State ethics panel to investigate 1 of 3 Buehler ethics claims

(Update: Adding comment from party official)

Oregon Government Ethics Commission investigators have determined that state Rep. Knute Buehler may have violated state ethics law by not listing his payments as a St. Charles Health System board member in his first year of office, but rejected the other two claims filed by the director of the Democratic Party of Oregon, officials said Friday.

State Democratic Party Director Brad Martin filed the ethics complaint April 12, claiming Buehler, an orthopedic surgeon with The Center, had failed to properly report income on his annual statements of economic interest over the past three years.

Using public information posted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the party alleged Buehler did not list payments from Stryker Corporation of more than $90,000 from 2014 to 2016, as well as a $1,000 payment from Pfizer Inc. in 2014 and $12,500 paid to Buehler by St. Charles Health System in 2013, as listed on the hospital organization’s IRS Form 990.

Buehler’s attorney, Matthew Love, is quoted as disputing the allegations and noting that Buehler has not hidden his consulting services to Stryker Corporation dating back to 2001.

In her nine-page preliminary review, ethics panel investigator Marie Scheffers said Buehler complied with filing requirements when he listed his business, Buehler Research and Design, as the source of income for Stryker, and “Stryker does not appear to be a source of income that Rep. Buehler was required to list” on the statements of economic interest.

She also said the Pfizer payment appears to be a campaign contribution and was reported as such to the Elections Division, and not reportable as income on Buehler’s 2015 statement.

The investigator said the St. Charles Health System board payments, deposited into his business account, “were payable to him directly and appear to be for personal services, not consulting services that would make them a payment to his business.”

She noted that St. Charles is likely to have a legislative or administrative interest in lawmakers’ decisions, and as a result it appears the payment should have been listed on Buehler’s 2014 statement of economic interest.

The Democrats say they are confident the investigation will find Buehler violated the state’s ethic statutes, and despite the commission dropping the Stryker claim, they remain unconvinced of his innocence in that case.

“Clearly, in the matter of St. Charles, the letter of the law was violated,” Democratic Party of Oregon Executive Director Brad Martin said. “And we believe, in terms of reporting his income from Stryker, clearly the spirit of the law was violated.”

Ethics Commission Executive Director Ron Bersin said earlier, after the complaint was filed, that if a full investigation was deemed warranted, the commission staff generally is allowed 180 days to complete it, then return to the panel with a recommendation on whether to find there was a violation or dismiss the complaint.

In a news release announcing the staff’s recommendation, the Democratic Party of Oregon said Buehler’s defense of his actions “make clear the depth of his financial relationship with Stryker Corporation,” which paid a $13.2 million fine after being found by federal officials to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

“The facts of the situation have not changed,” party Chair Jeanne Atkins said. “Rep. Buehler accepted nearly $100,000 in payments from state contractors and special interests through one of his businesses, thereby keeping potential conflicts from being identified by the public. His actions violate the letter and spirit of the state ethics laws.”

A Democrat state representative also has introduced a bill to close what the party has labeled the “Buehler loophole,” requiring public officials to report all significant sources of income, including income to businesses they own or run.

The Democratic leader on Friday also called on Buehler — often mentioned as a potential future gubernatorial candidate — to stop accepting payments from Stryker, St. Charles and any other companies that do business with the state unless they are fully reported and would meet the standard laid out in the bill by Rep. Dan Rayfield, House Bill 3457.

“We also call on Rep. Buehler to provide Oregonians a full explanation of the nature of his financial relationships, including all companies he has accepted payments from, how much he has earned and over what period of time,” Atkins said.

Buehler issued this reaction to the ethics commission’s initial decision:

“The ethics commission did the right thing in dismissing two of the three politically motivated allegations brought against me by the Oregon Democratic Party.

“I am working closely with commission staff and have amended my statement of economic interest to include my well-known service on the board of the St. Charles Hospital System that I inadvertently failed to include during one of the past three years.

“In addition, I am taking this opportunity to voluntarily report to the commission a complete listing of public stock holdings that goes beyond what appears to be the standard practice of most other public officials in Oregon.

“I take the public trust seriously and appreciate the fine work of the ethics commission and staff. It is regrettable, yet predictable, that Oregon Democrats have attempted – and failed – to use the legitimate role of the ethics commission to pursue their tired partisan objectives.”