Eugene Chamber Named National Chamber of the Year
Congratulations to the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, which was named national Chamber of the Year during the recent Association of Commerce Executives (ACCE) convention in New Orleans. The award is ACCE’s most prestigious and competitive national award, and it recognizes chambers that “have demonstrated organizational strength and made an impact on key community priorities such as education, transportation, economic prosperity and quality of life.”
According to ACCE, chambers must qualify for the award by participating in a vigorous multi-stage process. They also must meet minimum thresholds in several key performance areas. To ensure fair competition, applicants are grouped into four categories based on budget. The Eugene Chamber topped its budget-related category.
According to a story by KLCC, the Eugene Chamber was a finalist for the award in 2022.
Eugene Chamber President and CEO Brittany Quick-Warner serves as an ex officio member of OBI’s board of directors.
Webinar Recording: Pending I-5 Closure in Portland
Beginning Sept. 11, all southbound I-5 lanes will close in Portland between Broadway/Weidler and I-84. The closure, which will allow for the replacement of the road surface, will last for five weeks and create potentially significant travel disruptions. ODOT expects congestion to extend into Washington and for southbound travel to take two or three times as long. On July 30, representatives of the Oregon Department of Transportation joined OBI to discuss the project, its likely effects and planned detours.
Go here to watch a recording of the webinar. Go here to view the slide deck used in ODOT’s presentation.
Helpful links:
- I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project website, which includes information about the closure, including maps.
- Business Toolkit created by ODOT.
- Get There Oregon resources for employers.
- Sign up for traffic and closure alerts here.
Oregon Scorecard Update: Business Establishment Births
What happened: On July 29, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released quarterly data showing establishment births and deaths. According to the BLS, an establishment is an “economic unit that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location.” It can be a single business or one of multiple locations operated by a business. A birth refers to an establishment that is reporting employees for the first time, and a death is an establishment that has reported no employees for four consecutive quarters. The latest BLS release contained Q4 2025 data for establishment births and Q1 2025 data for establishment deaths.
Oregon establishment births: Oregon’s establishment birth rate in 2025 is one of the nation’s lowest, tied with Indiana at 47th. The rate, 2.6%, is well below the national average rate, 3.43%. Oregon’s birth-rate ranking fell 19 places between 2024 and 2025. See the Oregon Scorecard trend chart here.
Oregon establishment deaths: Because the most recent establishment death data covers only the first quarter of 2025, the Oregon Scorecard continues to feature the state’s 2024 information. For the first quarter of 2025, however, Oregon’s rate of establishment deaths, at 4%, is tied for the nation’s 11th highest and above the national average of 3.7%.
Why it matters: An economist with the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, an advocacy organization, shared a plain-English explanation of the importance of births and deaths in May: “Business establishment deaths are a fact of life in a dynamic economy, but they become a more considerable economic concern when deaths outdistance births, and when such deaths can be linked to some degree to burdensome governmental costs, such as taxes and regulations.”
Join Us for the 2026 Manufacturing and Innovation Roadshow
OBI’s Manufacturing and Innovation Roadshow will return for a fifth year this fall with a one-day tour of four Portland metro area businesses. The Roadshow will take place on Friday, Oct. 2 – recognized nationally as Manufacturing Day – and visit (in this order):
Looptworks (Gresham)
Leatherman (Portland)
QB Fabrication & Welding (Clackamas)
Miles Fiberglass & Composites (Clackamas)
The Manufacturing and Innovation Roadshow gives participants, including policymakers and business leaders, a chance to tour some of Oregon’s most innovative companies and talk to the people who run them. To learn more about this year’s participating manufacturers and to register, go to the Manufacturing and Innovation Roadshow web page here.
Oregon Business Matters Talks with EDCO CEO Jon Stark
In the latest episode, Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) CEO Jon Stark discusses the challenges and advantages of attracting and retaining businesses in the three counties that comprise Central Oregon. EDCO has focused deliberately – and successfully – on traded-sector businesses in a handful of clusters, including advanced manufacturing and high tech. Meanwhile, learn how Prineville’s focus on data centers helped Crook County’s largest city recover from the decline of the region’s timber industry.
Listen to our interview with Jon here.
In case you missed it, check out our recent interview with Maria Pope, president and CEO of Portland General Electric. To listen to this interview and many others, visit the Oregon Business Matters website.
The Oregon Business Matters podcast can be found on major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
Pooled 401(k) Plan Offers Administrative Savings, OBI Discount
OBI has joined with The Partners Group to offer OBI members discounted participation in TPG’s innovative 401(k) retirement option: The Partners Retirement Plan.
The Partners Retirement Plan is a pooled employer plan (PEP), which allows employers to offer a 401(k) benefit to employees while maintaining individual company design and control over the benefit. The PEP allows employers to outsource many administrative and fiduciary responsibilities that come with sponsoring retirement plans, including managing the actual plan audit and Form 5500 filing process. This results in real savings for many employers.
Members of OBI can realize even greater savings because TPG offers special pricing to OBI members.
Visit OBI’s PEP page here to learn more about the plan.
Registration Open for Sept. 16 Oregon Infrastructure Summit
The annual Oregon Infrastructure Summit will take place Sept. 16 at the Salem Convention Center. Organized by the Northwest Environmental Business Council, the summit will cover transportation funding, housing innovation, energy infrastructure, the Oregon Prosperity Roadmap and more.
Visit the summit website here to learn more, and go here to register.
Nominations Open for Worker Safety, Health Awards
Nominations are being accepted for the 2027 Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health (GOSH) Awards, which recognize organizations and people who make exceptional contributions to workplace safety and health. Award nominations are due Oct. 12. The award categories are workplace safety program, association, safety committee, safety/health/wellness team, innovation, safety/health/wellness advocate, labor representative, safety and health professional, rising safety star, and business leader.
Get more details and make a nomination here. Awards will be presented March 2, 2027, as part of the March 1-4 GOSH Conference at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. The four-day conference provides knowledge, training and tools across industries to strengthen protection of workers from hazards and to drive down business costs. Learn more about GOSH here.
Policy and Rulemaking Updates
EPR in court: In July, a five-day bench trial in National Association of Wholesalers (NAW) v. Feldon was held before U.S. District Judge Michael Simon. The trial included approximately 34 hours of testimony from industry representatives, DEQ staff and expert witnesses for both sides. The NAW challenged the constitutionality of Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act and the resulting extended producer responsibility (EPR) program. OBI filed an amicus brief for the proceedings along with partners at Food Northwest and the Northwest Grocery Retail Association. Testimony focused on burdens associated with identifying responsible parties, collecting and reporting data and fee assessments. Rather than closing arguments, Judge Simon asked the parties to submit post-trial briefs. If after reading one another’s briefs a party wants to request more oral argument, they must do so by Aug. 3. OBI will share more after digesting those briefs.
Prevailing wage determination: In a growing trend, the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has determined surrounding street and infrastructure improvements associated with an otherwise privately developed affordable housing project triggered the state’s prevailing wage requirements for a development in Bend. It’s not clear how the project sponsors will proceed, but a similar determination derailed a much-needed affordable housing project in Eugene. OBI has been in contact with our counterparts at the League of Oregon Cities and will be working with them to address this issue during the 2027 legislative session.
CPP rulemaking: July 29 was the second rulemaking advisory committee (RAC) meeting for the DEQ’s CPP rulemaking that will establish a carbon intensity benchmark for emissions intensive and trade exposed businesses. OBI continues to advocate for legislation authorizing an economywide, market-based carbon pricing program, such as cap-and-invest. However, until such legislation passes and the CPP is repealed, OBI will continue to engage in CPP rulemakings. This particular rulemaking is critical to Oregon manufacturers given the CPP’s high compliance costs and the likely impact on manufacturers’ ability to compete in global markets if baselines do not account for growth. In theory, the rule would allow businesses to grow and increase production if they can demonstrate that they’re reducing the carbon intensity of their manufacturing processes (i.e. emissions per widget). This meeting was focused on elements of the rule such as which years should be used to establish baseline emissions, how to treat market downturns (carbon intensity is typically lowest when manufacturers are operating at full capacity) and flexibilities needed for facilities that, despite their best efforts, have no other options for reducing emissions. The rulemaking is complex. No two products are manufactured in the same way, so it is critical for DEQ to establish carbon intensity benchmarks on a facility-by-facility basis and even a product-by-product basis. The manufacturing sector provided robust examples of why flexibility in the rule is needed while climate activists pushed to minimize flexibility. In June, OBI submitted extensive comments following the first RAC meeting and will again be submitting comments. DEQ will hold RAC meetings in September and October, and DEQ is likely to issue a proposed rule in December.
Cosmetic products: On July 30, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) held its first RAC meeting to implement SB 546 (2023), which requires the OHA to make a list of high-priority chemicals used in cosmetic products and prohibits manufacturers from selling certain cosmetics in Oregon. There is little to no evidence supporting such a ban. OBI opposed the bill because it broadly disfavors “classes of chemicals,” would cause Oregon to regulate cosmetics more strictly than 47 other states, oversteps significant new federal laws on this issue and ignores the rigorous safeguards and protections industry already performs to ensure customer safety.
Medicaid budget report: The Governor’s Advisory Group on Medicaid Sustainability presented its final report to the Oregon Health Policy Board during the board’s July meeting. The group was charged with identifying system improvements and cost-saving measures to address expected Medicaid funding shortfalls resulting from federal changes under H.R. 1. Oregon is projected to lose $421 million in federal Medicaid funding during the 2027-29 biennium and $868 million during the 2029-31 biennium. The advisory group identified approximately $421 million in potential savings by reducing certain optional benefits, streamlining administrative requirements and lowering payments to Oregon’s coordinated care organizations. Compared with Medicaid programs in Washington, California and New York, the Oregon Health Plan offers broader eligibility and a more expansive set of benefits. Even so, early discussions suggest lawmakers are reluctant to scale back coverage or benefits.
HB 4084 implementation: The governor’s economic development legislation from the 2026 session is now in effect, with temporary rules issued by Business Oregon. OBI supported the legislation, though we opposed the last-minute amendments adopted regarding data centers in standard enterprise zones. Key elements of the legislation included fast track permitting via a Joint Permitting Council (JPC), permitting accountability and process improvements, enterprise zone improvements and amendments to scale back the job creation tax credit in SB 1507. The JPC must establish readiness criteria for fast track permitting by Oct. 1. OBI will submit suggested criteria. Meanwhile, a subset of agencies must work on permitting accountability components by Oct. 3, elements of which were largely drawn from legislation requested by OBI in 2025. These include cataloging and reporting on permit timelines and backlogs, unreasonable timelines, opportunities to streamline and improve turnaround time and opportunities for relief for delayed permit processing. OBI will remain engaged in this discussion as well. Business Oregon has adopted temporary rules for enterprise zone changes and the job creation tax credit. Permanent rulemaking will unfold this fall.
Growing antitrust unit: In June, the legislative Emergency Board approved 16 new positions within the attorney general’s office for antitrust enforcement actions. This brings the total staffing level to 24 positions. It is worrisome that the positions are funded from settlements and judgments recovered by the AG. These include all civil enforcement actions, not merely antitrust actions. Presumably, these new positions will be included automatically in the AG’s rollup for its next biennial budget request, estimated at $7.2 million for the 2027-29 biennial budget. As of fall 2025, by way of comparison, Washington’s antitrust unit has 25 positions. Washington also has a population of over 8 million with a real GDP of $716 billion (Oregon is at 4.2 million and $266 billion, respectively). So, for comparison, Washington has one position for every 320,000 residents whereas Oregon will have one position for every 175,000 residents. Only two other states have more antitrust staff than Washington: California (population 40 million,) and New York (population 20 million). Per capita, Oregon may now have the largest antitrust unit in the country.
Undersea cable rulemaking: Oregon’s administrative rules governing easements for transpacific telecommunications cables are undergoing their first comprehensive update in more than 25 years. The rulemaking reflects major advances in undersea cable technology, including cables that combine data transmission with ocean monitoring capabilities, as well as updates to Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plan (2023) and Senate Bill 793 (2025), which requires the Department of State Lands (DSL) to establish application and compensation fees for territorial sea easements. Rulemaking began in February, with public comments due Aug. 3. OBI is working with affected members and other industry stakeholders to submit comments on the proposed rules, which would significantly increase costs and regulatory complexity for infrastructure that carries approximately 99% of intercontinental data traffic. OIBI is advocating for changes that protect Oregon’s competitiveness as a landing location for transpacific cables. Because DSL administers the program, the final rules will be adopted by the State Land Board, which is composed of the governor, secretary of state and state treasurer.
Political Update
General election landscape: We’re now fewer than 100 days from the November election. Candidates will soon begin airing ads in earnest. Early polling in the gubernatorial race between Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican candidate. Christine Drazan indicates another close contest, with the Cook Political Report recently changing the race rating from “Safe D” to “Lean D.” Further down the ballot, some legislative races are seeing very early spending. In Senate District 11 (Keizer/Woodburn), OBI-endorsed candidate Tracy Cramer (R) is targeting her opponent, Virginia Stapleton (D), over Stapleton’s record of supporting tax increases. The race is expected to be among the most expensive of all legislative contests and could mean the difference between Senate Democrats maintaining their three-fifths majority (allows the party to raise taxes without Republican votes) or losing that status if Republicans both win that seat and find success elsewhere on the ballot.
PEACE Act fails: On July 24, the elections division announced that IP 28 (People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act (aka PEACE Act)) failed to qualify for the Nov. 2026 ballot. As a reminder, the PEACE Act proposed to criminalize any “harm” to an animal, defined as any nonhuman mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian or fish. The measure effectively would have rendered illegal everything from ranching and animal husbandry to recreational fishing. Petitioners submitted 142,347 signatures. However, the elections division’s verification process, which consists of a statistically significant sampling of the total signatures submitted, revealed that only 73.25% of the signatures submitted were valid. That validity rate translated to 104,262 valid signatures, which is 12,911 short of the 117,173 necessary to qualify.
No statewide measures: The PEACE Act’s failure means that, for the first time since the creation of Oregon’s initiative and referendum process in 1902, no statewide measures will appear on Oregon’s general election ballots. That’s despite more than 90 prospective petitions being filed. You can read more in this Oregonian story.
Local measures: OBI continues to monitor a small number of local measures that may qualify for November’s ballot. In Portland, the Safer Portland police staffing measure is experiencing unexpected turbulence during the signature verification process conducted by city officials, leading to outcry from petition organizers and prompting a scolding from Secretary of State Tobias Read. City officials have defended their process and announced that the measure failed to qualify on the first round of signature reviews. City officials will now test a second and final sample to determine the petition’s qualification status. OBI has been briefed on the latest developments, and the PAC board will consider endorsing the initiative if it qualifies.
In Eugene, organizers of the Eugene Clean Energy Fund recently submitted 14,317 signatures toward qualification of the initiative, nearly double the 8,726 required to qualify. County officials have until Aug. 21 to complete the signature verification process. The proposed policy is modeled after, but differs slightly from, the Portland Clean Energy Fund. The gist: The measure creates a “large retailer license” that “large retailers” must get to operate in the city. To get the license, they must pay a “fee” equal to 2% of “gross profits.” “Large retailer” is poorly and broadly defined. It includes services as well as goods, with minimal exemptions and applies to companies with certain sales thresholds nationally and in Eugene. OBI is evaluating the viability of possible next steps.
Notable News
Daimler Truck plant: Just weeks after opening a brand new $40 million engineering hub, Daimler Trucks, the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, said it will move truck manufacturing out of Portland to facilities in North and South Carolina (Oregon Public Broadcasting).
Salem data center: Gov. Tina Kotek said July 30 she is canceling the sale of 32 acres of state-owned land in Salem on a site where a California startup wants to build a $5 billion data center (The Oregonian).
Hillsboro data centers: The Hillsboro City Council unanimously adopted a four-month moratorium on new data centers on July 27. The council met with just one day’s notice to prevent the tech industry from pre-empting the action by submitting applications ahead of the council vote (The Oregonian).
PGE rate increase: Portland General Electric said July 31 it plans to increase customers’ electrical rates by 4.8% next summer, including a 3.9% rate hike for residential customers. That would increase the average household’s monthly bill by $8.33. The proposal is the latest in eight consecutive years of rate increases from PGE, which the utility says reflects the rising cost of buying and generating electricity and the rising cost of maintaining the utility’s electrical grid. (The Oregonian).
ODOT funding: As Oregon lawmakers prepare to once again take up a transportation funding package next year, leaders of the state’s transportation agency say it will be forced to cut 13% of its workforce if it doesn’t receive more money (The Oregonian).
Bowtech leaves Oregon: Bowtech is moving its operations to Houston as part of a plan focused on growth and improving how the company serves customers and dealers (KEZI).
Lattice acquisition: Lattice Semiconductor on July 27 closed an acquisition that the Hillsboro company says will help drive it to a $1 billion revenue run rate by the end of the year. Lattice agreed in May to pay $1 billion in cash and $650 million in stock for Georgia-based AMI (Portland Business Journal).
Dental equipment facility: Dental equipment manufacturer DCI is consolidating its operations into a new headquarters in Wilsonville. Newberg-based DCI purchased a 205,000-square-foot industrial and manufacturing facility at 26440 S.W. Parkway Ave. It will consolidate regional operations spread across multiple facilities into a single manufacturing hub that will also serve as the company’s headquarters (Portland Business Journal).
Oregon budget growth: Over the past decade, the growth in Oregon’s total state government spending has far outpaced inflation and population growth (Oregon Journalism Project).
Agility California expansion: Salem technology company Agility Robotics plans a major expansion near Silicon Valley, opening a large software development office northeast of San Jose. The new office is almost as big as its Oregon robot factory — and may employ more people (The Oregonian).
Portland carbon policy: A proposed policy could require all Portland commercial property owners to annually report and reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050. The proposal expands on an existing city policy that requires some commercial property owners to report emissions each year (Portland Business Journal).
Ballot measure fails: A controversial Oregon ballot initiative that would effectively ban hunting, fishing and animal slaughter was shot down from appearing on November’s ballot after it failed to secure the necessary signatures (The Oregonian).
Medical manufacturer acquired: Global medical technology company Novanta said July 27 it had completed its purchase of Portland’s Riverpoint Medical for $1.2 billion (Portland Business Journal).
Talent services fee: Businesses in Talent could see their public safety fees increase sharply under a proposal that would shift more of the cost of police and other city services onto commercial properties, churches and nonprofits (Northwest News Network).
Seafood merger: Two Pacific Northwest seafood companies have merged their distribution businesses. Clackamas-based Pacific Seafood will take over the operations of Washington-based Ocean Beauty Seafood in Portland; Astoria; Renton, Washington; Dallas; Boise, Idaho; and Helena, Montana, according to a news release (Portland Business Journal).
Business employment: Oregonians do every kind of job for every type of business, from making craft beer at the smallest microbreweries to manufacturing semiconductors for multinational corporations. It turns out that most Oregonians in the private sector work for businesses at one end of the spectrum or the other. Their employers are either really small or very, very large (The Oregonian).
Glass recycling fees: Relief appears on the way for Oregon’s wine industry, chafing at fees under the state’s ambitious new packaging-waste law amid a historic downturn (Portland Business Journal).
Bend housing: The Bend City Council is considering building affordable housing in north Bend at Juniper Ridge. Ideas for potential projects are in their early stages, but may range from specific units for people who were homeless and have chronic health conditions, to more general workforce and affordable housing developments (The Bulletin).
Medicaid enrollment: Multi-billion-dollar grocers and retailers such as Walmart and Amazon were among the most listed employers on Oregonians’ applications for publicly-funded health insurance last year, according to a Capital Chronicle analysis of Oregon Health Authority data (Oregon Capital Chronicle).
Check Out OBI’s Member Benefits
OBI offers members a range of programs that can save money or help small businesses offer benefits normally available only to much larger companies. Benefit programs include:
- HealthChoice: Helps businesses with fewer than 100 employees offer comprehensive health-care benefits through our partnership with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon.
- Partners Retirement Plan: Allows multiple employers to offer a 401(k) benefit to employees through a group structure while maintaining individual company design and control over the benefit – such as eligibility, employer match, and vesting.
- CompSAFE: Helps eligible companies enjoy workers’ compensation discounts through SAIF Corporation.
- Fuel Program: Helps members save fuel costs through our partnership with Ed Staub & Sons.
- LegalPLUS: OBI members receive 15 minutes of free legal consulting per month from Innova Legal Advisors.
Go here to learn about all of OBI’s member benefits.