The Oregon Legislature passed at least 14 bills in the 2010 Special Session to promote business and employment. Here is the summary:

HB 3698 – BOOST: Establishes a new fund to give loans and grants to help small businesses that create new jobs and hire Oregonians. 

SB 1017 – Accessing Business Capital: Makes it easier for businesses to access funds from the Oregon Business Development Fund.

HB 3627 – Entrepreneur Investment Act: Helps ease the financial obstacles of investing in a new business and will encourage the development of new small businesses throughout our state. 

HB 3644 – Economic Gardening: Lays the groundwork for giving small businesses the tools they need to succeed. 

HB 5100 – Employment Related Day Care: Helps 5,500 kids and 2,900 families who would lose their day care subsidy and 1,800 providers who would lose their jobs.

SB 1045 – Job Applicant Fairness Act: Prohibits most employers from using credit history to screen potential employees.

HB 3649 – Hydropower: Provides stability and growth potential for low-impact hydropower facilities throughout the state. 

HB 3674 – Clean Energy from Forests: Supports biomass as an alternative energy technology, helping to create new jobs for Oregonians while obtaining energy from our forests. 

HB 3680 – Business Energy Tax Credit: Reforms the BETC, protecting the jobs the program has created while adding stringent new controls that will rein in costs and prevent abuses. 

HB 3646 – Build America Bonds: Benefits Oregon by helping us invest in local communities and create more jobs.  The bill allows the State of Oregon to take advantage of Build America Bonds (BABs) and expands the type of programs the Oregon Facilities Authority (OFA) may finance. 

HB 3675 – Energy Efficiency: Authorizes implementation of EEAST, which provides low cost loans to individuals for projects to increase energy efficiency in homes and small businesses, creating jobs and reducing energy costs.

SB 1003 – Association Health Plans: Gives small businesses and their employees increased access to affordable health insurance. 

HB 3700 – Community Reinvestment: Allows the investment of state and local funds within the local community, helping relieve a severe shortage of capital that can be lent to local businesses ready to expand.

SB 5563/SB 5564 – Capital Construction: Funds an Oregon Department of Transportation project that will create the equivalent of 466 jobs per year for the 18-month duration of the project and 260 secondary jobs elsewhere in the Oregon economy. Funds a project at University of Oregon’s East Campus that will sustain the equivalent of 126 construction jobs throughout the 22-month duration of the project, with peak on-site employment of approximately 300 workers.