Mark Hass is an Oregon State Senator from Washington County and Southwest Portland. Previously, Hass served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007.

He is currently Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development, a member of the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, and the Joint Committee on Tax Credits. In addition, he serves as Senate Democratic Whip.

In the House of Representatives, Hass was a key player on tax and education policy. His first bill passed into law (HB2421) created tax incentives for businesses to set up college scholarship programs for their employees. As a member of the House Revenue Committee for six years, Hass has become an outspoken leader on the need to restructure Oregon’s volatile tax code. He also worked closely with senior groups in 2003 and 2005 to strengthen Oregon’s elder abuse laws.

In addition to serving in the legislature, Hass spent 20 years as journalist, most recently at KATU television from 1984 to 2000. He has received numerous awards for his reporting, including an Emmy Award in 1998 for writing.

When he’s not serving in the legislature, Hass works as a Brand Strategist for Cappelli Miles, an advertising and brand identity firm with offices in Portland, Eugene and Denver.

Hass is also a board member of the Northwest Health Foundation – a Portland based foundation that provides grants and assistance to health care projects. Those projects range from research on the effects of second hand smoke to providing funding for nursing instruction. He has also served as board member on the Beaverton Library Foundation.

In 1995, he founded the Hass Journalism Scholarship that provides money to Oregon High School graduates who major in journalism. The Hass Scholarship is administered by the Oregon Student Assistance Commission.

He graduated from Tigard High School and earned a B.S. from the Journalism School at the University of Oregon and an M.A. from American University in Washington, D.C.

His wife Tamra, who grew up in Pendleton, is a speech pathologist who has spent the last 10 years specializing in helping children with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. She has co-written two books and CD manuals which are in high demand from teachers and parents.

They are the proud parents of two children, Samuel and Isabelle and have two Golden Retrievers, Gilbert and Ellie.