PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon creates 15% of the nation’s semiconductors, but the state’s dominance in the industry is at stake as others try to lure tech companies that could bring manufacturing and research and development jobs.
The federal government wants more microchips and semiconductors made in the United States, offering $52 billion to help states incentivize companies to build.
Now, Oregon bill SB 4 aims to incentivize semiconductor and chip manufacturers to build factories in the state and boost job growth.
“What’s really at stake is the future of Oregon because we have a significant portion of our economy that is high-tech semiconductor research and development and manufacturing,” said Oregon State Sen. Tim Knopp, who is one of the bill’s chief sponsors.
“In fact, Oregon would still be in recession from 2008 without the semiconductor industry and the growth that’s happened there because it’s billions of dollars in revenue,” the senator said. “We want a future of opportunity and high-paying jobs for Oregonians that will last for generations.”
The bill offers $210 million in incentives and Knopp hopes to include research and development tax credits and a property tax break for building equipment.
With bipartisan support, the bill would additionally authorize the governor to expand land boundaries outside of the urban growth boundary in a quest to lure chip companies.
“There’s no question that Oregon’s land use system isn’t working and the obvious evidence of that is we don’t have land that’s available where we can act to take advantage of the $52 billion that the federal government wants to invest in onshoring jobs and bringing them back to America in the semiconductor and computer chip industry,” Knopp stated.
The Republican senator representing central Oregon says there’s opportunity to bring factories all over the state but says there’s no space for larger sites under Oregon’s current land use system.
“We are hopeful that this governor understands that this needs to be targeted and it’s a specific time frame and will act with I think cooperation from and counsel from the legislative branch in making her decisions on this,” Knopp said. “We probably would’ve been more prescriptive if we were in the majority as Republicans.”
“I’d rather have 20 to 50 big companies come or expand in Oregon than just have one company. But I don’t think you can underestimate the value and impact companies like Intel and Microchip have had in Oregon,” Knopp said.
Knopp highlighted the impact of Intel’s Ronler Acres campus in Hillsboro, which he says employs 22,000 people and provides significant revenue from income taxes from that plant alone.