Analysis Shows Growing Burden of Oregon Regulations
As of 2023, Oregon was the seventh most heavily regulated state in the nation, according to a study released today by the Oregon Business & Industry Research and Education Foundation. Moreover, Oregon’s regulatory burden has been increasing rapidly, swelling by 5.6% between 2022 and 2023 alone. If that pace continues, Oregon’s regulations will double in just over a decade.
The growth of Oregon’s regulatory burden will further erode job growth and business creation while increasing costs for consumers. A 10% increase in regulations is correlated with a decrease of 0.5% in the number of businesses and a decline of 0.6% in employment for small businesses that remain, according to the study.
That 10% increase in regulations also leads to a 1% increase in consumer prices, a change that disproportionately harms the lowest-income Oregonians.
The regulatory impact study was conducted by researchers with the Maryland-based StratACUMEN Group, whose approach integrates quantitative analysis and economic literature review. For more about StratACUMEN’s approach and its Oregon report, listen to an interview with StratACUMEN President and CEO Memo Diriker on OBI’s Oregon Business Matters podcast (see below).
The number of regulations imposed on a handful of Oregon industries is particularly notable. State regulations for animal production outnumber those in the average state by more than 2.5 to one. And Oregon has roughly 1.25 regulations on utilities for every one imposed by the average state, contributing to higher energy costs. But no industry is more heavily regulated than metal products manufacturing, where Oregon imposes nearly eight times as many regulations as the average state.
Below are some of the study’s most notable findings:
- For each 10% increase in business regulations, a typical small- and mid-sized business loses up to 2.58 jobs.
- A 10% increase in business regulations reduces the number of businesses by 0.5%.
- A 10% increase in business regulations decreases startups by up to 7%.
- A 10% increase in business regulations raises consumer prices by 1%.
- Oregon is the seventh most regulated state in the nation.
- Oregon has 224,000 state-imposed regulatory restrictions.
- Oregon has 57% more environmental rules than the average state.
- Oregon has 264% more rules for animal production than the average state.
- Oregon has 576% more rules for fabricated metals manufacturing than the average state.
- Oregon’s regulations increased by 5.6% between 2022 and 2023 and, at that pace, would double by 2036.
- 50% of Oregon’s regulations are duplicative or burdensome.
While many regulations may be well-intended, these unintended economic consequences receive very little—if any—attention in the rulemaking process. And it’s no wonder that more than 70% of small businesses surveyed told OBI that they can’t keep up with regulatory changes.
OBI’s Oregon Competitiveness Agenda offers common-sense solutions to help modernize Oregon’s regulatory environment and processes. Two bills from that agenda are still alive this legislative session, and we urge lawmakers to pass them. HB 3382 would make it easier for the public, regulated community, media, lawmakers and others to see the full scope of regulations and proposed regulatory changes by establishing a centralized website. HB 2692 would modernize rulemaking processes in several ways, including requiring economic and fiscal impacts.
Go here to learn about and read the regulatory report.
OBI Talks with Dr. Memo Diriker about Regulatory Report
OBI’s Oregon Business Matters podcast today released an interview with Dr. Memo Diriker, a faculty member in Salisbury University’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business and the founder of the StratACUMEN Group. Dr. Diriker’s StratACUMEN team produced the analysis of Oregon’s regulatory environment released today.
Dr. Diriker joined the podcast to discuss his team’s work, Oregon’s regulatory burden and ways other states have found to eliminate excessive regulations.
Oregon Business Matters focuses on insights, issues and initiatives that affect Oregonians’ shared prosperity and the state’s economy.
Episodes, including the discussion with Diriker, can be found on OBI’s website here and on major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
Sports Tourism Discussion Highlights OBI Annual Meeting
In response to Oregon’s ongoing competitive slide, OBI repeatedly has urged the governor’s office and other state leaders to prioritize economic development. Attendees of OBI’s June 4 Annual Meeting heard from economists and business leaders about the potential of a powerful but frequently overlooked sector: sports tourism.
One way to think about sports tourism is as an export, said keynote speaker Dr. Mike Wilkerson, an economist with ECOnorthwest. Like selling manufactured goods to buyers in other states, tourism – including sports tourism – imports dollars from elsewhere. For example, he noted, about 150,000 people from Oregon go to T-Mobile Park in Seattle for events every year.
Oregon has its own professional teams and associated facilities, and these generate significant economic activity. According to Wilkerson, the net economic impact for the Portland metro area of the Portland Trail Blazers, the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum is roughly $370 million per year.
Sports tourism happens throughout the state as well. More than 45% of the tickets for this year’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene were sold to people living outside of Oregon.
And in Medford, the Rogue X sports and recreation complex – which includes playing fields, an aquatic facility and event space – hosts large youth tournaments and participatory sports events that generate $6.75 million in regional economic activity every year.
In addition to direct spending at venues, sports tourism drives hotel room stays and supports local restaurants and retailers.
Though Oregon has the potential to increase sports and recreation tourism significantly, it faces two notable challenges, according to the Annual Meeting’s panel of sports franchise and tourism executives. One is a shortage of city, county and state funding available to attract events and teams. The funding needed to attract events tends to be modest, particularly in comparison to the economic activity events generate. The second is a culture that supports the businesses sports teams and facilities need to provide sponsorships and buy tickets.
***
Angela’s remarks: Several people have asked OBI to provide a copy of the remarks Angela Wilhelms delivered at the Annual Meeting. Please go here to read them or visit the Oregon Business Matters site here to listen to them.
Legislative and Rulemaking Updates
SB 426 veto request: OBI has formally asked Gov. Tina Kotek to veto SB 426, which would impose liability on property owners, developers and general contractors for illegal actions of others (a subcontractor not paying workers on projects). A broad coalition submitted the initial veto request, along with a coalition one-pager and a copy of the letter Colorado Gov. Jared Polis sent to the Colorado House after vetoing a similar bill. Moreover, Gov. Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson recently announced a partnership to increase multifamily housing construction in Portland. In a June 5 meeting, OBI President & CEO, Angela Wilhelm reiterated the coalition’s concerns and urged the governor to think about the consequences of SB 426 for her housing goals.
Unemployment for strikers: On June 4, the House passed SB 916 on a 33-23 vote. Rep. John Lively, D-Springfield, joined Republicans in opposing the bill, which would make striking workers eligible for up to six months of unemployment benefits. The three-hour debate preceding the vote referenced the 25 floor letters opposing the bill from local chambers of commerce, cities, counties and school districts. OBI’s opposition coalition includes 52 associations, hospitals, chambers, counties, and cities. On June 8, The Oregonian published its third editorial criticizing the bill (others were March 9 and May 28). The most recent editorial notes that Democratic lawmakers ignored the warnings by employers that the bill could devastate public-service budgets and lead to longer and costlier strikes. It notes, “While lawmakers cavalierly dismiss the risks, they are ignoring the good faith warnings issued by those who know their operations best. It is legislative actions like these that directly bleed dollars from K-12 schools and other public agencies, leaving fewer and poorer services for the Oregonians who depend on them … Rather than tread cautiously, House Democrats went big, rejecting a counterproposal from Republicans to mirror Washington’s new law, which limits the benefit to six weeks, adds a 10-year expiration date for the policy and requires annual reports on the number and duration of strikes.” The Senate now must concur with House amendments to the bill. A concurrence vote is scheduled for June 10, and OBI urges lawmakers to reject it. This would put the bill in a conference committee for additional amendments. OBI will continue to exhaust all opportunities. Thank you to all of you who have helped in this fight.
Organized retail crime: As a founding member of Oregon’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force, which is composed of industry groups, local governments and law enforcement agencies, OBI has pushed throughout the 2025 session for the Legislature to enhance the tools available to combat organized retail theft. While the package advancing is not as robust as the task force’s recommendation, it’s better than nothing. (The task force asked for $10 million; the legislation proposes to allocate $5 million.) The package, which includes HB 3069 and HB 5005, would allocate that $5 million to the Organized Retail Theft Grant Program and allow local law enforcement entities to use those funds to buy necessary equipment. The Joint Committee on Ways and Means approved both bills June 6, and they now go to the House for a floor vote.
Carbon discussions: OBI understands that legislative leaders recently set a more formal table for continued cap-and-trade discussions. The frequency of those discussions increased over the past week, but agreement over the scope and details of a policy remains elusive. That’s to say nothing of the complicated political path for such a significant policy to advance this session. With lawmakers set to begin public hearings on the transportation bill itself on June 9, time appears to be running short for a carbon deal to come together.
Transportation: The past two weeks have seen three different “proposals” for transportation, none in the form of legislation. Instead, these have been talking-point documents and press conferences. One such proposal via press conference produced the odd situation wherein a handful of environmentally focused legislators called on the Transportation Committee co-chairs to act. One of those co-chairs held a sign during the press conference that urged the sign-holder himself to act. Another framework was released late June 5 and may lead to a committee bill as early as June 9. Two of the proposals this week certainly don’t reflect the “back to basics” approach that was promised at the beginning of session. Given the intermingling with the cap-and-trade conversations, the incomplete and scattershot variety of “package” proposals, and the multitude of new and increased taxes and questionable priorities being floated each day, the path is getting narrower for a responsible, bipartisan package to come together in 2025.
SALT cap workaround: On June 9, the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue is scheduled to vote on SB 111, which would extend Oregon’s state and local tax cap workaround until Jan. 1, 2028. OBI has pushed for amendments that would expand the program to businesses that are organized as trusts and allow individual members of pass-through businesses to opt out of the program. Unfortunately, the Department of Revenue has argued that expansions to the program would require additional money. A large fiscal impact would almost certainly mean only the simple extension of the program would pass this session. OBI will continue to push for expansion of this program in future sessions.
Economic development budget: Last week, the Oregon Business Development Department (Business Oregon) budget was approved by the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. OBI is pleased that the committee did not entertain cuts to the Oregon Metals Initiative and the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center proposed by the agency and the governor. In an October letter to the governor’s office, OBI opposed those cuts and has continued to do so during the legislative session. Avoiding these cuts is a small but important win. Oregon continues to be less competitive than most other states in terms of its business environment and the tools available to the state economic development agency, as discussed in the recent University of Oregon report commissioned by Business Oregon. A handful of priority infrastructure and economic development bills (HB 3050, HB 2277, HB 2322, HB 3246, HB 2411) that are not part of agency budgets remain alive in the Ways and Means Committee process, and OBI continues to advocate for them.
BOLI case processing: HB 2957 has been in limbo since May 20 but is now scheduled for a Senate vote on June 10. The bill removes the 90-day time limit for plaintiffs to file a lawsuit after BOLI dismisses a complaint or a complaint is withdrawn. That 90-day window gives employers some certainty about the need to defend a case in court after having defended against it in the BOLI process. Civil rights claims in Oregon have a five-year statute of limitations, so removing the 90-day limit means employers might have to await potential lawsuits for years following the dismissal of BOLI complaints. After efforts in the House and Senate, and with help from Sen. Daniel Bonham, Paloma Sparks negotiated an amendment establishing a limit in cases in which BOLI has found a lack of evidence for a violation. In such cases, plaintiffs would have one year to file in civil court. The Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, AARP and others are unhappy with this change and may be the reason the bill was stuck for so long.
Corvallis Middle-Schooler Wins Oregon Civics Bee
Juniper Ward of Corvallis won the 2025 Oregon Civics Bee and has earned the right to represent Oregon at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s National Civics Bee in Washington, D.C. Juniper was one of 10 students who had qualified to participate in the June 5 competition, which was moderated by Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read.
Presented by U.S. Bank and organized by Oregon Business and Industry in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition began in November 2024. Sixth, 7th and 8th graders throughout Oregon were invited to submit essays explaining how they’d use civics principles to address problems they identified in their communities. A panel of judges chose the best essays, and their writers were invited to participate in the contest’s two regional civics bees, one in Tigard and the second in Eugene. The top finishers in those two bees qualified for the Oregon Civics Bee, which took place at Willamette University.
The Oregon Civics Bee consisted of a quiz-style competition moderated by Secretary of State Read. The top five scorers then made the case for their essays in front of a panel of judges, which included Jessica Adamson, senior vice president for government affairs at CFM Advocates; David Swartley, senior vice president and head of state government relations at U.S. Bank; and Angela Wilhelms, president and CEO of Oregon Business & Industry.
In her essay, Ward presented several proposals to clean up the Willamette River, including the installation of additional trash cans and better control of wastewater.
The top three finishers in the Oregon Civics Bee received cash prizes. Juniper received $1,000, runner-up Emeryn Tibbs of Portland received $500, and third-place finisher Naina Bhanoo of Corvallis received $250.
Secretary of State Read also presented participants with copies of the Oregon Blue Book.
OBI would like to thank Secretary of State Read for moderating the Oregon Civics Bee, U.S. Bank for sponsoring the event and Willamette University for providing the venue.
Learn about AP Business Principles/Personal Finance Course
Skills-based education is a critical piece of developing today’s (and tomorrow’s workforce). Students also need a robust personal finance education to prepare them to live on their own – and even start their own business. For these reasons, teaching business and finance skills to high schoolers is a no-brainer.
With that in mind, OBI is working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to promote AP Business Principles/Personal Finance, an experiential course developed by the College Board that will be offered to high school students nationwide starting in the 2026-27 school year.
Please join us for a virtual webinar on Tuesday, June 24, to learn more. Clare Bertrand, the College Board’s director of career strategy and business partnerships, will join OBI to discuss the course and what employers can do to ensure that it becomes established and grows in Oregon.
The course will help students understand how businesses work by teaching them how they’re formed, how they reach customers, how they manage finances and much more. Personal finance concepts are woven throughout. This will not only help better prepare students to enter the workforce but also prepare those who may seek a path of self-employment. This course can help prepare a student seeking a four-year degree in marketing, an associate’s degree in medical billing or to transfer their high school CTE education into a small business.
The webinar will begin at 9 a.m., and there will be time for questions. Go here to register.
Nominate Your Favorite Oregon-Made Product
The 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest has begun.
The third annual competition to identify the state’s most buzz-worthy product kicked off on May 13, when OBI partner Here is Oregon opened the 2025 nomination website. Until July 10, anyone – members of the public and manufacturers alike – can nominate a favorite Oregon-made product.
A panel of judges will choose 16 finalists, which will be arranged on a tournament-style bracket. Through a series of online votes, the field will be cut to eight, to four, and then to two before Oregonians choose a winner, which will be revealed Oct. 22 at OBI’s annual Vision Oregon Event.
To learn more about the contest – and to follow along as the field is narrowed later this year – check out OBI’s Coolest Thing Made in Oregon web page here.
Notable News
Schools say “no”: Gov. Tina Kotek recently hailed the signing of a bill that set aside $35 million for summer learning programs this year and next as the “biggest bill” of the legislative session thus far, calling it “a huge win for all of Oregon.” But for the 74 school districts, charter schools and education service districts that so far have informed that state that they were turning down their cut of that money, that win came too late and with too many strings attached (The Oregonian).
Prosper Portland head: The head of Prosper Portland will resign, saying he was told to step down from the directorship or leave the agency altogether. The move comes weeks after Interim Executive Director Shea Flaherty Betin publicly waded into a contentious budget fight that threatened millions of dollars in cuts to the city’s economic development agency (The Oregonian).
Trade deficit: The U.S. trade deficit marked a record-breaking decline in April, as a barrage of steep new tariffs muted the rush of imports that had preceded the new trade barriers (The Wall Street Journal).
PERS rates: In a budget season rife with cuts and constraints, school districts have some good news. The Oregon Public Employees Retirement System, known as PERS, has announced a reduction in pension contribution rates for K-12 school districts (Oregon Public Broadcasting).
ODOT survey: Several top managers at the Oregon Department of Transportation reported poor management by the agency’s senior leaders in an anonymous survey last fall, according to an internal report the agency provided The Oregonian/OregonLive. Among their concerns: a lack of feedback, trust and communication from the agency’s top executives (The Oregonian).
Employment Department grants: The Trump administration canceled four federal grants last month that helped pay for community outreach and overpayment recovery at the Oregon Employment Department. Some of the grants were due to expire in June and another, awarded in 2023, had been mostly spent (The Oregonian).
Rural housing: Plans to build 71 homes across 710 acres of juniper woodland and shrub steppe in rural Deschutes County moved closer to reality earlier this month after a state board affirmed a Deschutes County decision allowing removal of agricultural zoning protections from the land (The Bulletin).
Retail theft: Local business owners in downtown Portland said they would appreciate more attention spent on small business thefts and burglaries in the wake of a large-scale retail theft crackdown that was coordinated recently across law enforcement agencies nationwide (KGW).
Sports Bra expansion: When Jenny Nguyen opened The Sports Bra, the world’s first sports bar playing only women’s sports, she knew she had a solid name and idea. Whether or not people would respond was an open question, but Nguyen was optimistic. Now, the Sports Bra is growing, expanding into cities across the country (The Oregonian).
Health insurance dispute: Providence Health & Services and Legacy Health, two of the largest health systems in Oregon, may soon be out of network for tens of thousands of patients with Cigna health insurance (Portland Business Journal).
Oregon Medicaid enrollment: If Republicans in the U.S. Senate pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Oregonians currently enrolled in Medicaid are more likely than people in nearly any other state to lose coverage and end up uninsured, according to analyses from several national think tanks (Oregon Public Broadcasting).
Unspent Oregon grant: Nearly four years after Congress approved a mammoth disaster relief grant to help Oregonians recover from the destructive 2020 wildfires, records show that more than 90% of the money remains unspent, even as hundreds of families await relief (Oregon Journalism Project).
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.
- 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.
- ODP Business Solutions: Helps OBI members save money on office furniture, supplies and other services.
- 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.