State Rep. Greg Smith, a Republican from Heppner, lost a committee leadership position last week after agreeing to pay a $12,000 fee approved by Oregon’s government ethics watchdog.
But he still holds significant sway in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, where he has earned a reputation for cutting deals with the majority party to pass legislation that may benefit his district.
On Friday, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission agreed to fine Smith for raising his own salary and approving his own vacation time without following the proper procedures as the former executive director of an economic development agency in eastern Oregon.
Smith did not admit any “intentional violations” of state ethics rules in the agreement, which was first reported by the Salem Reporter.
In a video response posted to social media on Saturday, Smith distanced himself from any wrongdoing, saying that he had adhered to the economic development agency’s policies and had not knowingly violated any laws.
“Each missing conflict of interest disclosure and time card submission was a separate procedural oversight, not an intentional violation,” he said. “And I’ve taken those lessons to heart.”
Also on Friday, House Speaker Julie Fahey, a Eugene Democrat, removed Smith as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee On General Government, which oversees the funding of numerous state agencies.
In a statement to media outlets, first reported by The Statesman Journal, Fahey said she made that decision because of the ethics commission’s determination that Smith violated state ethics law on dozens of occasions in his former role, mostly by not declaring a conflict of interest.
Smith first entered the Legislature in 2001 and has repeatedly cruised to reelection since. This year, amid increasing scrutiny, Smith faced a challenger in the Republican primary but still won with 55% of the vote. He is expected to win reelection this fall.
Smith’s demotion on the legislative subcommittee marks the first official reprimand that he has received in the Legislature for his ethics lapses. Lawmakers of both parties have mostly stayed silent on the matter, even as the cases have piled up.
Last year, the ethics commission found that Smith failed twice to publicly disclose income that he received from a nonprofit in his district, which resulted in his receiving a letter of education from the commission. He received a similar letter for a comparable lapse regarding payments for consulting work from Harney County in 2024.
He is also among several eastern Oregon officials being sued by the Oregon Department of Justice for their role in allegedly selling a publicly owned fiber optic company to themselves or their political allies at a fraction of its value. Smith has denied wrongdoing in that case.
Smith still sits on several committees and is a vice-chair of the powerful Joint Ways and Means Committee, which sets the state budget, and sits on that committee’s influential Subcommittee on Capital Construction, which doles out funding for community infrastructure projects across the state.
He is on track to be sworn in for a 14th consecutive term in January.
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