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Apr. 2—When President Biden gave his State of the Union speech earlier this month, one part stung.
"If you travel 20 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, you'll find 1,000 empty acres of land," Biden said. "It won't look like much, but if you stop and look closely, you'll see a 'Field of Dreams,' the ground on which America's future will be built. This is where Intel, the American company that helped build Silicon Valley, is going to build its $20 billion semiconductor mega site. Up to eight state-of-the-art factories in one place, 10,000 new good-paying jobs."
We know that's a long quote. That's what made it sting all the more. Intel chose Ohio for that $20 billion investment. Not Oregon. Gov. Kate Brown had made courting Intel expansion a priority. Intel went to Ohio.
Congratulations, Ohio.
Oregon officials — government and business — responded. A chip industry task force was formed and staffed by the Oregon Business Council. The co-chairs are Gov. Brown, Sen. Ron Wyden and Portland General Electric CEO Maria Pope. There are a lot more big names in government and in business on that task force. It met recently with one of Intel's top executives. That's an effort to develop a road map to bring more semiconductor manufacturing and research to the state, according to reporting by The Oregonian.
The task force is looking at the availability of land, needed workers, incentives and regulation. Gov. Brown will lead a committee scrutinizing the state's environmental regulations. One issue for Oregon: chip makers look for 1,000 acres. And there was no place like that available in metropolitan Portland.
We appreciate the Oregon Business Council's work in making this happen. It needs to get done.
But here's something else that stings. These meetings are being held behind closed doors. Critical decisions that will form the basis for policy in Oregon are being discussed behind those closed doors. What trade-offs or promises are being considered? Which ones are passed over and why? Are they considering exceptions to state land use law?
There are reasons to believe these meetings are under no legal obligation to be open to the public. The task force wasn't created by a government entity. It doesn't have the authority to create laws or regulations.
There's also, though, the intent of the requirement for public meetings in Oregon. It's not only for Oregonians to be able to witness final decisions. It's also to be able to witness the making of policy, the things leading up to decisions. That can tell you important things about elected officials, too. Oregon government bodies even find ways to hold executive sessions to discuss proprietary business matters and pivot to open sessions to have policy discussions.