Lam Tax Aviodance
On Friday July 31, 2026, just 4 days before a scheduled Tuesday morning vote, Washington County announced a proposed tax abatement Strategic Investment Program (SIP) for Lam Research. Four days does not provide enough time for meaningful public comment, so we drafted a Sample SIP email to the County.
However, On August 4, 2026, over objections raised by the community, the Washington County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the SIP. The public perception that this was a backroom deal is 100% correct. One of the commissioners even referenced the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) signed by the County, the City, and Lam. On August 5, 2026, we requested an immediate release of the NDA. On August 7, the City released a redacted version.
Despite compelling public comments and our TAX sample email, on August 10 the Tualatin City Council voted unanimously to authorize the City Manager to sign Lam’s SIP agreement. We were hoping that the City would use the SIP as an opportunity to negotiate for livability, but it is evident that this SIP agreement was decided months ago, and at that time, the City believed that this was the best deal they could get from Lam.
On Thursday September 24, 2026, the Business Oregon Commission met for final approval of Lam's SIP agreement. After receiveing public comments in opposition that raised serious social and legal concerns, the Chair moved immediately to a vote without any discussion or deliberation. The vote was unanimous and Lam's SIP is approved.