The request emerged from the findings of a chip industry task force of Oregon government and business leaders, which issued recommendations earlier this month on how the state can be more attractive to the semiconductor industry.
The governor chaired the task force’s environmental and regulatory subcommittee, which warned that regulatory uncertainty in Oregon is scaring off technology manufacturers that want to move rapidly to choose a site and start building once they commit to expand.
“The current regulations and regulatory environment in Oregon diminishes Oregon’s competitiveness and needs improvement,” the task force concluded.
The governor is seeking $357,000 to hire four specialists to work at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The emergency board approves funding needs between legislative sessions. Brown’s request would cover the cost of each position for just six to nine months, depending on the job, meaning the Legislature would have to approve long-term funding next session to retain the new staff.
The funding request came in the form of a letter last week from agency director Richard Whitman, who told the Emergency Board that the new positions are necessary “to respond to emerging needs and opportunities related to industrial expansions, including expansion of the semiconductor industry in Oregon.”
Electronics manufacturing is one of Oregon’s largest industries, accounting for roughly half the state’s exports. The Portland area has one of the densest concentrations of chip manufacturers in the nation. Intel, the state’s largest corporate employer, anchors the sector with roughly 22,000 workers in Washington County.
The chip industry is in the midst of a national building boom, with Intel and other large manufacturers spending tens of billions of dollars apiece on new factories across the country. The $280 billion CHIPS Act approved by Congress this summer subsidizes that expansion with federal money to fund new factories and research.
No chip manufacturer has announced plans to spend any of that money on new Oregon factories, but the task force reported this month that Oregon is in negotiations with three unnamed companies on projects worth a combined $8 billion, potentially tied to 10,000 new jobs.
By requesting the money immediately, rather than waiting for the upcoming legislative session, the governor could be hoping to attract one or more of those businesses.
“Oregon is in a competition with all other states for CHIPS funding––filling these positions at DEQ as soon as possible will help to ensure Oregon is able to move quickly to capitalize on the opportunities available to us,” said Charles Boyle, spokesperson for Brown, wrote in an email Monday.
The governor’s proposal doesn’t address other issues identified by the task force, including a worker shortage, uncompetitive public incentives and the absence of large parcels of industrial land in the Portland area.
The Emergency Board will meet for three days beginning September 21 to consider the governor’s staffing request and other funding proposals.
Mary Peveto, executive director of the Portland nonprofit Neighbors for Clean Air, said she supports adding resources for the state’s environmental watchdog. But she said the new staff should come along with a more robust regulatory framework rather than as part of an initiative to court industry.
“I don’t think we should be doing it through an (emergency request) to protect one or two new businesses,” Peveto said. “I think it should be, as a matter of course, to protect all the people in Oregon.”
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