Today, Oregon invests significant effort and money to help our economy grow and to foster the creation of good jobs for Oregonians, yet those efforts and resources are fragmented among different state agencies.
The Oregon Investment Act will make Oregon's economic development efforts smarter and more effective, by fostering more coordination, adding flexibility, and building new opportunities for the private sector to multiply state investments.
- The Act will increase the positive impact of Oregon's current investments. Certain existing programs, like the Oregon Growth Account, allow private investors to partner with the public to invest in our economy, and these private investments magnify the positive impact of the investments we make. The new Board will encourage private sector leverage for its investments and explore creating an investment vehicle where private investors could put their money to work for Oregon. The Board will consider proposing incentives such as capital gains tax reductions or convertible tax credits to motivate and attract new private investments to catalyze Oregon economic growth.
- The Act will consolidate and simplify existing economic development resources and efforts under a unified strategic framework. The Oregon Growth Board will reduce bureaucracy and be responsible for prioritizing and allocating our economic development resources where they will have the biggest impact. In addition, existing Oregon employers and also businesses seeking to relocate here will be prioritized and respected with a one-stop-shop, where they can gain quick access to the various state programs they may need. Businesses no longer will be forced to navigate a maze of state agencies and make multiple contacts to find out what resources are available to them.
- The Board will be flexible and nimble to adapt to dynamic market forces. Rather than placing economic development resources in disparate compartments, the Act empowers the Board not only to draw resources together, but to allocate, prioritize and redeploy those resources as necessary to meet the state's needs.
The Oregon Investment Act will help put Oregon on a path toward lasting economic vitality, while requiring no new tax dollars. It is time to be smarter and more nimble with Oregon's economic development strategies and priorities. Our economic future depends on it.
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