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Dispatches from public radio's correspondent at the Oregon Legislature. This is a venue for political and policy coverage of the state government in Salem and its impact on the people of Oregon.

Oregon Governor Signs First Post-Kitzhaber Ethics Legislation

Chris Lehman
/
Northwest News Network
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signs the first bill in her ethics package into law.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law Monday the first ethics bill to reach her desk since she took office in February.

It comes in the wake of her predecessor's resignation in the midst of a criminal ethics investigation.

This measure simply requires the Oregon Secretary of State to evaluate how state agencies are fulfilling requests for information. But it comes just months after critics of then-governor John Kitzhaber accused his office of dragging its feet in producing potentially damaging documents.

Oregon's new governor, Kate Brown introduced a package of measures aimed at reining in public officials.

"In the aftermath of a major scandal that undermined the public's trust in the state's highest office, it's my job that we move forward with integrity and transparency,” the governor said.

But Oregon House Republicans say the governor's ethics measures don't go far enough. They've introduced a separate set of ethics bills that appear to be headed nowhere in the Democratically-controlled legislature.