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PETER COURTNEY -

President of the Senate

October 20, 2017

Senator Jeff Kruse
900 Court St. NE, 8?315
Salem, OR 97301

Dear Senator Kruse:

You have taken an oath to uphold the constitution and laws of the State of Oregon. Those laws
include the Indoor Clean Air Act, ORS 433.835 to ORS 433.875. The Indoor Clean Air Act
prohibits smoking in public buildings or places of employment. The State Capitol building is both a
public building and a place of employment. You have repeatedly broken the law by smoking in your
office or the Capitol garage and been fined twice by the Oregon Health Authority. You have been
repeatedly warned that this behavior must stOp. Your continued smoking in the Capitol building as
recently as September Legislative Days demonstrates your disrespect for the laws of the state and
the Capitol as a workplace. Your behavior exposes the branch to liability and the institution of the
Senate to public scorn and charges of hypocrisy.

This week I was made aware that your behavior toward women in the workplace has also gone
unchanged. Two new incidents were brought to my attention. I have reported these incidents to
Employee Services and Legislative Counsel as required by Legislative Branch Personnel Rule 27.
You were instructed in March of this year by Lore Christopher, Employee Services Manager, and
Dexter Johnson, Legislative Counsel, that you were not to touch women at work. Period.
Continuing to touch women at work is inapprOpriate workplace conduct of which you have already
been warned. Let me be very clear. Women in the Capitol do NOT want you to touch them.

I am removing you from your committee assignments effective immediately. In addition, the door
of your of?ce will be removed next Friday, October It is my hope that this lack of privacy will
prevent you from smoking in your office.

This is an unprecedented step for me as Senate President. Ihave never taken this kind of action
before but I am left with no other options at this time to protect our employees, members of the
legislature and the public.

Respectfully,
Peter Courtney 
President of the Senate

900 Court St. NE. 8-201. Salem, Oregon 9730 
(503} 986- [600