Discover How Oregon is Balancing Microchips and Microgreens with its Farm Protection Law

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Oregon is making a change to their law that has been around for 50 years. This change will make it easier for chip (semiconductor) companies to build and move here. Farmers are concerned, however, because this change might hurt the way they make a living.

Some people in Oregon are proposing a bill that would give their state money to help build up the semiconductor industry. Others are saying that this goes against the rules they have had in place for over fifty years—rules that try to keep Oregon’s forests, farmland, and cities safe.

Republican state Rep. Anna Scharf said that rules and regulations that were passed fifty years ago have been very successful in looking after our farms, forests, and keeping nature safe from being harmed by urban development. But Senate Bill 4 would change all of this.

The state Senate and House passed a bill that lets Governor Kotek pick eight locations for building development. There can be two bigger spots (over 500 acres) and six smaller ones. Some people, like the Oregon Farm Bureau, did not want this to happen.

“In the area surrounding us, there is a lot of super-valuable farmland that produces food for people in Oregon and it also gives them jobs. The worry is that once this farmland gets paved over, it won’t be able to be used again.” said Rep. Scharf.

Rep. Kim Wallan, who helped create the bill said that it only allows the governor to immediately put aside land for factories which will make chips and places related to these chip factories.

Last year, Intel shocked Oregon officials and politicians when they decided to build a $20 billion manufacturing facility in Ohio instead. This was especially upsetting because Intel is one of the biggest companies in the state and there isn’t much space to set up factories here.

In Oregon, there are special areas with a boundary called an “urban growth boundary.” If a city wants to use the land from this area, they must first request it from the governor. This process usually takes up a long time. However, a new bill says that the governor’s decisions about these borders can now go straight to the highest court in the state for approval – making things much faster!

Oregon’s governor, Kotek, announced she will sign a law in a few days that could help the state produce new high-tech products. She said this bill was necessary to get Oregon ready for making things like semiconductors. That way, it can stay ahead of other areas when it comes to creating innovation.

Oregon is important in the semiconductor industry in America. According to Kotek, there needs to be a bill so that Oregon can have more money and resources to make things through advanced manufacturing.

Last year, Congress passed a law called the CHIPS and Science Act which gives $39 billion of money to businesses that build factories for making semiconductors, or small pieces of material that are used in electronics. This money is also given to businesses who assemble, test, and package semiconductors as well.

Tom McCall was an important governor of Oregon who suggested that the lawmakers in the state should create a strong law about land use in 1973. He spoke against people buying lots and building houses that would damage nature. The law he asked for was then passed, and it set limits on how much cities could grow. Recently some people said something bad about changing this law that has been around for 50 years.

State Rep. Ed Diehl, a Republican, said he could not agree with a plan the governor had which would take away land and put it in an urban growth boundary. He thought that was not the Oregon way of doing things.