BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 29
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 29 (John A. Pérez)
As Amended September 2, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-2 |(May 31, 2011) |SENATE: |31-3 |(September 7, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: J., E.D. & E.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Governor's Office of Business
Development (GO-Biz) for the purpose of serving as the lead
state entity for economic strategy and marketing of California
on issues relating to business development, private sector
investment and economic growth. Among other things, this bill
reorganizes the Office of the Small Business Advocate (OSBA) and
codifies the Office of Business Assistance within the new
GO-Biz.
The Senate amendments :
1)Change the name of the Office of Economic Development to
GO-Biz.
2)Authorize rather than mandate the duties of GO-Biz.
3)Delete the requirement that the Director of Go-Biz be
confirmed by the Senate.
4)Remove 2011-12 funding provisions.
5)Remove language related the California Economic Strategy
Panel, which was eliminated through 2011-12 Budget actions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill established the Office of
Economic Development (OED) within the Office of the Governor.
The Director of OED was required to be confirmed by the Senate.
Funding for the OED in the 2011-12 fiscal year was directed to
come from existing resources and staffed by personnel loaned
from other state agencies and departments. The bill required
each member of the Cabinet to identify a senior manager within
his or her agency who would be responsible for coordinating
business support activities with OED. Funding in subsequent
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years would be provided through the regular budgeting process,
including the permanent transfer of associated positions.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, implementation of this bill creates ongoing costs of
$2.3 million with a mix of General and Special Funds.
COMMENTS : In February 2010, the Little Hoover Commission (LHC)
undertook a review of the state's economic and workforce
development programs. In its final report, Making up for Lost
Ground: Creating a Governor's Office of Economic Development, it
analyzed the status and effectiveness of current programs since
the 2003 demise the Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency and
recommended the creation of a new governmental entity to fill
the void left by the dismantled agency.
The report called for a single agency that would promote greater
economic development, foster job creation, and deliver specific
services (i.e., permitting, tax, regulatory, and other
information) directly to the California business community. In
April 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order
S-05-10 (EO) as a means to operationalize the report
recommendations including the creation of the Governor's Office
of Economic Development (GOED). This bill substantially
codifies and provides enhanced guidance to the framework
detailed in EO S-05-10 by statutorily forming GO-Biz and
assigning specific tasks and duties.
Previous legislation: This bill is a re-introduction of AB 2734
(John A. Pérez) of 2010, which was vetoed by the Governor,
based, according to his veto message, on the provision that the
Director was subject to Senate confirmation, which he stated
would "inappropriately infringe" upon the rights and powers of
the Governor. Senate amendments remove this requirement from
this bill.
Governor's Office of Economic Development: GOED was created in
April 2010 through Executive Order (S-05-10). Since its
inception, GOED has served over 3,000 businesses, 95% of which
are small. The most frequent types of assistance include help
with permit streamlining, starting a businesses, relocation and
expansion of businesses, and regulatory challenges.
Under the auspices of GOED, a number of state programs and
services are administered, including programs related to
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international trade, permit assistance, the California Business
Investment Services Program (CalBIS), the OSBA, and innovation.
There are 23 positions assigned to GOED, which is funded through
existing state resources and staffed by personnel loaned from
state agencies and departments. This bill states that this
shall remain the funding and staffing structure for GOED during
fiscal year 2011-12 and thereafter be subject to the regular
state budget process.
Among other programs, GOED administers the Innovation Hub (iHUB)
program in partnership with the statewide network of Small
Business Development Centers. There are currently 12 regional
iHUBs located throughout the state. The iHUB program is
designed to improve the state's national and global
competitiveness by stimulating partnerships, economic
development, and job creation around specific research clusters.
Key assets and partners of the initiative include technology
incubators, research parks, universities, federal laboratories,
economic development organizations, business groups, and venture
capitalists.
Another key initiative of GOED are the "strike teams" which can
be mobilized to help attract and/or retain specific businesses.
Strike teams are especially well suited to engage with major
employers and have been successfully activated to assist Bayer
Healthcare, Jazz Semiconductor, and Baxter Pharmaceutical locate
and/or expand in California.
GOED is also sponsoring a permit streamlining pilot project,
which will offer a One-Stop-Shop for state and local permits.
The pilot, launched in partnership with the City and County of
San Francisco, will allow a business owner to login to a single
Web site (24x7) and apply for and pay all necessary city, county
and state permits.
AB 29 (John A. Pérez) substantially implements the current
activities of GOED as outlined in the 2010 EO.
Analysis Prepared by : Toni Symonds / J., E.D. & E. / (916)
319-2090
FN:
0002781
AB 29
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