Commentary: JOBS Act could make small, important changes for Oregon economy

Published 7:44 am Thursday, February 12, 2026

Senate Bill 1586 is proof that even in today’s highly partisan political climate, legislators from both major parties will sometimes lend their support to good policy. At a time when Oregon’s economy is struggling and good job opportunities are becoming more scarce, this bill would help provide the support and land businesses in targeted sectors need to grow in Oregon.

It makes so much sense that 36 legislators — 40% of the Legislature — have signed on as sponsors, including Democrats such as Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, and Republicans like Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee. It deserves support from their 54 colleagues.

Known as the Jobs, Opportunity, Build-ready Sites (JOBS) Act, SB 1586 would make a small number of important changes to tax and land-use policy. It would expand eligibility for state research and development tax credits to clean tech and life sciences businesses as well as those in advanced manufacturing and semiconductor production. It would create a local-option property tax waiver for new machinery and equipment in advanced manufacturing. And it would bring land into Hillsboro’s urban growth boundary for advanced manufacturing and semiconductor development. This land was identified by the Oregon CHIPs Act approved by the Legislature in 2023.

Policies that affect taxes and land use can be controversial, particularly in Oregon. But it’s worth bearing a few things in mind.

First, tax credits for research and development and property-tax waivers for equipment are tools used by states across the country to encourage innovation and job creation. Such targeted incentives tend to be particularly meaningful in states with otherwise difficult tax environments. And few states provide tax environments less hospitable to innovation and job creation than Oregon. In its 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation ranks Oregon’s corporate tax structure the second worst in the nation.

Second, Oregon’s chronic shortage of shovel-ready industrial land makes it difficult for businesses to expand even in sectors like advanced manufacturing and semiconductor production in which the state excels. Rather than leveraging its strengths to provide high-paying jobs — and generate tax revenue — Oregon pushes successful businesses to invest elsewhere.

In 2025, Business Oregon — the state’s economic development agency — released a report highlighting Oregon’s vulnerability to business-recruitment efforts mounted by other states. Of Oregon businesses surveyed, 24% said they’d been recruited by other states. And of these, 68% said they either moved or expanded outside of Oregon. A Business Oregon economist later called this an “insane success rate.”

Among the Oregon challenges cited by participating businesses were tax policy, the state’s regulatory climate and the cost and availability of land. Not coincidentally, the two most common types of incentives offered by business-recruitment entities were tax incentives and land. By addressing these two challenges, SB 1586 will keep more Oregon businesses in Oregon.

More importantly, the bill will help retain the jobs such businesses create. Jobs in manufacturing — the sector upon which SB 1586 focuses — are among the state’s most lucrative and equitable. According to OBI’s 2024 manufacturing report, each job in manufacturing adds nearly 60% more to the state’s gross domestic product than jobs in other industries. This productivity supports higher wages, and the median income for manufacturing jobs exceeds the median in other industries by 17%. As explained in OBI’s 2021 manufacturing report, manufacturing jobs pay more than jobs in other industries regardless of race, gender and education level.

Unfortunately, Oregon’s manufacturing sector has struggled in recent years. Between June 2023 and June 2024 — the period covered by the 2024 manufacturing report — Oregon ranked only 45th nationally in manufacturing growth. And for every year from 2020 through 2024, manufacturing employment in Oregon grew more slowly — or declined more dramatically — than the national average.

Largely for policy reasons, Oregon now finds itself at the bottom of a deep economic and competitive hole. Its economy grew more slowly than the national average every year from 2021 to 2024. Employment growth has trailed the nation since 2019. This weakness has been captured by ranking after ranking, from the Tax Foundation’s competitiveness index to CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business, which now ranks Oregon 39th. The state ranked 17th as recently as 2017.

SB 1586 won’t by itself lift the state from the competitive and economic depths, but it represents several rungs on the ladder to the surface. It deserves to pass, and Oregonians deserve the jobs it will create.

Todd is executive manager of the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Josh Tompkins is president and CEO of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

This article was originally published by Oregon Capital Chronicle and used with permission. Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom and can be reached at info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com.