Apple built one, 330,000-square-foot data center in Prineville but planned additional facilities and a massive solar farm to power them haven't materialized. Public officials say Apple and other data center operators are holding off on their Oregon plans while awaiting resolution of a thorny Oregon tax issue.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

The Oregon Senate signed off Tuesday on a package of property tax breaks aimed at Comcast, Google Fiber and Oregon data centers.

The state House of Representatives approved the bill Friday 52-2 and it now heads to the desk of Gov. Kate Brown.

"In the interest of time we need to get this law to the governor, who promised me yesterday she will sign it this week," said Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, who has shepherded Senate Bill 611 through the Legislature.

But that won't be the final word on the matter - the Legislature will need to do additional work to satisfy Google Fiber.

Tuesday's 28-2 vote in the Senate addresses a thorny, unusual Oregon taxation methodology known as "central assessment," which has been tangled up in state court since 2009. SB 611 is supposed to provide clarity to companies and local governments and technology companies.

Central assessment values telecom companies' property, in part, based on the value of their brand and other "intangibles." Cable TV companies and data centers say this is an extremely unusual methodology and creates a considerably higher property in Oregon than in other states.

Google Fiber says it won't come to Portland without a change to the tax language, though language in the current bill appears to exclude the company. Lawmakers say they will begin working on a Google Fiber fix later this week.

Here are 8 things to know about the bill:

History The law What the companies pay What local governments get Data centers Google Fiber: Other Oregon tech tax breaks: Political contributions

-- Mike Rogoway

mrogoway@oregonian.com

503-294-7699

@rogoway