Preceded by Ryan Deckert Name Mark Hass Succeeded by Tobias Read Religion Presbyterian Party Democratic Party | Political party Democratic Spouse Tamra Hass Preceded by Ryan Deckert Role Politician | |
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Born December 10, 1956 (age 67)
Newport, Rhode Island ( 1956-12-10 ) | ||
Senator mark hass uncomplicated 60
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.
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Early years
Hass was born in Newport, Rhode Island on December 10, 1956 and moved to Oregon with his parents as a young boy. Growing up, he was a Boy Scout and Eagle Scout.
In 1980, Hass graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science in journalism. In 1981, he earned his Master of Arts in communication from the American University School of Communication.
Prior to serving in the legislature, Hass spent 20 years as journalist, most recently at KATU television from 1984 to 2000. He won an Emmy Award in 1998 for writing.
Oregon legislature
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 has subsequently been reelected twice, in 2012 and most recently in 2016.
Hass is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue. He is also a member of the Senate Education Committee and the General Government and Accountability Committee. In addition, he serves as Senate Democratic Whip.
In 2011, Hass sponsored a bill (SB248) for full-day kindergarten, which would replace half-day kindergarten in Oregon public schools in the 2015-16 school year. Hass has been vocal about a restructuring of the state's higher education system. In 2011, as a member of the Higher Education Workgroup, Hass led the legislative efforts to pass SB 242, which provided greater autonomy for Oregon's seven public universities. It also created the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. During that same 2011 session, Hass led the passage of SB 253, which put the 40-40-20 goals into state law. Those goals seek a workforce by 2025 that is made up of 40 percent people who hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 40 percent who hold a two-year degree and the remaining 20 percent people who hold the equivalent of a high school diploma.
In 2013, after chairing a task force on University Governance, Hass sponsored more education legislation, including SB 270, which established university boards of trustees at Portland State University, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon.
Hass was also a chief sponsor of legislation that made Oregon the first state in the country to require Automated External Defibrillators in large commercial buildings.
During the 2013 legislative session, Hass sponsored Senate Bill 270, which created institutional governing boards for the schools in the Oregon University System. That same year, Hass was the chief sponsor of a bill that established the Accelerated Learning Committee, an institution promoting access to dual credit programs in Oregon high schools.
In 2015, Hass was a chief sponsor of Senate Bill 81, which created the Oregon Promise. The Oregon Promise is a last-dollar program allowing students graduating from an Oregon high school, who meet specified criteria, to attend community college tuition free.
Personal life
Outside of the legislature, Hass works as an account manager for Cappelli Miles, an advertising and brand identity firm with offices in Portland and Eugene.<ref>[4]<ref> Hass is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Northwest Health Foundation.
Hass' wife, Tamra, is a speech pathologist.