Former Tualatin Rep. Rachel Prusak is one local face of a statewide problem: Oregon had the second-highest rate of lawmakers leaving office early between 2020 and 2025.
Only Arizona, at 33%, ranked worse than Oregon's 30%, according to a study by the Center for Tech and Civic Life and the Institute for Responsive Government.
The Oregon Capital Chronicle first reported the findings Friday, Sept. 4. The study examined all 50 states.
Prusak, a nurse practitioner, announced in February 2022 that she would not seek reelection because she could not afford to support her family on the salary. Then-Reps. Karin Power, D-Milwaukie, and Anna Williams, D-Hood River, made the same decision for the same reason.
The pay was low. Barbara Smith Warner, a former state representative who now serves as a senior adviser at the Institute for Responsive Government, said she made $22,000 a year when she left the Legislature in January 2023 after nine years in office.
"I had a spouse whose job and whose income made it possible that I could take that very low-paying job and do it for nine years," Smith Warner said.
Salaries have since risen to $44,000. The speaker of the House and Senate president make $89,000.
Lawmakers also receive a per diem of $178 for each day the Legislature is in session. Still, many Oregon legislators treat the job as full-time, sometimes logging more than 80 hours a week during session.
When an Oregon lawmaker leaves early, county commissioners in that district must appoint a replacement from the same political party, choosing from a list provided by local party officials.
Washington County commissioners have played a direct role in that process.
In 2020, Washington and Multnomah County commissioners appointed Maxine Dexter to fill the seat of the late Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland. Dexter now serves as U.S. representative for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District.
In May 2025, Clackamas, Washington and Yamhill County commissioners appointed Courtney Neron-Misslin, a Wilsonville Democrat, to fill the Senate seat left vacant after Sen. Aaron Woods died.
Nationally, the most common reason lawmakers left early was to take nonelected government jobs, accounting for 15% of departures. Death was second at 12%.
The study also found a secondary effect: replacements were more likely to be women or people of color.
Smith Warner said Oregon's appointment process helped grow the Legislature's diversity, giving women and people of color a faster path into office and making reelection easier once they held the seat.
Sarah Berlin, director of civic information at the Center for Tech and Civic Life, said early departures still carry a cost, noting that even interim appointments can disrupt legislative work.
Oregon lawmakers now have legal protections, similar to jury-duty rules, that prevent employers from firing or penalizing them for taking leave to attend legislative sessions.
