Washington County's data center corridor near Bethany could be reshaped by a statewide push to freeze new projects across Oregon.

About 100 demonstrators rallied outside the Oregon State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 8, demanding a three-year pause on new data center development. Gov. Tina Kotek appeared at the rally and announced a roughly one-year halt on approvals for data centers on state-owned land, effective until July 1, 2027.

But rally organizers want more. Groups including Food and Water Watch, Oregon Rural Action and Columbia Riverkeeper are backing the Responsible Data Center Development Act, which would impose a three-year statewide moratorium. The proposal is expected to be introduced when the Oregon Legislature convenes in January.

Washington County has the second-largest concentration of data centers in the state, trailing only Umatilla and Morrow counties in eastern Oregon. Data center development will grow fastest in western Oregon in the next few years, the consultancy ECONorthwest told a House interim committee on Sept. 8.

Data centers across Oregon now occupy more than 2,100 acres, with communities planning for 9,000 more, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The industry receives more than $450 million in annual property tax breaks statewide, a figure Chris Allanach, who leads the nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Office, called "pretty close" to his office's own estimates during the Sept. 8 committee hearing.

Rep. Farrah Chaichi, D-Beaverton, is among four Democratic lawmakers who announced plans in August to sponsor the three-year moratorium bill. Tammy Carpenter, a Democrat running for a Beaverton-area House seat, and Oregon Senate hopeful Myrna Muñoz of Hillsboro have also backed the pause. Both won their May primaries in part on vocal opposition to data center growth in Washington County, according to the Portland Tribune.

"I support a moratorium until we make sure that any data center development is done on our terms," Kotek told the crowd on Sept. 8.

Her Republican challenger, state Sen. Christine Drazan of Canby, called for an immediate moratorium the same day. Drazan told KATU-TV at the Capitol that the governor should not wait for the Legislature to act.

Kotek's office said the state lacks authority to enact a statewide moratorium on its own. Her directive pauses unapproved requests for easements, leases, land-use permits and sales of state-owned property for data center projects. Spokesperson Luke Harkins said state agencies must submit a status report on any data-center-related land transactions by Monday, Sept. 14.

Hillsboro issued its own data center moratorium in July. Four other cities and Clackamas County have begun the process to do the same, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Kotek's Data Center Advisory Committee, originally expected to deliver a draft cost-benefit analysis by mid-September, will instead release a preliminary findings document this week. Final recommendations are due to the governor by the end of 2026. The moratorium bill is expected to be introduced when the 2027 legislative session opens in January. No Washington County Board of Commissioners or local Citizen Participation Organization meeting on the topic has been announced.