Lawmakers heard consistent testimony on Nov. 17 that Oregon's competitiveness for advanced manufacturing depends on three constrained resources: incentive design, industrial site readiness, and access to affordable power.

Steve Curley, Redmond Economic Development director, described several local examples in Central Oregon where projects stalled or considered other states because transportation, power and infrastructure costs made development unworkable. "About three years ago a large user went under contract to purchase 200 acres to develop a project there," Curley said. "Over the course of a year plus, it was determined the project could not develop because of infrastructure costs, and they moved on."

Andrew Desmond, director of economic development policy at the Oregon Business Council, briefed the committee on the semiconductor and clean-tech task-force recommendations: modernize the state's incentive stack, increase R&D supports, make large industrial sites shovel-ready, and address workforce bottlenecks. He told members the state's site-readiness gap is large. "Analysis ... suggests that at minimum the state needs around a $2,000,000,000 investment to unlock the industrial site challenges that we face," Desmond said.

Why it matters: Advanced manufacturing projects create high-wage, traded-sector jobs and expand the tax base, witnesses said. Committee members pressed for return-on-investment estimates and asked how state incentives and land-use tools (including prior actions like Senate Bill 4 and the R&D tax credit) have moved the needle so far.

Committee follow-up: Chair Meek asked witnesses to provide further data, including ROI estimates for proposed investments. Desmond said he would supply additional analysis. The committee closed the informational hearing without taking immediate action.

Sources: Testimony from Steve Curley (Redmond Economic Development) and Andrew Desmond (Oregon Business Council) before the Senate Interim Committee on Commerce and General Government (11/17/2025).