Significant modifications to the county’s lobbying regulations were adopted by the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. In other words, they will be possessed by the government. The new regulations, which compel entities that lobby the county to report their efforts, were unanimously adopted by the board. Willamette Week was the first to uncover that the county had long functioned without keeping track of its lobbyists. Officials warned that violators of the new rule might face fines of up to $500.
Commissioner Shannon Singleton, who co-sponsored the effort with Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, stated, “This is a really big step for this commission.” The new county policies are modeled after those of the state, Portland, and the Metro regional government. But according to The Oregonian/OregonLive, neither Clackamas nor Washington counties keep tabs on lobbyists’ meetings or expenditures on visits with public officials.
In accordance with Brim-Edwards and Singleton’s rule, lobbyists must register and submit a quarterly report detailing their attempts to influence policy and any gifts over $50. Commissioners, department heads, staff members, and volunteers would all be subject to such regulations. Commissioners are required to publish their calendars on a quarterly basis.
Since they are independently elected and do not report to the board, the sheriff, district attorney, and auditor will not be governed by the rules, Singleton stated. A $200,000 allocation from the county’s general fund contingency account to support an online lobbying registration and calendar reporting system was also approved by the commissioners. According to authorities, the contingency fund, which was used to cover additional security expenses last month, will have $666,917 left over.
The board is evaluating a number of governance reforms, including these regulations, many of which Brim-Edwards initially supported last year. According to the ordinance, lobbyists who achieve the county’s threshold of 10 lobbying hours every calendar quarter are required to register within three business days, such who confine their advocacy to public speech at board meetings, spend fewer than ten hours each quarter lobbying elected officials, or are responding to a board request would not be subject to such regulations. According to the rules, government employees who are “acting in their official capacity” are likewise excluded.
Multnomah County manages libraries, reduces homelessness, addresses public health and safety concerns, and provides other municipal services with billions of dollars. Nonprofit contractors receive a significant portion of its funding, and they frequently persuade commissioners and department heads to gain a piece of the $4 billion government budget.
Although the legislation takes effect on July 1st, authorities stated that they will gradually implement the new regulations and that it could take some time to set up the reporting system.
