I’ve gotten positive feedback from the business community for my op-ed in the Orange County Register on Sunday reminding Californians that when it comes to business, our state is still the place to be. They appreciate the Assembly’s efforts to create jobs, get Californians back to work and find ways to make our business climate even better.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, in February the state’s annual employment growth rate of 2.1% surpassed the U.S rate of 1.5%, with California adding 293,800 jobs over the year.
California is the nation’s top state for foreign direct investment. To strengthen that lead, last year I authored AB 2012 to facilitate re-establishing vital trade offices.
California is at the forefront of our nation’s innovation economy – with almost three times more patent filings and more universities with top ten schools in engineering, science and law than any other state. That’s why the Assembly was able to help persuade the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to open a satellite office in Silicon Valley.
From Northern California, the birthplace and incubator of biotechnology, high technology, and green technology to Central California, the home of much of our nation’s food supply to Southern California, the pioneering leaders in the entertainment, biomedical, and aerospace industries, California entrepreneurs and companies continue to innovate and expand.
Of course, we know we can always do better.
That’s why we’re working with business leaders to maintain protections for a healthy and sustainable environment while increasing clarity and predictability.
The Assembly is also working to reduce the backlog for business filings at the Secretary of State’s office. In fact he Assembly not only took action to end the backlog, we set a new standard so by November 2013 filings must be processed in no more than 5 business days.
We’re taking other actions to make California an even more attractive place for business.
I wrote the bill that created the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), to provide a one-stop shop for companies looking to start, expand and invest in California. We’ve passed back to back on-time budgets that boosted the state’s credit rating. Thanks to voters passing Proposition 30, we are able to reinvest in schools and higher education, two engines of long-term economic growth. And we continue to make capital available through the Small Business Loan Guarantee and CalCap programs.
In January, I introduced AB 53 to expand the scope and effectiveness of GO-Biz by requiring the office to prepare a biennial Strategic Plan that will provide a clear roadmap to economic growth and competitiveness in California.
California has a strong business climate and leaders committed to making it better. Most important we have entrepreneurs, large and small, who know a good thing when they see it—who know California is the place to be.