Oregon state-land data center transaction pause (2026)
Oregon — Governor Kotek Orders State Agencies to Pause All Unapproved Land Transactions and Permits for New Data Centers on Public Land Through July 1, 2027 (September 8, 2026)
Oregon · Oregon — Governor's directive pausing state land transactions and permits for new data centers (issued on or about September 8, 2026; effective through July 1, 2027)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- September 8, 2026
- Applies to
- Oregon state agencies holding or transacting in state-owned property; data center developers seeking easements, leases, rentals, land-use permits or purchases of state land
- Enforced by
- Office of the Governor of Oregon; Oregon Department of State Lands and other state agencies managing public property
Governor Tina Kotek ordered Oregon state agencies to immediately stop processing unapproved land transactions and permits for new data center projects on public land, a pause that runs through July 1, 2027. It covers easements, leases, rentals, land-use permits, and sales or transfers of state-owned property for data centers. The reach of this measure is specific and should not be overstated: it governs what the state does with land it owns. It is not a statewide moratorium on data centers, and it does not restrict a developer who buys private land and goes to a city or county for approval. What it does is remove the state itself as a supplier of data center sites for nearly a year. Kotek's stated reason is that rapid data center growth should not shift utility and infrastructure costs onto Oregonians. The order follows her earlier decision to block the sale of 32 acres of state land at the Mill Creek Corporate Center in Salem that had been proposed for a data center, and it sits on top of the 2025 POWER Act, which raised electricity rates for data center corporations while lowering them for other Portland General Electric customers. An advisory committee formed in January 2026 is due to deliver recommendations by the end of the year, which the Governor plans to turn into legislation in the 2027 session. Demonstrators at the Capitol the same week pressed her to go further than state land.
Who is protected: Oregon residents and utility ratepayers; publicly owned Oregon land
Legal detail
State of Oregon — Governor's order directing state agencies to immediately pause all UNAPPROVED land transactions and permits for new data center projects on public land, issued on or about September 8, 2026 and running through July 1, 2027. COVERED TRANSACTIONS: easements, leases, rentals, land-use permits, and sales or transfers of state-owned property for data centers. SCOPE LIMIT — STATED EXPLICITLY SO THIS ENTRY IS NOT MISREAD: this is a PROPRIETARY action governing the state's own land holdings, not a police-power moratorium. It does not restrict data center development on private land, does not preempt or supersede municipal or county approvals, and does not reach projects whose state land transactions were already approved ('unapproved' is the operative qualifier). RATIONALE: preventing rapid data center growth from shifting utility and infrastructure costs onto Oregon residents. ANTECEDENT: the Governor previously blocked the sale of 32 acres of state land at the Mill Creek Corporate Center in Salem proposed for a data center. POLICY PIPELINE: an advisory committee convened January 2026 delivers recommendations by end of 2026; the Governor intends to draft 2027 session legislation from them, and the pause's July 1, 2027 end date is set to run past that session. RELATED OREGON MEASURES ALREADY INDEXED: Oregon POWER Act (2025 Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility Act, raising data center electricity rates ~29% while lowering rates for other PGE customers), OR PUC Data Center Rate Class, Oregon HB 4084 Data Center Tax Moratorium. INSTRUMENT NUMBER NOT PUBLISHED in any located source — see notes.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Oregon |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | September 8, 2026 |
| Citation | Oregon — Governor's directive pausing state land transactions and permits for new data centers (issued on or about September 8, 2026; effective through July 1, 2027) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | State agencies may not approve covered land transactions or permits for new data center projects during the pause |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · government use of AI · consumer protection |
| News report | Oregon governor pauses state land requests for data centers — KPTV |
More AI rules in Oregon
- Oregon SB 1546 (AI companion chatbot disclosure + private right of action) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Oregon SB 1516 — ALPR limits and vendor liability (2026) · In effect
- Oregon HB 4084 Data Center Tax Moratorium · In effect
- Oregon POWER Act · In effect
- OR weaponized-drone ban · In effect
- Oregon SB 1571 (campaign ads must disclose AI/synthetic media) · In effect
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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