The Oregon Legislature wrapped up its brief, even-year session this month, and the following is a snapshot of several bills impacting Business Oregon.
First, passage of HB 4005, championed by Sen. Beyer and Rep. Lively, will add five new electronic commerce (e-commerce) zones, increasing the number of zones across the state to 15. The bill passed the Oregon House 58-0 and the Oregon Senate unanimously on February 28.
An e-commerce designation allows for the potential of additional benefits to the traditional enterprise zone. While businesses locating in an enterprise zone are eligible for a three- to five-year local property tax waiver, the e-commerce designation allows business owners to claim an additional credit on their corporate income taxes worth 25 percent of their capital investment, for up to five years. The credits are capped at $2 million per year per business.
For example, the former Hynix site in Lane County is located in an existing enterprise zone, and officials there hope to market it as a “tech hub” where technology companies could rent out commercial and server space and take advantage of the added tax benefit.When HB 4005 becomes law, any local government already sponsoring an enterprise zone can apply for the new e-commerce zones in a competitive process.
The Legislature also passed SB 1563 (Senate: 29-0; House: 56-1) designed to help Business Oregon’s Entrepreneurial Development Loan Fund (EDLF) program better meet the needs of small businesses that are starting up or expanding. Sponsored by Sen. Majority Leader Rosenbaum, Sen. Beyer, Rep. Clem and numerous other bipartisan legislators, the Legislature recognized the value of the program and Business Oregon’s role as the largest micro-lender in Oregon. The bill will increase the maximum loan term from 5 to 10 years, and extend the cap on the max loan amount from $70,000 to $100,000, helping businesses access capital to get started, particularly outside of the Portland metro region.
A few examples of companies that have benefited from this micro-loan program include:
• Frog Eyes Wasabi, a wasabi farm on the Oregon Coast, where an EDLF loan helped fund the greenhouses used to grow their crop. The company was able to then capitalize on market opportunities in Japan and has become one of the largest exporters of wasabi on the west coast.
• M&D Enterprises, a small manufacturing operation in Sutherlin that makes large wooden spools used by utility companies, used an EDLF loan to acquire new equipment allowing them to process their waste materials and sell them to a secondary wood processor to be used in chip boards. This project reduces waste and adds new revenue to the company.
• In Portland, the EDLF program helped fund Jet Clothing, a company that designs and manufactures their own clothing lines, selling their products and other merchandise in a retail shop.
HB 5201, and the accompanying budget report, restored $9.35 million in funding for regionally important projects across the state as proposed by the various Regional Solutions teams and advisory committees. The funding contained in this bill served as a companion to HB 4015 that codifies the Regional Solutions program in the Gov office. Thanks for the efforts of Sen. Johnson in leading the passage of this bill and advocating for the restoration of funding.
Business Oregon also thanks the members of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means and House Speaker Kotek for advocating for and approving an additional $750,000 in critical funding for the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP).
A recent economic impact study by Portland State University’s Northwest Economic Research Center reported that OMEP has pumped millions into the Oregon economy over the past decade.
Lastly, passage of SB 1527 directs Business Oregon, in coordination with local workforce investment boards, to contract with private or public entities to develop a pilot to enable unemployed and underemployed engineers and industry professionals in bioscience and manufacturing to be reemployed in Oregon.
