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Will Oregon Lawmakers Create An Impeachment Process?

File photo of the ''Oregon Pioneer'' sculpture that sits atop the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Chris Lehman
/
Northwest News Network
File photo of the ''Oregon Pioneer'' sculpture that sits atop the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

Oregon is the only state without an impeachment process. But some state lawmakers are trying to establish a way to impeach statewide elected officials, including the governor.

The measure would ask voters to change the state constitution to create an impeachment process. It's sponsored by Republican Rep. Jodi Hack of Salem.

"I think it's time we do the right thing in this body and we give the voters of Oregon the opportunity to decide whether or not they want the opportunity to impeach their elected officials in the executive branch,” Hack said.

Hack introduced a nearly identical measure in 2015. It was approved in the Oregon House but failed in the Senate.

That attempt came shortly after then-Gov. John Kitzhaber stepped down amid a criminal ethics investigation.

Copyright 2017 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.