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Remarks from Karen Minnis, Speaker, Oregon State House May 27, 2003 -- Leadership Summit Update Meeting In February, I convened a Job Creation Work Group of business leaders to identify what we could do this session to help our economy. Their research – which included a detailed examination of the Oregon Business Plan – became the basis for the Oregon Economic Recovery Plan I announced last month. But before I talk about economic development in detail, I want to point out that the PERS reforms we have already passed will help our economy by making more efficient use of public money. Taxpayers will get more education, more public safety and more human services programs for their dollars, as PERS costs have been reduced. While not often considered an economic boost, I think the savings realized by PERS reform will have a tremendous impact on state and local governments and school districts. I think we would all agree that Oregon’s economic recovery is directly tied to changing the way we do business. I think our governor understands this, and we are working well together and with the Senate to change the way we do things. So far this session, we’ve passed several bills that will make a difference to our economy and we’re still working on others, but I wanted to focus on a few areas:
One
of the first things we need to do is change our attitude about business
growth. While Oregon has a lot to offer, we’ve learned that offering a high
quality of life only goes so far. We also need to offer a quality business
environment; a place where companies want
to be. New businesses aren’t going to move here, and our existing businesses
aren’t going to expand, if we don’t start treating them like we want them
here. That’s
a message that I’ve heard time and again from business leaders from all
parts of the state. And that’s why I’ve focused on changing the Oregon
Economic and Community Development Department. House Bill 2011, which passed
the House last week, will refocus OECDD’s efforts on job recruitment and
retention. It also replicates, on a state level, an economic ambassador
program that communities such as Gresham have used to such good effect. The
economic ambassador’s role is to help businesses open shop in Oregon by
shepherding them through the regulatory maze that often intimidates investment
in Oregon. While
recruiting new companies, we have to invest in our roads and bridges so we
have the infrastructure to move goods. Too many of our bridges are nearing the
end of their useful life and too many of our roads and highways are in
disrepair. As we near the end of the legislative session, we are close to an
agreement on a major road and bridge package that could generate more than $2
billion toward needed repairs and create thousands of construction jobs over
several years. Although some of the details are still being worked out, I’m
confident we’ll have this package in place by the end of session. Just
as we’re working on fixing our roads and bridges to speed commerce, we’re
also making changes to our permitting process to speed development. The
Governor has already established an Office of Regulatory Streamlining, which
compliments our efforts in the House to refocus OECDD on job recruitment. One
of the things I hear from business leaders that frustrates them the most, is
the lack of certainty in permitting. In other states, within one to two years
at the, companies can obtain the permits they need to break ground and begin
operating. In Oregon, this process can take even longer, and often there is no
guarantee that at the end of the process, a developer or business will be able
to build their plant. If we want to attract new businesses, this simply has to
change. Hand-in-hand
with speeding up permitting is making a thorough evaluation of our land use
system and making changes to enhance job growth. We have already passed
legislation that will make it easier to redevelop former mill sites – a
change that will lead to the creation of 75 new jobs in Hood River County
alone. But while that’s a good start, what we really need is a thorough
review of our land use system. Thirty
years after Senate Bill 100, it is appropriate to take stock of where we are.
While we all value Oregon’s commitment to thoughtful planning, many people
appear to have forgotten that the second “D” in DLCD stands for
“Development.” We’ve become very good about conserving land, but we’ve
done a poor job of identifying industrial land and letting people use it as
such. Legislation pending this session would review the system and direct
state agencies and local governments to make more industrial land available. In
short, we are making progress toward many of the goals outlined by the Oregon
Business Plan. A strong economy is the best foundation we can have for a
stronger future, and we are all working together to help make Oregon a better
place to do business; a place where businesses want to be. Back to Highlights from the May 27 Leadership Summit Update
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