Hillsboro's spring rush of data center tax-break applications is driving bipartisan calls for Oregon to act faster on a statewide moratorium.

Gov. Tina Kotek told a Salem rally of nearly 200 people on Sept. 8 that she supports a moratorium. Since then, U.S. Sen. Christine Drazan, her Republican challenger in the governor's race, has demanded Kotek act on her own. "I think that Tina should issue a moratorium immediately," Drazan said outside the Capitol on Sept. 8, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Democratic state House candidate Tammy Carpenter of Beaverton said she would welcome the governor calling a special legislative session to get ahead of companies trying to file applications before any moratorium takes effect.

The urgency traces directly to Hillsboro. Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, warned that AI companies can file applications to lock in projects before any deadline hits. That already happened here: data center operators filed at least 17 enterprise zone tax-break applications in the months before House Bill 4084's June 6 moratorium on new incentives took effect. Some of those agreements, structured in stacked five-year increments, extend until 2051.

Hillsboro data centers receive about $84 million in local property tax breaks in 2026. Statewide, the figure tops $450 million.

The Hillsboro City Council moved to close the gap with two moratoriums of its own. On July 21, the council unanimously paused new Strategic Investment Program (SIP) agreements for stand-alone data centers. On July 27, it adopted a 120-day moratorium on all new data center construction and expansion, effective until at least Nov. 24. Mayor Beach Pace said the idea was to prevent a rush of applications from data centers.

State-level action remains stalled. Kotek says she lacks the legal authority to impose a statewide ban on her own and has called on the Legislature to act when it convenes in January 2027. On Sept. 8, she directed state agencies to pause all data center requests for state-owned land until July 1, 2027, according to the Hillsboro News Times.

Drazan's campaign did not respond to repeated questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive about what legal authority she believes the governor has to act unilaterally. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development declined to weigh in. Kotek's communications director, Lucas Bezerra, said the governor, unlike Republican leaders, acts on executive authority only when she believes she has legal standing.

Carpenter is among a half-dozen Democratic legislators and candidates who drafted a three-year moratorium bill in August. Hillsboro Senate candidate Myrna Muñoz is also part of that group, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Both won their May primaries in part on opposition to data center development in Washington County.

Kotek's Data Center Advisory Committee issued a preliminary report on Sept. 10 that sidestepped the moratorium question entirely. The committee set a 45-day public comment period and plans to issue final recommendations in late November or December, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. That timeline pushes the recommendations past the November general election.

A DHM Research poll of 600 Oregon voters in late July found 66% support temporarily blocking new data centers and 73% oppose tax breaks for the industry. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points. Support for a moratorium crossed party lines: 77% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans favored a pause.

The Hillsboro City Council is scheduled to hold a first reading of proposed code amendments on Sept. 15, with adoption possible as soon as Oct. 6.