Oregon

Legislation in the state aimed at restricting large data center climate emissions and ballooning tax breaks has failed. Data centers are among the state’s biggest energy consumers and largest tax break recipients.

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure funding programs are taking root in states like Oregon, which will soon launch the Oregon Community Charging Rebate program, aimed at disadvantaged neighborhoods and multifamily housing.

The proposal aimed to hold companies with large data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations accountable to meeting clean energy deadlines. Critics – including Amazon – said the bill did not provide a clear path forward.

Lawmakers in some states — like Washington and Oregon — want to extend emissions and clean energy standards to cryptocurrency mining operations. But lawmakers in many other states see the industry’s growth as a good thing.

A legislative committee held its first hearing this week on a bill that would require new data centers and cryptocurrency miners in the state to meet clean energy targets. Opponents say the bill could hurt industry growth in the state.

The federal infrastructure package is making electric vehicle charging a reality — even in states with few registered EVs. In Montana, the need for this infrastructure is driven, in part, by tourism from other states.

The Department of Motor Vehicles may be the most common way residents interact with state government, but digitizing those systems for a modern constituency is no small feat. Three states share their progress.

During a panel discussion on the subject of data management, state data experts discussed the importance of intentionally obtaining data to inform decision-making and tell a story to those who use it.

The proposed center would provide public entities with cyber solutions, develop the cyber workforce and deliver training and awareness across sectors. Efforts to pass this measure in 2022 ran out of time; a new House bill revives the question.

A new bill before the state Legislature would place penalties on energy-hungry data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations that fail to conform to the state’s newly adopted clean energy goals.

The insurer posted additional information about the breach online and offered free ID theft and monitoring service for at least 12 months. SAIF said it has been unable to determine how many people the breach affected.

A 65-page audit found problems with transparency, accountability and student outcomes in Oregon's community colleges, recommending that the state give the Higher Education Coordinating Commission a clear mandate to make changes.

Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and federal broadband officials will host a virtual discussion for input on the design of new broadband maps that accurately capture where dead spots must be addressed.

Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, along with the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, are working together on this initiative to expand broadband needs to underserved populations within the area.

After struggling through the pandemic with an outdated unemployment system from the 1990s, the Oregon Employment Department has started the first phase of a replacement project. The new system won’t go live until 2024.

The request came from the findings of a chip industry task force of government and business leaders, which issued recommendations earlier this month on how the state can be more attractive to the semiconductor industry.

An unemployment system dating back to the 1990s, coupled with procedural failings and a surging jobless rate in the spring and summer of 2020, is behind the latest critical audit of the Oregon Employment Department.

Utilities in the state are looking to new technology to fight an old problem: wildfires. Officials hope that by better predicting weather and risk patterns they can prevent and respond to the looming threat.