3rd area of OGEC jurisdiction is the executive session provisions of public meetings law.

History

During the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s, Americans were confronted with deceit and misuse of power by elected officials. Citizens across the nation began calling for accountability from their governments. In response, Oregon was one of the first states to create laws designed to open government to greater public scrutiny.

In 1974, more than 70% of the voters approved a statewide ballot measure to create the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. The ballot measure also established a set of laws (Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) Chapter 244) requiring financial disclosure by certain officials and creating a process to deal with the inevitable question of conflict of interest. The drafters of the original laws recognized that "conflict of interest" is, indeed, inevitable in any government that relies on citizen lawmakers.

Oregon Government Ethics Law

Applies to all elected and appointed officials, employees and volunteers at all levels of state and local government in all 3 branches
Prohibits use of public office for financial gain
Requires public disclosure of financial conflicts of interest
Requires designated elected and appointed officials to file an annual disclosure of sources of economic interest
Limits gifts that an official may receive per calendar year
Found in Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 244

Further Ethics Training

For further ethics training, visit the International City Manager's Association website.

FAQs

Who are public officials?

"Public official" is defined in Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 244.020(14) as any person who is serving the State of Oregon or any of its political subdivisions or any other public body as defined in ORS 174.109 as an elected official, appointed official, employee or agent, irrespective of whether the person is compensated for the services.

You are a public official if you are:

Elected or appointed to an office or position with a state, county or city government.
Elected or appointed to an office or position with a special district.
An employee of a state, county or city agency or special district.
An unpaid volunteer for a state, county or city agency or special district.
Anyone serving the State of Oregon or any of its political subdivisions, such as the State Accident Insurance Fund or the Oregon Health and Science University.

Are volunteers "public officials"?

Some volunteers are public officials. By some estimates, there are up to 50,000 volunteer public officials in the State of Oregon. A volunteer is a "public official" if they meet one of these 3 criteria:

The volunteer is elected or appointed to a governing body of a public body.
The volunteer is appointed or selected for a position with a governing body or a government agency with responsibilities that include deciding or voting on matters that could have a pecuniary impact on the governing body, agency or other persons.
The volunteer position includes all of the following:
1. Responsible for specific duties.
2. The duties are performed at a scheduled time and designated place.
3. Volunteer is provided with the use of the public agency's resources and equipment.
4. The duties performed would have a pecuniary impact on any person, business or organization served by the public agency.

For purposes of Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) Chapter 244, volunteers are not public officials if they perform such tasks as picking up litter on public lands, participating in a scheduled community cleanup of buildings or grounds, participating in locating and eradicating invasive plants from public lands and other such occasional or seasonal events.

What are the provisions of law that prohibit a public official from using the position or office held for financial gain?

As defined earlier, public officials become public officials through employment, appointment, election or volunteering. Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 244.040(1) prohibits every public official from using or attempting to use the position held as a public official to obtain a financial benefit, if the opportunity for the financial benefit would not otherwise be available but for the position held by the public official.

The prohibited financial benefit can be either an opportunity for gain or to avoid an expense.

Each public official is prohibited from using the position as a public official to receive certain financial benefits. In addition, each public official is prohibited from using or attempting to use the official position to obtain financial benefits for a relative or a member of the public official's household, or for a business with which the public official, a relative, or a member of the public official's household is associated.

There are a variety of actions that could be a prohibited use or attempted use of an official position. The use of a position could be:

Voting in a public meeting
Placing a signature on a government agency's document
Making a recommendation
Making a purchase with government agency funds
Conducting personal business on a government agency's time or with a government agency's resources such as computers, vehicles, heavy equipment or office machines

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Ethics

About the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC)

History

Oregon Government Ethics Law

Further Ethics Training

Contact Us

Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC)

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FAQs

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