Oregon lawmakers heard proposals on Tuesday, Sept. 8, that could reshape the tax and business climate for Washington County employers and residents heading into the 2027 legislative session.

Gov. Tina Kotek's Oregon Prosperity Council wants to raise the state's estate tax threshold from $1 million to $3 million, steer $250 million in state dollars toward business infrastructure every two years and cut regulations, according to testimony before the Senate Commerce and General Government Committee reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

The proposals land as Washington County grapples with semiconductor job losses. Intel, the county's largest private employer, has shed roughly 7,000 Oregon jobs since 2024, dropping from about 23,000 workers to 16,000 at its Washington County campuses. Oregon's semiconductor workforce sits at a 30-year low.

Renée James, founder of semiconductor company Ampere Computing and co-chair of the prosperity council, told the committee that Oregon is at "this inflection point where we're not competitive with our neighbors who largely are ideologically aligned with us."

The council issued its recommendations in June 2026. It also called for replacing Oregon's Climate Protection Program and asked that a work group deliver a long-term tax proposal to the governor by 2029, addressing the corporate activity tax, local government funding and personal income tax burdens.

The Oregon Journalism Project reported that four of the council's proposed short-term tax cuts could cost the state up to $150 million.

Legislators raised the estate tax threshold unsuccessfully during the 2026 session. The idea drew fire from both sides at the Sept. 8 hearing.

State Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said matching Washington state's $3 million threshold does not go far enough. Drazan is running against Kotek in the 2026 governor's race. "Where businesses are going that I'm talking to, they're not going to Washington and California. They're going to Tennessee. They're going to Idaho. They're going to Nevada," she said.

In August, Drazan called the prosperity council a "gimmick" by Kotek, though she acknowledged the advisers "didn't look at it that way" and produced ideas "that are not partisan in nature," the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported.

State Sen. Khanh Pham, D-Portland, pushed back from the left. Pham noted that lawmakers earlier in 2026 disconnected from provisions of the federal GOP's 2025 tax and spending law, including a small business stock exemption the council wants reinstated. She signed a May 2026 letter backed by unions and progressive groups questioning the council's direction, writing that "the real question is simpler: Can a person working in Oregon pay their rent? Do they have health insurance? Can they retire with some dignity?"

Alice Dale, a Portland-based labor consultant for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and a prosperity council member, said the recommendations "harken back to trickle-down economics." She argued the estate tax change would cost the state significant revenue.

Joe Cortright, an economic analyst who leads the Portland think tank City Observatory, testified that 95% of Oregon estates do not pay the estate tax and about 90% of Oregon businesses pay no corporate activity tax. He urged lawmakers not to make the tax system more regressive.

John Tapogna, president of the Oregon Business Council, closed the hearing by praising the council's work. He cited data showing Multnomah County ranked in the bottom 5th percentile for job growth nationwide from 2019 to 2024 and said Oregon's economic struggles extend beyond high-profile losses at Intel and Nike.

An August 2026 state revenue forecast found Oregon's economic output is now growing at about the same pace as the national economy, with revenue expected to be up $538 million for the 2027-29 budget period.

The 2027 legislative session begins in January. No specific vote dates for the prosperity council's proposals have been announced.