Supporting Central Oregon Businesses and Workforce in the 2025 Legislature

These issues are on the minds of Central Oregon employers, along with our own list of priorities for the session. Starting with work left undone in the 2024 session, employers want to address the ongoing need for more workforce housing.

One of the most significant financial hurdles to building more housing is the cost of infrastructure, including sewer, roads, water, and other utilities -obstacles to building housing on newly added lands. Neither the developers nor cities have the funds to bring badly needed residential land online. The state Legislature can help accelerate new housing by growing a revolving loan fund for cities desperately trying to pay for infill and expansion infrastructure with limited or no funding.

Last session the governor asked for $500 million to kick-start a goal of building 36,000 housing units per year. The Legislature passed $175 million and only about 17,000 units were built in 2024. Another substantial investment needs to be made for this biennium to get us closer to producing the housing our families and workforce need.

The state budget relies on a healthy economy and businesses are struggling with Oregon’s tax and regulatory climate, calling for consistency, predictability, and accountability from the state. State agencies are responsible for making the rules and carrying out legislation. The speed and complexity of new regulations have prompted the need for the Legislature to examine how advisory committees influence the implementation of legislation, and the economic and cost impacts of new agency rules. There is also a need for more legislative branch oversight and engagement in how new bills are implemented.

Businesses need effective ways to engage state agencies. The state business organization, Oregon Business & Industries suggests establishing a new Office of Economic Opportunity, including a business advisory committee and ombudsman. Employers are asking to be part of the solution. This would be a great step in that direction.

The 2024 Legislature also has an opportunity to improve the climate for attracting and retaining new industries that will generate great jobs and support the state’s economy and revenue. Enterprise zones are one of the few tools our state wields to attract new business. These zones help lower construction costs through temporary tax exemptions. This tool has been diluted over the last few sessions, reducing the ability to attract and grow job-generating land.

Workforce retention remains critical in Central Oregon, including employee access to childcare. The governor’s budget did not increase childcare subsidies for working families who can’t afford it. Providing financial relief to families is imperative in this session and employers are primed to engage on the issue from the Legislature.

Once children are in the school system, the funding challenge continues. The governor has started the discussion of sustainable K-12 funding models that address Oregon’s education shortfalls. Higher ed also has financial needs this biennium as state funding has waned. Higher education needs are also front and center. Central Oregon businesses are supporting OSU-Cascades’ $20 million request this session to match student and university funding for a student health & Recreation Center, including essential mental and medical health and physical activity facilities.

Lastly, transportation funding will be one of the heaviest lifts this year. We have all been standing on the tracks watching this train approach for years and now we have no choice but to let it run over us or find sustainable funding for our state roads. There are several approaches – do we go toward a user-based system where we pay for the road miles we travel, or do we consider tolls, registration, license, and title fee increases? Whatever blend of funds is chosen, we will all be paying more for the upkeep of our roads.

This is just a perfunctory list of funding and legislation for this session. The governor has already clarified that new revenue bills will be minimal, making it unlikely that all of the issues in this column are achievable. Our cities have operated under tax measures passed 30 years ago that swap a comprehensive approach for a patchwork of fees and taxes to plug a financial hole that deepens each year. In short, maybe it’s time to start a real conversation about tax reform and how we pay for what we need. Maybe that conversation begins this year.