Are volunteers “public officials”?

Some volunteers are public officials. By some estimates, there are up to 50,000 volunteer public officials in the State of Oregon. A volunteer is a “public official” if they meet one of these three criteria: 

1. The volunteer is elected or appointed to a governing body of a public body. 
2. The volunteer is appointed or selected for a position with a governing body or a government agency with responsibilities that include deciding or voting on matters that could have a pecuniary impact on the governing body, agency or other persons. 
3. The volunteer position includes all of the following: 
   1. Responsible for specific duties 
   2. The duties are performed at a scheduled time and designated place. 
   3. Volunteer is provided with the use of the public agency’s resources and equipment. 
   4. The duties performed would have a pecuniary impact on any person, business or organization served by the public agency.

For purposes of ORS Chapter 244, volunteers are not public officials if they perform such tasks as picking up litter on public lands, participating in a scheduled community cleanup of buildings or grounds, participating in locating and eradicating invasive plants from public lands and other such occasional or seasonal events.