Oregon House votes for bill on transparency with public officials' sources of income

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon House just passed a bill that intends to provide the public with more transparency on what personal income politicians receive from businesses that have governmental interests.

According to the House Majority Office, state law already requires most public officials to submit Statements of Economic Interest to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission every year.

SEIs ask state officials to disclose whether they serve as an officer or director for any businesses, the names of those businesses, sources of income that make up at least 10% of their annual household income, and more.

But according to the House Majority Office, there’s a loophole that allows Oregon officials to omit those sources of income if they’re from a business owned by the individual.

“Currently, the SEI forms only list the income from the LLC, not the original source of the income, even if the money is coming from a source that has a lobbying interest in front of the public official,” the office said.

House Bill 2038, which was passed by the Oregon House with a 50-6 vote on Tuesday, would require public officials to name their company’s source of income if it comes through a source with lobby interests or if the revenue is at least 10% of the company’s overall income.

“Oregonians have a right to know if lobbyists and special interests are lining the pockets of public officials, including legislators,” House Majority Leader Julie Fahey, who requested the bill, said. “We have a lot of work to do to rebuild the public’s trust in government, including better transparency and effective accountability.”

HB 2038 now awaits its first reading on the Senate floor, where the House Majority Office says it will only be considered if Oregon Senate Republicans put an end to their ongoing walkout — which is the longest in state history.