Bethany-area residents hoping a statewide pause on new data centers would slow the tech corridor's growth won't get one from Gov. Tina Kotek's advisory committee.

The seven-member panel announced Friday, Aug. 7, that it will not recommend a moratorium on new data centers in Oregon, instead pushing transparency and regulatory reforms to the 2027 Legislature. Washington County holds the state's second-largest concentration of data centers, behind eastern Oregon's Umatilla and Morrow counties, and local PGE ratepayers have watched electricity costs climb 50% over five years as the industry expands.

"You can't manage what you can't measure," committee co-chair Margaret Hoffmann said at the panel's final deliberation, according to the Hillsboro News Times. "So having some sort of disclosure database and transparency and reporting feels really important to us."

Hoffmann, a former energy policy adviser to Oregon governors who now serves on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, said a moratorium was never the committee's mandate. The group, convened in February, was charged with advising how Oregon should pursue data center development while protecting natural resources.

The decision sets up a direct clash with local and legislative action already underway. Hillsboro's City Council unanimously imposed a 120-day freeze on new data center approvals on July 28. And on Aug. 4, four Democratic lawmakers, including Beaverton Rep. Farrah Chaichi, announced they will propose a three-year statewide moratorium during the January 2027 session.

The stakes are tangible for Washington County taxpayers. Data centers statewide will receive nearly $500 million in property tax breaks in 2026 alone, according to The Oregonian. In Hillsboro, the top 11 tech-company-owned data centers will receive an average of $294,000 in property tax breaks per full-time employee this tax year. Once construction wraps, data centers typically employ 10 or fewer people, according to Cedar Mill News reporting.

Gov. Kotek, in a written statement the same day, said she supports local moratoriums but stopped short of backing a statewide ban, saying she would wait for the committee's final report. Current law does not allow a statewide ban, she said, according to The Oregonian.

A DHM Research poll of 600 registered voters conducted July 23-28 found two-thirds support a temporary ban on new AI data centers, and 75% of Portland metro voters oppose tax breaks for the facilities.

The committee's draft report is due mid-September. Its final public meeting, open for comment, is scheduled for Sept. 23, with a final report expected in October.