Oregon
Much bigger data center tax breaks on deck in Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s bill
Economic development legislation championed by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is poised to dramatically expand the state’s tax breaks for data centers, which are already among the largest in the nation.
Oregon data center operators will save nearly a half-billion dollars in local property taxes this year through three different incentive programs. Kotek’s legislation, House Bill 4084, would expand the fastest growing of those three programs.
The standard enterprise zone program provides property tax exemptions for up to five years for new industrial activity in urban and suburban parts of the state. HB 4084, which advanced through a key committee this past week, would double the length of those tax breaks to 10 years.
That means participating companies — chiefly data centers — could save twice as much. It also makes more cities eligible to participate in the enterprise zone program, which could provide an incentive for data centers to move into more communities.
(Separate economic development legislation, Senate Bill 1586, also proposed expanding the enterprise zone program. But lawmakers dropped that provision this month and focused primarily on expanding available industrial land.)
Oregon lawmakers conceived the enterprise zone program in the 1980s as a tool to attract small manufacturers, but they put no cap on how big the incentives could be and attached minimal job requirements.
The tech industry cashed in by siting data centers on hundreds of acres of industrial land in Hillsboro. Property that might otherwise have been used for electronics manufacturing — factories that can employs hundreds or even thousands — now hosts giant server farms that typically employ just a handful of people.
A Hillsboro data center operated by social media company TikTok, for example, is saving $5.6 million this year through the enterprise zone program even though it has just 11 local employees. That works out to more than $500,000 in tax breaks for each worker.
The data center influx has left Hillsboro with very little vacant industrial property so data centers are now looking at nearby communities like Forest Grove, where a California company is now building the first of two large data centers in an enterprise zone adjacent to a residential neighborhood.
Hillsboro data centers saved $45 million in local property taxes last year through the standard enterprise zone program, two-thirds of all the money the program gave away statewide. This year, the data centers will save double that through the same program, nearly $90 million. (The state hasn’t compiled 2026 figures from other industries yet.)
The data center industry is responsible for nearly all the growth in Oregon’s electricity usage, and that has severely strained the state’s electrical grid. The same phenomenon is playing out in other parts of the country, and elected officials in states such as Arizona, Illinois, Michigan and Maryland have proposed reining in the industry and limiting their tax breaks.
Oregon is poised to move in the opposite direction by increasing the industry’s incentives. That baffles Jody Wiser, from the watchdog group Tax Fairness Oregon, who calls the idea “patently ridiculous.”
The boom in artificial intelligence has tech companies building data centers pretty much anywhere they can find power and land. So Wiser said it’s “totally a waste” for Oregon to sweeten the pot.
Neither the governor nor any state legislator has specifically suggested that Oregon needs bigger data center tax breaks. So Wiser said she suspects the governor’s office and legislative leaders didn’t understand how the enterprise zone program is being applied in the 21st Century and advanced the legislation without recognizing that data centers would be the primary beneficiaries.
“Frankly, I don’t think they really realized it. My sense is they didn’t really get it that almost all of the money is going to data centers,” Wiser said. “By the time they realized it they needed the bill to move.”
The governor’s office didn’t directly respond to questions about whether Kotek actually wants larger data center incentives. Instead, her staff highlighted other provisions in the bill designed to accelerate permitting, prepare industrial land for development and update economic development tools.
“The intent behind HB 4084 is to create opportunity for every corner of the state,” Anca Matica, spokesperson for the governor, wrote in an email Friday. “The governor’s effort to expand this economic development tool is intentionally broad and inclusive, not targeted at any single community or industry.”
In her email, Matica noted that a study of Oregon tax incentives from 2022 found that the standard enterprise zone program delivers $29 in economic output for each $1 in tax breaks. That study analyzed results only up through 2020, however, long before the state’s current data center boom.
Even so, the study found that data centers created “significantly” fewer jobs than other industries that participate in the enterprise zone program.
Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, was among the lawmakers who voted to advance HB 4084 in a legislative committee Thursday. Marsh said she favored closer scrutiny of data centers’ tax breaks and economic impact, but said the Legislature should wait to act until after it receives recommendations from a workgroup Kotek appointed last month to study the industry.
The panel holds its first meeting Friday, but the group has already said it won’t issue any recommendations about data center tax breaks. Still, Marsh said she believes the industry deserves a thorough examination in next year’s full legislative session.
“It is not at all clear to me that data centers provide public or economic development benefits that justify the incentives,” Marsh said. “This issue is inevitably going to come back in 2027.”
Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
Oregon State’s season came to an end in Eugene on Sunday evening, after a rocky 7th inning doomed them against the 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks. The Beavers put up a valiant effort to try and fight their way back from the loser’s bracket, but they couldn’t accomplish this incredible feat that they pulled off in 2025.
A Bad Start Changed Everything
Winning the first game of a regional is almost a must if you want to advance, and this is where things started to go south.
After a nearly two-week layoff (since they didn’t have a conference tournament), OSU’s bats were rusty against a very solid left-hander in WSU’s Nick Lewis. Though the Beavers were able to put up a run early on, Lewis rolled with the punches and ended up throwing a complete game against the country’s seventh-ranked team. Though their bats came to life the next day, the uphill climb proved to be too much.
Pitching Wasn’t the Issue
Oregon State came into this tournament with the nation’s best ERA, and their starting rotation was exactly as advertised.
After a good outing from Kleinschmit on Friday afternoon, Eric Segura threw a 6.2 inning gem in an elimination game against Yale. True freshman Trey Morris threw 117 pitches in the rout of WSU early Saturday, and Wyatt Queen was excellent against the Ducks off of short rest later that evening.
The Power Just Wasn’t There
In today’s era of baseball where starting pitchers are so talented, it’s crucial to have guys that can get you runs with just one swing of the bat, especially when the man on the hill is striking a lot of people out.
Throughout the entirety of this season, the Beavers have not been a club that hits for much power, and this makes things difficult in the postseason. In four games across the Eugene regional, Oregon State didn’t hit a single ball out of the park. In 2026 they only hit a total of 55 homers, a stark contrast from the 107 of 2025’s Omaha year.
They Ran into a Good Team With a Deep Pitching Staff
In Mark Wasikowski’s tenure with the Ducks, his team’s pitching has often been a crutch that holds them back from big postseason runs. This certainly doesn’t seem to be the case this year.
Throughout the regional that they hosted, Oregon starters looked nearly untouchable. Will Sanford struck out 14 batters and didn’t allow a run against Washington State. Yesterday against the Beavers, left-hander Miles Gosztola was phenomenal, bouncing back after allowing a run in the second inning. The Ducks also have great relievers in guys like Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell. With a lot of reliable arms to go to, it would’ve been difficult to beat Oregon twice.
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