BILL NUMBER: AB 1409 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the
Economy (V. Manuel Pérez (Chair), Beall, Block, and Hueso)
MARCH 10, 2011
An act to amend Sections 13996.4 and 13996.55 of the Government
Code, relating to economic development.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1409, as introduced, Committee on Jobs, Economic Development,
and the Economy. Economic development: international trade and
investment.
Existing law requires the Secretary of Business, Transportation
and Housing to provide to the Legislature a strategy for
international trade and investment that is required to address
specified topics. Existing law requires that this strategy be updated
at least once every 5 years.
This bill would require that the strategy prepared by the
secretary also address specified topics related to international
trade and infrastructure. This bill would require that the strategy
be updated by February 1, 2013, and once every 5 years thereafter.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13996.4 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
13996.4. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The statutory authority for the Technology, Trade, and
Commerce Agency, including the agency's international trade and
investment promotion programs, was repealed by Chapter 229 of the
Statutes of 2003, thereby reducing the capacity of state government
to assist California firms in developing global business
opportunities.
(b) The repeal of the statutory authority for the Technology,
Trade, and Commerce Agency has increased the importance of
strengthening collaborative linkages among remaining California-based
international trade and investment promotion programs operated at
federal, state, regional, and local levels. These programs include,
but are not limited to, the Centers for International Trade
Development operated by the California Community Colleges, 15 offices
of the United States Commercial Service within the United States
Department of Commerce, numerous local and regional World Trade
Centers, and public and private economic development and trade
associations.
(c) According to data for 2000, international trade and investment
activity in the state supports one in every seven California jobs.
(d) According to the Public Policy Institute of California:
(1) Nearly 94 percent of all exporters located in California are
small- or medium-sized firms. Over 90 percent of businesses in
California are small businesses and over 50 percent of all workers
are employed by a small business.
(2) Exporters are more productive and pay higher wages than
nonexporters.
(3) Effective state programs supporting export opportunities
should identify and respond to differing needs of both export-willing
and export-ready firms.
(e) The adequacy of the state's infrastructure, workforce,
research facilities, manufacturing and service industries, and access
to capital form the foundation of California's global market-related
economy.
(f) California's multicultural and ethnic populations offer unique
opportunities for international trade and investment.
(g) United States subsidiaries of foreign companies in California
employed 561,000 California workers from 2000 to 2005. This is an
increase of 15 percent. In comparison to other states, California is
an attractive location for international employers, ranking first in
the United States in the number of employees supported by United
States subsidiaries.
(h) California's trade and investment policy is a living document
that should be regularly updated to reflect emerging business trends
and the changing needs of California businesses and workers.
(i) California must ensure that it has an adequate and robust
trade infrastructure in place at its airports, seaports, and land
ports of entry for the efficient facilitation of exports and imports
of cargo.
(j) California's exporters will play a critical role in the
National Export Initiative, a federal effort to double American
exports from 2010 to 2015, inclusive, and support the growth of two
million jobs across the United States, and California should support
the federal government's export-promotion strategy, the United States
Department of Commerce, and the International Trade Administration
in their efforts to open new markets and implement the National
Export Initiative.
SEC. 2. Section 13996.55 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
13996.55. (a) Based on the study prepared pursuant to Section
13996.5, the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing shall
provide to the Legislature, not no later
than February 1, 2008 2013 , a
strategy for international trade and investment that, at a minimum,
includes all of the following:
(1) Policy goals, objectives, and recommendations necessary to
implement a comprehensive international trade and investment program
for the State of California. This information shall be provided in a
fashion that clearly indicates priority within the overall strategy.
(2) Measurable outcomes and timelines for the goals, objectives,
and actions for the international trade and investment program.
(3) Identification of impediments for achieving goals and
objectives.
(4) Identification of key stakeholder partnerships that will be
used in implementing the strategy.
(5) Identification of options for funding recommended actions.
(6) Identification of an international trade and investment
organizational structure for the state administration of
international trade and investment policies, programs, and services.
(7) Policy goals, objectives, and recommendations adopted in the
Goods Movement Action Plan that are necessary to provide the trade
infrastructure necessary to implement a comprehensive international
trade and investment program for the State of California.
(8) Measurable outcomes and timelines for the goals, objectives,
and actions for the completion of those aspects of the Goods Movement
Action Plan necessary to implement a comprehensive international
trade and investment program for the State of California.
(9) Identification of those public agencies and private sector
entities necessary to implement those aspects of the Goods Movement
Action Plan that are identified in the strategy update.
(b) The strategy shall be developed in consultation with the
California Economic Strategy Panel. In the course of developing the
strategy, the secretary shall also consult with other agencies,
boards, and commissions that have statutory responsibilities related
to workforce development, infrastructure, business, and international
trade and investment including, but not limited to, the California
Commission on Industrial Innovation, the Office of the Small Business
Advocate, the California Transportation Commission, the California
Community Colleges, the University of California, the California
State University, the Workforce Investment Board, the Employment
Training Panel, and the California Energy Commission.
(c) The strategy shall be submitted to the Chief Clerk of the
Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate. A copy of the strategy
shall be provided to the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro
Tempore of the Senate, and the chairs of the Assembly Committee on
Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy and the Senate Committee
on Business, Professions and Economic Development, or the successor
committees with jurisdiction over international trade and economic
development programs.
(d) (1) The strategy shall be reviewed in at least one public
hearing by the relevant policy and fiscal committees of each house of
the Legislature. The hearings shall be held within 60 days of the
strategy being submitted to the Legislature. If the strategy is
submitted when the Legislature is in recess, the hearings shall occur
within 60 days of the members convening.
(2) The legislative committees may make recommendations to the
secretary on the strategy, and the secretary may modify the strategy
accordingly.
(e) The secretary shall report to the fiscal committees of the
Legislature on or before February 1, 2009, and by that date each year
thereafter, on how the Governor's proposed budget relates to the
strategy.
(f) The strategy shall be updated pursuant to the procedures of
this section by February 1, 2013, and at least once every
five years thereafter .