Mark Hass (born December 10, 1956) is a politician from the US state of Oregon. A Democrat, he currently represents District 14 in the Oregon State Senate. He also served three two-year terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 2001 to 2007.
Hass was selected in fall 2007 by the County Commissions of Washington and Multnomah counties to serve the remainder of Senator Ryan Deckert's term, following Deckert's resignation. He was elected for a full term in 2008.
Hass was a writer and reporter for KATU television from 1984 to 2000, and won an Emmy Award in 1998 for writing.
He is currently the Chairman of the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee and a member of the Finance and Revenue Committee, the Environment and Natural Resources committee, and the Joint Committee on Tax Credits. In addition, he serves as Senate Democratic Whip.
His priority in the legislature has been the elusive goal of reforming Oregon’s tax structure.
He is best known as a leader in education policy, authoring Oregon’s full day kindergarten bills and passing a new law (2009) that explores year round education in pilot districts.
Hass was also the driving force that made Oregon the first state in the country to require Automated External Defibrillators in large commercial buildings. Stemming from a tragic death of a 12-year-old boy in Beaverton, the bill passed with broad, bipartisan support.
In the House of Representatives, Hass was a key player on tax and education policy. His first bill passed into law (House Bill 2421) created tax incentives for businesses to set up college scholarship programs for their employees. He also worked closely with senior groups in 2003 and 2005 to strengthen Oregon’s elder abuse laws.
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Famous quotes containing the words mark and/or hass:
“The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other.”
—James A. Garfield (1831–1881)
“a word is elegy to what it signifies.”
—Robert Hass (b. 1941)