A state lawmaker was censured by Oregon’s government ethics watchdog on Friday for disregarding a law he supported that mandates government officials reveal certain commercial revenue sources.
Since there isn’t much to look into, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission unanimously decided to proceed with a procedural investigation of Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner. Smith admitted that he made a mistake by failing to include Harney County as a client on the economic interest statement he submitted last year. Smith did not attend the commission’s meeting and did not immediately reply to a question from the Capital Chronicle. Later, he made changes to the report.
Commissioners stated that they anticipated a letter of education, or an official note from the commission outlining the law and how to abide by it going forward, as the investigation’s conclusion.
Commissioner Jonathan Thompson stated, “I would hold Rep. Smith to a slightly higher standard than some of the other folks we hear from, since I’m assuming he voted on the bill that made this change without going back and looking at the original bill.”
Legislators and other public officials in Oregon have traditionally been required to report their primary sources of household income on yearly economic interest statements that are submitted to the commission. It mostly functions on an honor basis, and they are not required to include monetary amounts.
The first time officials were required to reveal some of the revenue streams from companies they own was last year. According to a 2023 rule, officials must list clients that contribute at least 10% of the company’s revenue and who have a stake in the government agency they represent. For a mayor, that would be a client who deals with the city government; for Smith, it would be any client who has business before the Legislature.
Smith is a vice chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee, which writes the budget, and his consulting firm, Gregory Smith & Company LLC, has a number of customers that want to modify laws or gain funding from the Legislature. There were no clients listed in his first 2024 economic interest statement.
Smith admitted to commission employees that he misinterpreted the legislation and believed he was required to include clients who accounted for 10% of his family income rather than his company revenue. Smith’s yearly household income, which includes his Columbia Development Authority salary, legislative stipend, wife’s salary as his legislative assistant, and company income, was reported by the Malheur Enterprise last year to be above $1 million.
Smith revised his economic interest declaration to add three clients—Harney County, Umatilla Electric Cooperative, and Eastern Oregon University—after the commission started reviewing it.
Harney County intended to extend Smith’s $7,000-per-month contract, but Eastern Oregon University abruptly terminated its almost $140,000 yearly deal with him last fall, according to the Enterprise. The amount Smith gets paid by the Umatilla Electric Cooperative has not been made public.
Like all but five House Republicans and two Senate Republicans, Smith supported the 2023 law that calls for additional disclosures.Smith is shown in video from a parliamentary committee he chaired that supported the bill, asking how the ethics commission would identify which clients reached the 10% threshold.
The committee’s analyst replied, “I think it’s generally up to the honesty and dedication of those people filing those statements of interest.”
— Oregon Capital Chronicle’s Julia Shumway
Established in 2021, The Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit news outlet that specializes in Oregon politics, government, and policy.
