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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — State ethics officials say legislators have stepped up their reporting of gifts from lobbyists since it was learned that several lawmakers failed to disclose trips to Hawaii and House Speaker Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village, acknowledged that she had neglected to report a paid trip to Israel.
And as before, questions are arising over whether such gifts should be allowed at all, or banned as they are in Wisconsin and Massachusetts.
Minnis apologized for not reporting $4,000 paid by a private group, saying the nonfiling had been inadvertent. State Treasurer Randall Edwards, a Democrat, also took the trip but reported it.
Now more amended reports than usual are coming in to the State Government Standards and Practices Committee, said interim director Don Crabtree.
“It is not usual to receive amendments in the numbers we have received, although we do get them from time to time,” he said.
The amended reports increased after The Oregonian reported that six legislators and one former lawmaker failed to report that beer and wine distributors had paid for each of them to attend conferences in Hawaii in 2002 and 2004.
Minnis said she went back and looked at her travel records because of the disclosures. State law permits lobbyists to wine and dine legislators, but lawmakers are required to report such spending, over a certain amount, to the state ethics commission.
House Democratic leader Jeff Merkley is proposing barring lobbyists from providing legislators with meals and entertainment, and all but the most minimal gifts under Oregon ethics regulations. He said legislators in violation should face stiffer fines that could not be paid from campaign funds.
The lobbyist issue is not new. In 1999, Sen. Kate Brown, D-Portland, proposed banning lobbyists’ gifts to legislators, but it never got a hearing.
In 2003, Gov. Ted Kulongoski vetoed a bill that would permit lobbyists to cover travel and other expenses incurred by relatives who accompany public officials on business trips. It passed both chambers but opponents said it would erode public confidence in government.
“As far as the particular merits of (Merkley’s) proposal, it is premature to say,” said Nick Smith, spokesman for the Republican-run Oregon House Majority Office in Salem. “All we have is a press release.
“The timing of the proposal is political but it will be considered just as any legislation introduced in the House of Representatives.”
Paula Krane, the past state president of the League of Women Voters, said her group has taken no firm position on what the law should be, but “we have worked very hard to have people sign pledges that they will not take money from anybody.”
The state ethics commission has had its budget and staff cut, and some want its budget to be independent of legislators.
“(The ethics commission) is woefully underfunded,” said Janice Thompson of Oregon’s nonpartisan Money in Politics Research Action Project. She said there needs to be “budget insulation” to keep funds from being whittled away by legislators who might not like what the commission does.
Failure to report spending by lobbyists carries a maximum civil penalty of $1,000. Knowingly filing a false report can bring an additional $1,000 fine. Thompson said those penalties need to be stiffened.
“We need to up the ante to make people realize the (declaration) forms should be taken seriously,” she said.
And as before, questions are arising over whether such gifts should be allowed at all, or banned as they are in Wisconsin and Massachusetts.
Minnis apologized for not reporting $4,000 paid by a private group, saying the nonfiling had been inadvertent. State Treasurer Randall Edwards, a Democrat, also took the trip but reported it.
Now more amended reports than usual are coming in to the State Government Standards and Practices Committee, said interim director Don Crabtree.
“It is not usual to receive amendments in the numbers we have received, although we do get them from time to time,” he said.
The amended reports increased after The Oregonian reported that six legislators and one former lawmaker failed to report that beer and wine distributors had paid for each of them to attend conferences in Hawaii in 2002 and 2004.
Minnis said she went back and looked at her travel records because of the disclosures. State law permits lobbyists to wine and dine legislators, but lawmakers are required to report such spending, over a certain amount, to the state ethics commission.
House Democratic leader Jeff Merkley is proposing barring lobbyists from providing legislators with meals and entertainment, and all but the most minimal gifts under Oregon ethics regulations. He said legislators in violation should face stiffer fines that could not be paid from campaign funds.
The lobbyist issue is not new. In 1999, Sen. Kate Brown, D-Portland, proposed banning lobbyists’ gifts to legislators, but it never got a hearing.
In 2003, Gov. Ted Kulongoski vetoed a bill that would permit lobbyists to cover travel and other expenses incurred by relatives who accompany public officials on business trips. It passed both chambers but opponents said it would erode public confidence in government.
“As far as the particular merits of (Merkley’s) proposal, it is premature to say,” said Nick Smith, spokesman for the Republican-run Oregon House Majority Office in Salem. “All we have is a press release.
“The timing of the proposal is political but it will be considered just as any legislation introduced in the House of Representatives.”
Paula Krane, the past state president of the League of Women Voters, said her group has taken no firm position on what the law should be, but “we have worked very hard to have people sign pledges that they will not take money from anybody.”
The state ethics commission has had its budget and staff cut, and some want its budget to be independent of legislators.
“(The ethics commission) is woefully underfunded,” said Janice Thompson of Oregon’s nonpartisan Money in Politics Research Action Project. She said there needs to be “budget insulation” to keep funds from being whittled away by legislators who might not like what the commission does.
Failure to report spending by lobbyists carries a maximum civil penalty of $1,000. Knowingly filing a false report can bring an additional $1,000 fine. Thompson said those penalties need to be stiffened.
“We need to up the ante to make people realize the (declaration) forms should be taken seriously,” she said.
