Public hearing: Rep. Daniel Wynne proposes $275,000 for Business Oregon website redesign

For the record, Representative Daniel Wynne, sponsor and testifier, said House Bill 3,315 would appropriate $275,000 to Business Oregon to update and redesign its website to be modern, visually engaging, dynamic, interactive and easily accessible. Wynne described the current site as “outdated, unattractive and unprofessional” and argued a modernized site would better serve Oregon businesses and recruiters.

Nathan Bueller, communications director for Business Oregon, testified remotely and said the agency has no position on the bill because it was not in the governor’s budget, but welcomed additional resources. Bueller described a late-2024 communications audit and a plan that includes a website redesign as one element of broader communications work. He said Business Oregon migrated to the .gov content-management platform several years ago, which decentralized content updates, and that a redesign project would touch numerous program pages across the agency’s roughly 90 programs.

Representative Rick Osborne questioned the $275,000 figure and said the project “looks pretty simple” and opined it might be achievable for less; Bueller and Chair Winn responded that the cost reflects the size of the site, the number of programs and the procurement process (including an RFP and coordination with DAS and a contractor). Committee members asked whether funds would support new FTEs; Bueller said the anticipated model is contractor work with no additional agency FTEs.

Wynne said the appropriation would be an investment in branding and access for businesses, and that the change is intended to be coordinated with a broader communications strategy, including consistent agency naming and branding.

The committee held the public hearing and took questions; no committee vote on the bill occurred at this meeting.