Sanctions & Penalties

Sanctions

The Commission can issue sanctions, including penalties, for public officials who violate Government Ethics, Lobby, and Public Meetings Laws. The sanctions vary for each law and depend on the violation. The Commission uses a penalty matrix (PDF) that puts guidelines in place for determining sanctions.

Sanctions can include Letters of Education, additional training requirements, and penalties.

Penalties

Penalties can be assessed for sanctions and also accrue when reports are filed late. This includes Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) reports and Lobbyist and Client/Employer expenditure reports.

OGEC staff makes every effort to contact filers before fees begin to accrue. Staff continues to contact delinquent filers to try and avoid penalties from increasing.

It is the filers' responsibility to keep their account updated. You can reach our office at (503) 378-5105 for help with updating your account.

Filing Penalty Details

The deadlines for reports and information on how penalties accrue are below.

The annual SEI report is due April 15th of each year.

Find more resources for completing your SEI on our Statements of Economic Interest page.

Lobby expenditure reports are due on the 15th of the month following the close of the quarter:

April 15th - Quarter 1 Due (reporting period: January 1st - March 30th)
July 15th - Quarter 2 Due (reporting period: April 1st - June 30th)
October 15th - Quarter 3 Due (reporting period: July 1st - September 30th)
January 15th - Quarter 4 Due (reporting period: October 1st - December 31st)

More resources about lobby reports can be found on our Lobbying Expenditure Reporting page.

Penalties accrue at the rate of $10 per day for the first 14 days. Then $50 per day until the report is filed, or until the penalty accrual reaches the statutory maximum of $5,000.

This is an automated system. There are no grace periods for weekends or holidays.

Late filers are notified by daily email reminders in their Electronic Filing System (EFS) account. These reminders are sent until the report is filed or the penalty reaches the maximum. These emails explain the penalty process and due date of payment. Please do not reply to the email notifications as they will not be delivered to a monitored email box.

Instead, email mail@ogec.oregon.gov or call us at (503) 378-5105.

Penalties & Funding

OGEC does not keep penalties paid for sanctions. All payments are deposited into Oregon's General Fund. If you'd like to find out more about OGEC's funding structure, visit our Funding & Assessment Fees page. For more information on state funding and the General Fund, visit Oregon Blue Book.

Payment Options

Request a Penalty Waiver

You may email the Commission at mail@ogec.oregon.gov. Explain why the filing was late and ask the Commission to please waive the penalty. These explanations will be on the agenda for the next Commission meeting.

The Commission will vote on the penalty. They may decide to issue a Letter of Education, waive all or some of your penalty, or to take no action.

You will receive an email notifying you of their decision.

Make a Payment

Payment can be made by cash, check, or money order. Electronic payments are not accepted at this time. Cash can be delivered in person, or checks and money orders can be made out to:

Oregon Government Ethics Commission

Attn: Admin

3218 Pringle Rd SE, Suite 220

Salem, OR 97302