Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Ethics watchdog gets reduced budget
Thursday, August 14, 2003 | No comments posted.
SALEM (AP) - A state ethics panel will be left with one investigator under a new two-year budget that passed the Legislature Wednesday.
The House approved the Senate-passed $576,000 general fund budget for the Government Standards and Practices Commission, sending it to Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
The panel's two full-time investigators were reduced to half-time last fall because of budget cuts and were laid off after voters rejected a tax increase in January.
The 2003-05 budget finances one investigator - plus Executive Director Pat Hearn's position - and reduces an administrative assistant post to part-time.
The commission was created by voters in 1974 to enforce voter-passed ethics laws covering state and local government officials, such as a ban on using public office for personal gain.
The agency gets 150 complaints a year about alleged ethics violations.
The House approved the Senate-passed $576,000 general fund budget for the Government Standards and Practices Commission, sending it to Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
The panel's two full-time investigators were reduced to half-time last fall because of budget cuts and were laid off after voters rejected a tax increase in January.
The 2003-05 budget finances one investigator - plus Executive Director Pat Hearn's position - and reduces an administrative assistant post to part-time.
The commission was created by voters in 1974 to enforce voter-passed ethics laws covering state and local government officials, such as a ban on using public office for personal gain.
The agency gets 150 complaints a year about alleged ethics violations.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines