HB4098 establishes the CHIPS Child Care Fund to support childcare funding. The bill directs the Oregon Business Development Department to collaborate with the Bureau of Labor and Industries to develop and manage a financial support program for the construction workforce. Additionally, it creates a work group to recommend requiring certain businesses to contribute financially to the CHIPS Child Care Fund. The work group is tasked with reporting its recommendations to the legislative committees on childcare and workforce development by November 15, 2024.
The Oregon State House of Representatives passed HB4098 on March 6, 2024 by a vote of 46 to 9. We have assigned pluses to the nays because it is not the government's or taxpayers' responsibility to subsidize childcare. This program embraces socialism by using taxpayer funds to support childcare, which disrupts the free market. Government agencies and bureaucracies should not impose financial obligations on businesses to fund such programs.
