SALEM — Secretary of State Kate Brown today announced that Oregon received an “A” in a national scorecard of state campaign finance disclosure requirements for independent expenditure groups.

“I’m proud that Oregon continues to lead the nation in campaign finance transparency,” said Secretary Brown. “At the same time, we need to take additional action to bring special interest groups and their anonymous, last-minute attack ads out of the shadows.”

An audit clip of Secretary Brown is available online. Right-click and chose “save as” to download the audio file.

The National Institute on Money in State Politics and the Center For Public Integrity co-released a new report and scorecard Thursday on the status of independent spending reporting requirements in the 50 states. Oregon was one of just 9 states to receive a perfect score.

Secretary Brown urged the Legislature to further improve campaign finance transparency in Oregon by enacting House Bill 3523, co-sponsored by Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland, Rep. Greg Matthews, D-Gresham, Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, and Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton. HB 3523 would require all contributions over $1,000 to be reported within 48 hours in the 14 days prior to the election; require independent expenditure campaigns to file electronic campaign finance reports in Oregon’s online campaign finance reporting database; and improve reporting of in-kind contributions.

“The U.S. Supreme Court unleashed unlimited independent expenditure campaigns when it overturned the bi-partisan campaign finance law passed by Congress,” said Rep. Keny-Guyer. “HB 3523 includes an important fix that will shed more sunlight on independent expenditures. Giving Oregonians greater access to see the money being spent in their elections will keep the public policy process public.”

“It’s great to be recognized for our efforts and we’re committed to seeking improvements in the area surrounding campaign finance reform,” said. Rep. Matthews.

For more information, contact:

Tony Green
Director of Communications
Oregon Secretary of State
503-507-0082
tony.green@state.or.us

The post Oregon Receives “A” for Campaign Finance Reporting appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

SALEM — Secretary of State Kate Brown today released a new audit that recommends Oregon consider changes to the eligibility criteria used in public assistance programs to ensure that these important programs serve those Oregonians most in need.

“Public assistance has helped struggling families through the worst economic recession in generations by making sure they have food and health care,” said Secretary of State Brown. “It is critically important to maintain public faith in the integrity of the system and to continue to help struggling Oregon families.”

Secretary Brown commended the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Human Services for agreeing to make certain changes, including seeking federal waivers to allow the agencies to take into consideration lottery winnings and lump sum retirement pay-outs.

A video clip of Secretary Brown is in available online. An audio clip of Secretary Brown is  also available online. To download, right-click and choose “save as” to download file.

The purpose of the audit was to compare public assistance records with various other data sets to identify potentially ineligible recipients and recommend ways to prevent improper payments. We found recipient matches among:

• Social Security Administration (SSA) death records;
• Oregon lottery winners;
• State prisoners;
• Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) retirees;
• Department of Human Services (DHS) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) employees.

During our review of these matches, we identified some ineligible recipients and improper payments, but we also learned that many individuals were allowed benefits under Oregon’s expansive eligibility criteria.

We recommend Oregon consider changes to client eligibility and reporting requirements in state public assistance programs, balancing accessibility for the neediest with the most prudent use of public resources. We also recommend DHS and OHA improve Social Security Number verification policies and procedures, continue reviewing data matches we provided to them, and enhance efforts to recover any overpayments through collection efforts.

A copy of the audit is available online.

The audit team consisted of Deputy Director William K. Garber, MPA, CGFM; Audit Manager Sandra K. Hilton, CPA; Principal Auditor Jamie N. Ralls, CFE, ACDA; Senior Auditor Kyle A. Rossi; Staff Auditor Michelle A. Short; and Staff Auditor Clint J. Fella, MBA, CFE.

For more information, contact:

Tony Green
Director of Communications
Oregon Secretary of State
503-507-0082
tony.green@state.or.us

The post Audit Recommends Changes to Public Assistance System appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

SALEM — Secretary of State Kate Brown is reminding Oregon voters that ballots for the May 21 election will be mailed out starting today.

“I urge all registered Oregon voters to cast a ballot,” said Secretary Brown. “There are important local ballot measures and races for school boards, community college boards and special districts across Oregon.”

To download an audio clip of Secretary Brown, right-click and choose “save as.”

Voters who do not receive their ballot by Wednesday, May 8, should go to My Vote to see if their ballots have been mailed. Otherwise, voters should call their county elections office.

Ballot measures to be decided in the May 21 election include proposals to ban retail single-use plastic bags in Newport, an $82 million school serial levy in Beaverton and a $18.3 million measure to fund 9-1-1 services in Deschutes County.

Contested school district races will be decided from Lake Oswego and Forest Grove to Medord, Bend and Lincoln County.

Contested special district races include the Corbett Fire District, the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District and the Port of Newport.

Contested community college board races range from Portland to Central Oregon to the Rogue Valley.

Ballots must be received by county elections officials no later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21.

For more information, contact:

Tony Green
Director of Communications
Oregon Secretary of State
503-507-0082
tony.green@state.or.us

The post Ballots Are In The Mail appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

A former Clackamas County elections employee was sentenced today to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to official misconduct and unlawfully altering a cast ballot.

Deanna Swenson, a temporary, part-time elections employee, marked two ballots that were left partially blank by voters. Swenson’s illegal conduct did not affect the outcome of any races.

“Department of Justice investigators and prosecutors took this case from the initial tip through investigation to indictment and guilty plea in less than six months,” said Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. “Anyone attempting to subvert Oregon’s elections should know from this quick and successful prosecution that such conduct is unacceptable.”

“This prosecution sends a strong message: voter fraud will not be tolerated in Oregon,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “We are holding Ms. Swenson accountable for violating the public trust. Oregon has one of the strongest ballot security systems in the country. On my watch, it will remain so.”

A co-worker reported seeing Swenson altering a ballot on Oct. 31, 2012. Clackamas County elections officials immediately relieved her of her duties and notified the Secretary of State’s office, which referred it to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation. A Clackamas County grand jury in December indicted Swenson on two counts each of Unlawfully Altering a Cast Ballot, Unlawfully Voting More Than Once and Official Misconduct in the First Degree.

All counties must submit annual security plans. Clackamas County officials followed the plan in the Swenson case, said Secretary Brown.

Swenson is the 13th person to be prosecuted for voter fraud since Oregon went to all vote-by-mail elections in 2000. During that time frame, 23.8 million ballots were cast in statewide elections in Oregon.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. McCauley prosecuted the case.

For more information, contact:

Tony Green
Director of Communications
Oregon Secretary of State
503-507-0082
tony.green@state.or.us

The post Ballot Tampering Conviction appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

SALEM – Secretary of State Kate Brown is urging all eligible Oregon voters to make sure they are registered in advance of the May 21 election. The registration deadline is April 30.

“Voting is one of our most precious rights as Americans,” said Secretary Brown. “I urge all eligible Oregonians to make sure they are registered so they can participate in this important upcoming election.”

Eligible Oregonians can register to vote online. Oregonians who are unsure whether they are registered to vote or want to be certain the correct mailing address is on file can check or update their information online. Registration forms are also available at county elections offices and DMV.

The May 21 election features dozens of local races and ballot measures across Oregon. Registration cards must be postmarked by April 30 or submitted online no later than 11:59 p.m.

For more information, contact

Tony Green
(503) 507-0082

The post Deadline to register to vote in May 21 election is April 30, 2013 appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

Secretary of State Kate Brown today released a performance audit that recommends significant changes to increase accountability in the Oregon University System and its seven universities.

Oregon leaders agree that a college education is a key to the state’s future and are working to strengthen the Oregon University System. The audit report found several areas that can help accomplish the shared goal of a university system that meets the needs of Oregon students.

“We need to know how much it costs to educate an Oregon university student,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “We need greater accountability. Improving our higher education system is critical to Oregon’s economic growth.”

This performance audit is available online.

Listen to an audio statement by Secretary Brown. (Right-click and choose “Save link as” to download audio.)

The audit highlights several areas to address, including:

Governance. Oregon’s current structure risks creating confusion and a lack of accountability. Governance and authority over higher education needs to be clarified.

Tuition and Fees. Residential tuition and fees increased faster than inflation and increased more than the loss of state funding between 2001 and 2012. Despite increased tuition rates and higher spending by universities, educational spending per student has declined. OUS’s current financial tracking and reporting makes it difficult to understand how many resources are devoted to educational activities. Better tracking of education spending is needed.

Student Debt. Student debt for OUS graduates was on average 9% higher than the national average for the classes of 2005 to 2010. In addition, the heaviest cost burden falls on those with the lowest incomes. However, OUS does not report on the 35% of students who fail to graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years or started at another institution. OUS should determine and track the unmet need and debt for all students and align programs to provide access and reduce student debt for those most in need.

Research Costs. Tenured and tenure-track faculty at OSU, PSU, and UO are expected to conduct research and non-sponsored costs are absorbed within the department budget. Universities do not track the amount of time that faculty spend on research, teaching, advising, or other duties. OUS and its research universities should account for all research related costs.

Financial Accountability. Oregon universities have taken some steps to control costs but the efforts and results are varied. Budget reports and analyses are not presented to decision-makers in a way that aids evaluation and financial management. OUS universities need to track, report, and evaluate costs across all levels of higher education in order to prioritize spending and improve financial decision making.

Personnel Costs. Personnel costs (salary and benefits) are OUS’s largest expenditure. The Chancellor’s Office cannot analyze actual personnel cost trends in detail without working closely with individual universities. OUS cannot control most of the costs related to health and retirement, which are driven by PERS and the state. However, OUS can control personnel costs in terms of the number and type of employees as well as their job functions. OUS and its universities should closely monitor and routinely report on all personnel costs.

Costs and Enrollment. OUS universities are relying on increased enrollment to help balance their budgets, especially from non-resident students. However, OUS universities do not know the full cost of increasing enrollment. OUS universities calculate the average cost to educate a student; however, they do not include costs associated with increased capacity, such as debt service or capital construction. In addition, admittance of non-resident students has increased while admittance of resident students has slowed and in some cases decreased. OUS and its universities should create a comprehensive enrollment and financial management strategy.

Graduation Rate. Oregon universities admit applicants that are less prepared for college and less likely to graduate. Performance metrics do not represent the entire student body. For those it tracks, OUS has steadily improved the number of degrees granted each year. Apart from the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, the 6-year OUS graduation rate is below the national average for similar institutions. Oregon is less likely to achieve its 40-40-20 educational goal if OUS universities do not increase graduation rates. OUS needs to better assess the effectiveness of student assistance programs and report performance metrics for all students.

Media Contact:

Tony Green   (503) 507-0082   |   tony.green@state.or.us

The post Audit Recommends Greater Accountability at Oregon University System appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

What: Secretary of State Kate Brown will sign copies of the 2013-2014 Oregon Blue Book with cover photographer John Pedersen, of Aloha, Oregon.

Where: Outside the Oregon State Capitol Gift Shop in Salem.

When: Thursday, March 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Note: The paperback edition of the Blue Book sells for $18. The Capitol Gift Shop will charge $15 for copies purchased on March 14th. The Blue Book order form is available online. Only 3,500 copies will be available.

Background: The Oregon Blue Book has been published every other year since 1911. It contains up-to-date listings and descriptions of government agencies and educational institutions. It includes an almanac, maps and facts about Oregon history and elections as well as information about the arts, media and other cultural institutions in Oregon. It also provides a concise analysis of Oregon’s economy, government finance and education strategy. About 2,500 copies will be distributed free to public schools, community colleges, public universities, public libraries, judges, elected officials, cities, counties, state agencies, boards and commissions, public ports and Oregon’s consuls.

The post Sec of State Kate Brown to Sign Copies of New Oregon Blue Book at State Capitol appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

An analysis of state finances presents a mixed picture, with unemployment dropping and personal income increasing but the number of Oregonians living in poverty on the rise and spending on K-12 education and transportation declining sharply.

“These have been trying times for Oregonians, but we should be proud of the tough decisions the Legislature has made to shore up state finances during the Great Recession,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown.

Read the Financial Condition Report.

Listen to an audio statement by Secretary Brown. (Right-click and choose “Save link as” to download audio.)

The State of Oregon Financial Condition Report is released biennially by the Secretary of State’s Audits Division. It covers the 10-year period from fiscal year 2003 through 2012.

Favorable trends include:

• Oregon’s unemployment rate continues to drop, hitting 8.4% in November 2012, down from a high of 11.6% in 2009.
• Per capital income is increasing although it still falls short of pre-recession levels.
• Unlike many states, Oregon had sufficient reserves to avoid borrowing money to cover unemployment benefits during the recession.
• The state’s outstanding debt as of June 30, 2012 declined slightly, reversing a decade-long trend.
• State finances were buoyed by a new requirement that state employees begin contributing to their health care insurance.

Unfavorable trends include:

• The number of Oregonians living in poverty continued to increase.
• Spending on K-12 education and transportation declined sharply in recent years.
• Investment losses caused by the recession require sharp increases in government contributions to the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS).
• The state’s Rainy Day fund is nearly depleted.

The purpose of this report is to provide lawmakers and the public with information to understand Oregon’s financial condition and make important decisions about the state’s future.

The post Sec of State Kate Brown Releases State of Oregon Financial Condition Report appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

New American Voters Project has registered more than 5,500 new citizens to vote in the year since the program started

PORTLAND – Secretary of State Kate Brown today will present a national elections award to four Oregon community groups that pioneered a program to increase the voter registration rate of newly naturalized citizens.

The Center for Intercultural Organizing, CAUSA, the Asian Pacific Network of Oregon and Oregon Voice will be presented with an award from the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS).

“This is a great example of community groups working with their state and federal partners to tackle a signficant problem,” said Secretary Brown. “I am very proud to be presenting this award today.”

The award will be presented at 11 a.m. in Portland City Hall. Also in attendance will be Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, Commissioner Nick Fish and Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, who is president of NASS. In addition, the Washington County Voter Assistance Team will receive a NASS award for piloting the use of tablet technology to assist voters with disabilities.

This afternoon at 2 p.m., Secretary Brown and Secretary Miller will attend a naturalization ceremony to observe the New American Voters Project in action. Miller is interested in the program to see how it can be utilized more widely in his state, and to share with other NASS members.The New American Voters Project is a cooperative effort between non-partisan community groups, the Oregon Secretary of State’s office and the Portland Field Office of the United States Citzenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Starting February 28, 2012, the Center for Intercultural Organizing, CAUSA, Asian Pacific Network of Oregon, and Oregon Voice have provided multilingual volunteers at naturalization ceremonies. At the tail end of the process, new citizens are given the opportunity to register to vote.

The results have been stellar. In the first year of the project, 5,633 out of 6,194 newly naturalized citizens were registered to vote. That’s a rate of 90%. By contrast, just 1 in 2 naturalized citizens were registered to vote on election day in 2010.

This collaborative partnership will go a long way towards turning around the historically low trends of voter engagement in immigrant and refugee communities.

The media is invited to attend both the City Hall awards presentation and the naturalization ceremony.

Portland City Hall: 1221 SW 4th Ave., Portland, OR, 97204

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: 1455 NW Overton St., Portland, OR 97209

USCIS Contact: Sharon Rummery (415) 987-0191 Sharon.Rummery@uscis.dhs.gov

The post Secretary Brown to Present Community Groups with National Award for Program to Register New Citizens to Vote appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.

The audit was first requested by Sen. Richard Devlin.

SALEM – Increased independence could improve the confidence of client caseload forecasting that is the basis for two of the largest state agency budgets in Oregon, according to an audit released today.

“Legislators need accurate information to put together the state budget,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “The audit released today is an excellent example of this office working with the Legislature to improve the integrity of the budgeting process.”

The Office of Forecasting, Research, and Analysis is a shared service of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). The unit’s client caseload forecasts are used to estimate expenditures for the two agencies’ budgets.

Accurate forecasting is critical to the budgeting process. Over-forecasting means less money for legislative priorities in the initially adopted budget. Under-forecasting results in a shortfall.

The audit determined that the forecasting unit has generally been accurate and getting better in recent years. Auditors found one instance in which senior management influenced the client caseload estimate for the Aid to the Blind and Disabled program, resulting in approximately $4 million more than the program needed. Since the Spring 2011 forecast, DHS and OHA have taken steps to address independence concerns. However, the current governance and oversight structures may not sufficiently protect the unit’s independence.

As part of the normal budget monitoring process, the Legislative Emergency Board learned of the over-allocation in 2012, and re-allocated the money, mostly to other OHA programs. General concerns regarding the independence and accuracy of forecasting prompted Sen. Richard Devlin to request this audit. Dr. Bruce Goldberg, Director of the Oregon Health Authority, and Michael Jordan, State of Oregon Chief Operating Officer, later requested the audit as well.

“Overall, client forecasting for OHA and DHS have been good and getting better,” said Audits Director Gary Blackmer. “We recommend some safeguards to consider to increase confidence in the forecasting.”

The audit makes recommendations to improve the unit’s transparency and the independence of its forecasting. One alternative is to create a policy oversight committee for the unit. Another alternative is to place the forecasting unit under the administrative oversight of an external agency. The Legislature made a similar move several years ago when it transferred prison inmate forecasting from the Department of Corrections to the Office of Economic Analysis.

“The integrity of the budget process is critical to making sure Oregon’s tax dollars reflect the priorities of the Legislature and the Governor,” said Sen. Richard Devlin. “I appreciate Secretary of State Brown’s quick responsiveness to concerns that I raised.”

The audit was conducted by William K. Garber, CGFM, MPA, Deputy Director; Sandra K. Hilton, CPA, Audit Manager; Shanda L. Miller, CIA, MPA, Principal Auditor; and Ian M. Green, MS, Staff Auditor.

The audit report, including the agency response, can be found at www.sos.state.or.us/audits.

The Audits Division of the Secretary of State’s office promotes the wise use of tax dollars, sound management and government accountability.

For more information, contact:

Tony Green
Director of Communications
Oregon Secretary of State
503-507-0082
tony.green@state.or.us

The post Audit Proposes Improvements to Provide Greater Accuracy and Transparency in State Agency Budget Forecasting appeared first on The Oregon Secretary of State Blog.