Today, the Senate Committee on Business, Transportation and Economic Development will hear four bills related to making industrial land quickly available for traded sector companies and the high wage jobs they provide. The bills are SB 766, SB 792, SB 771 and SB 476.
In February, Governor Kitzhaber announced SB 766 at a meeting with manufacturers. SB 766 would protect critical “regionally significant” industrial land and speed up the permitting process for sites of “statewide significance.”
Two weeks ago, the House Transportation and Economic Development Committee heard HB 2352, which would require cities to mitigate for the loss of prime industrial lands, similar to how Oregon requires mitigation for the loss of wetlands.
Making more industrial land available for high wage jobs, and speeding up the permitting process for those lands, were two of the ten job creation initiatives included in the 2011 Oregon Business Plan.
