The state ethics commission has launched an investigation into the lobbying activities of Katherine Keene, the former president of the SAIF Corp.
At issue is whether Keene, who resigned in 2003, failed to register as a lobbyist and report lobbying expenses. Patrick Hearn, executive director of the Government Standards and Practices Commission, said the ethics staff has 120 days to finish the probe.
In September, the commission and SAIF reached a settlement calling for the insurance company to pay a $2,000 fine for underreporting its lobbying expenses. That investigation turned up information leading to the closer look at Keene.
A preliminary review from the commission says Keene, who had not been registered as a lobbyist with SAIF since 1993, had been reimbursed by the state-owned workers’ compensation insurance company in recent years for costs of meals provided to legislators.
The preliminary report cites expenses totaling more than $2,000 for meals at various times in 2001, 2002 and 2003. State law requires a person to register as a lobbyist when devoting 24 hours to lobbying or accumulating $100 in lobbying expenses during a calendar quarter. The report cited five quarters during a three-year period in which Keene appeared to reach those thresholds.
Moreover, when lobbyists spend more than $50 on a public official, they must notify the official in writing of the amount spent. The report says Keene apparently failed to provide such notices. If the commission finds against Keene, the maximum fine would be $1,000 per violation.
Stephen Houze, Keene’s attorney, told The Oregonian he hadn’t been informed of the ethics panel’s decision and couldn’t comment on specifics.
“When the full facts are explored,” Houze said, “it’ll be clear there is nothing to this. Ms. Keene is a highly ethical individual.”
Aside from questions about its lobbying, SAIF has been accused of destroying public records. SAIF also was hammered with bad publicity during the Measure 38 campaign, a proposal that would have disbanded it.
Voters rejected the measure by a wide margin.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Legislation Leadership
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