Oregon would allow research tax credits for three business sectors

Eligible companies would need certification from the Oregon Business Development Department before claiming a research tax credit. Covered companies would primarily work in semiconductors, renewable energy devices, or biotechnology that develops medicines or technologies to cure life-threatening illnesses. Qualifying research must take place in Oregon and support the company’s main business. The credit would use a 15 percent rate, with a $4 million limit per taxpayer. Awards would generally follow application order. A reserve would protect full eligible awards for companies with fewer than 150 employees that apply before their tax return filing deadline. Other applicants could receive partial awards or withdraw. Total potential credits would be capped at $160 million for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2025, $180 million for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2027, and $100 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2029. The refundable share would be 75 percent for companies with fewer than 150 Oregon employees, 50 percent for those with 150–499, and 25 percent for those with at least 500. Unused credit, including amounts unavailable for refund, could carry forward for up to five tax years. The credit provisions in sections 1–3 would apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. The program would cover tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2036.

Local governments could approve manufacturing equipment tax breaks, and enterprise zone sponsors could agree to additional exempt years for eligible business property. These provisions cover advanced manufacturers’ machinery, eligible business property in enterprise zones—areas offering business tax breaks—and school districts containing exempt property. New or modernized machinery must be used exclusively within the approving city or the county’s unincorporated areas. Local rules would set eligibility. An exemption already awarded would continue under its original rules if the local government amended or repealed them. Enterprise zone extensions would require an agreement signed on or before business authorization. The property must qualify, and the business must meet program requirements and have an agreement to consider locally referred workers first when hiring. In rural zones and urban zones in metropolitan areas with fewer than 400,000 residents, new employees’ average compensation must reach 150 percent of the county average, or 130 percent in qualified rural counties. Their average wages must also reach the county average. Sponsors could require additional terms. School districts would choose whether to receive payments. Payments would equal 15–30 percent of otherwise-due property taxes. Long-term rural agreements could include payments beginning with the sixth exempt year. For standard extensions, one section requires payments while another says agreements may include them. These provisions would take effect on the 91st day after the 2026 regular session adjourns. Standard enterprise zone extensions could cover up to seven consecutive years following the initial three exempt years.

Employers would count job growth across eligible businesses at the same industrial site toward the program’s employment threshold. Rural sites are outside metropolitan areas. Urban sites are inside metropolitan areas and within regional or metropolitan boundaries for urban growth. Each employer must pay an average annual wage of at least 150 percent of the county or state average, whichever is lower. The employer must conduct a business covered by the program’s sector rules at a designated regionally significant industrial site. Meeting this definition would not itself guarantee a payment. These eligibility provisions would take effect on the 91st day after the 2026 regular session adjourns.

Six state agencies would publish their intended permit processing deadlines and a catalog explaining their permits and approval processes. The duties cover permits issued by Oregon’s departments of Environmental Quality, Agriculture, Consumer and Business Services, Transportation, Water Resources, and Energy. An agency missing its deadline would refund the application fee and finish processing to the greatest extent possible. This rule would not create a right to challenge agency decisions or delays. The catalog would explain fees and approval steps, report 2025 processing times and current backlogs, and identify ways to remove unnecessary steps. It would distinguish complete applications from those missing required information. These provisions would take effect on the 91st day after the 2026 regular session adjourns. Agencies must publish the catalog within 60 days of that date. The catalog requirement would expire January 2, 2027.

Area 8A in Washington County would be inside Metro’s boundary for urban growth, with specified land reserved for industrial uses. Area 8A appears on Metro’s 2011 Washington County reserves map. The industrial-use rules cover its land except the portion east of Northwest Jackson School Road, Storey Creek, and Waibel Creek. The industrial land would allow high-technology manufacturing, research, and related support uses. Commercial uses must support manufacturing or be accessory uses within the same building. That industrial land could not be zoned or developed for commercial recreation or retail warehousing. Data centers would be allowed only as part of, or accessory to, permitted industrial uses. Washington County and Hillsboro must adopt the required planning rules after public hearings and deliver them to the Land Conservation and Development Commission within 14 days. The rules would receive state land-use approval upon adoption if these steps were met. Land added to the boundary would also join the Metro service district without further proceedings. These provisions would take effect on the 91st day after the 2026 regular session adjourns. Washington County and Hillsboro must adopt the required planning rules within six months of that date.