Governor Tina Kotek has ordered every Oregon state agency to immediately halt processing of unapproved requests for state-owned land tied to data center projects, a directive that will remain in effect through July 1, 2027, unless overridden by action from the Governor's Office or the Legislature before that date.

The pause, announced September 8, 2026, covers easements, rights-of-way, leases, rentals, land-use permits, and any sales or transfers of state-owned property sought in connection with data center development. The order applies across all state agencies simultaneously.

What the Directive Covers

The freeze is intended to allow for a coordinated statewide evaluation of the long-term impacts of large-scale data center development. According to the Governor's Office, that evaluation will examine infrastructure capacity, environmental sustainability, water usage, job creation, and the effects on surrounding communities.

Kotek framed the action as a necessary pause while the state continues to work through questions about what data center growth means for Oregonians at large.

"Data center corporations are asking communities to absorb enormous demands on our water, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources, and we need to know what that means for Oregonians," she said in the announcement.

"I am taking this action because the state should not be moving forward with new data center projects on public land while we are still working to understand and address those impacts."

The Governor's Office acknowledged that the state currently lacks authority to enact a statewide moratorium on data center development broadly, making the land access freeze one of the primary tools within the state's immediate control.

Salem Land Sale Decision as Precursor

The September directive builds on a prior decision by Kotek to terminate the 32-acre Salem land sale for the proposed data center.

That property had been designated for a proposed data center project.

The Governor's Office described the decision to stop that specific sale as reflecting a commitment to ensuring state actions uphold Oregon's values and serve the public interest, and the broader agency-wide pause follows from that same reasoning.

Electricity Rates and the POWER Act

The land freeze is not the first regulatory action Kotek has taken in response to the rapid growth of data center development in Oregon. In 2025, she signed the Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility Act, known as the POWER Act, which was designed to create accountability for data center electricity consumption.

According to the Governor's Office, the POWER Act has already produced measurable effects on utility rates. Portland General Electric customers who are data center corporations have seen a 29 percent increase in electricity rates as a result of the law, while all other ratepayers served by Portland General Electric have seen rate decreases.

Advisory Committee and Future Legislation

In January, Kotek convened the Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee, tasking it with developing policy recommendations to address the growth of data centers in the state.

The committee's mandate includes keeping utility costs, infrastructure upgrades, and environmental impacts sustainable for all Oregonians, with particular attention to low-income and working households and ratepayers.

The Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee is expected to deliver its final recommendations to the Governor by the end of the year.

Kotek has indicated she intends to use those recommendations to inform legislation she will introduce for the 2027 legislative session.

The timeline of the land pause, running through July 1, 2027, aligns with the window leading into that legislative session, during which the state will be developing a more comprehensive policy framework for data center development on public resources.

Industry Context

The Governor's Office framed the action as part of a broader effort to ensure that data center growth does not shift costs related to water, power, and infrastructure onto Oregon residents.

The press release emphasized that Oregonians deserve a statewide approach that protects communities, respects natural resources, and ensures state government is acting in the public interest.

The pause is positioned as an interim measure while that statewide approach is developed through the advisory committee process and eventual legislative action.