Oregon lawmakers pass major bill aimed at luring semiconductor manufacturers

On Wednesday, top Oregon politicians worked to sell a top Biden administration official on the state’s place of strength in the national semiconductor industry. Now lawmakers have approved a bill they hope will help inject a dose of steroids.

The House of Representatives on Thursday gave final approval to Senate Bill 4, Oregon’s first major attempt at leveraging more than $200 million in state spending into far more money from the federal government.

In a result that has felt preordained for weeks, the chamber — with strong bipartisan support — approved the bill on a 44-10 vote, sending it to Gov. Tina Kotek for her signature.

“We knew we would need to rise to the occasion and today we’re doing that,” said state Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Happy Valley Democrat who co-chaired the special committee that developed the proposal over eight weeks. “We’re delivering on that goal and seizing that opportunity.”

Made up of two major parts, SB 4 is designed to entice semiconductor companies to choose Oregon when deciding where to expand or set up shop.

One piece of the bill sets aside $210 million, the bulk of which will go toward grants and loans that semiconductor and advanced manufacturing companies can use to acquire and develop land for new facilities and carry out research.