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As her reelection race heats up, Gov. Tina Kotek has ordered state agencies to pause all action on requests to use state land for data centers.
The order, issued Sept. 8, concerns applications related to easements, rights-of-way, leases, rentals, land-use permits and sales or transfers of state-owned property for data center projects.
Kotek has said she supports data center moratoriums at the local level but as governor, her options are more limited. The new order is as close as she can come with the tools at her disposal, she said Tuesday at an anti-data center rally at the state capitol in Salem, where she announced the new policy.
“While President Trump is telling communities to get out of the way of data center development, Oregon is saying communities deserve a voice and data center companies need to be accountable for their impacts,” Kotek says. “Oregon cannot be a cheap date for data centers.”
It’s not clear how many data center proposals the order affects. A governor’s spokesman tells WW that status reports collected from state agencies will help Kotek determine the number.
“If your agency is involved in any pending discussions or requests that include data center-related easements or potential sale or transfer of state property, please pause work immediately and submit a status report to me no later than September 14, 2026,” reads a letter to agency heads dated Sept. 8 by Kotek chief of staff Emerald Bogue. “Any uncertainty about the relationship between your agency’s work and data center development must be included in your status report.”
Kotek told Tuesday’s rally crowd of several hundred that she wants the Legislature to pass a statewide data center moratorium in its next session in 2027. The data center pause will remain in effect until July 1 or “until statewide action from the Governor’s Office or the Legislature directs otherwise,” according to an official statement. “Oregonians deserve a statewide approach that protects our communities, respects our natural resources, and makes sure state government is acting in the public interest,” the statement reads.
Data centers, once considered an economic bright spot, have faced increasing public backlash. The issue already cost prominent state lawmaker Sen. Janeen Sollman (D-Hillsboro) her legislative seat in the May primary.
Kotek is now fending off a reelection challenge by state Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby), who has lately attacked Kotek for her alleged ties to data centers. A new 30-second ad spot by the Drazan campaign accuses the governor of “rolling out the red carpet” for them.
In July, Kotek terminated a planned sale of 32 acres of state land at the Mill Creek Corporate Center in Salem for a proposed data center. A data center advisory committee, convened by Kotek earlier this year, is tasked with providing the governor with policy proposals ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
