Today in the Governor’s Press Room I joined with my fellow Republican members of the state legislature, Senator Sam Aanestad, Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines, Assemblymen Bill Berryhill, Jean Fuller, Ted Gaines, Martin Garrick, Nathan Fletcher, Kevin Jeffries, Steve Knight, Brian Nestande, Roger Niello, Jim Nielsen, Jim Silva, and Cameron Smyth, to announce the first step in a campaign to bring jobs and the businesses that create them back to California. Assemblyman Dan Logue organized the event.
The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. The next is asking for advice. Who better to ask than the companies who fled the state already or when given the option decided against locating here in the first place? Our goal is to sit down and really listen to the cause of the Jobs Exodus from California. We want to hear the reasons businesses are leaving California from the only people who can tell us, the businesses who left.
Nevada has been aggressively courting California businesses spending nearly $1.5 million on ads designed to lure companies out of California. The only way for the golden state to maintain the incredible number of services it provides its citizenry is to have an equally strong private sector to fund it.
When businesses leave California jobs leave California. In the past seven years I have watched California trade high paying middle class manufacturing jobs for service industry jobs paying nearly 30 percent less. I heard the warning cries ignored; allowing California’s economic climate to reach its current woeful state.
Right now, Nevada is suffering from the same economic downturn as the entire nation. What incentive does Nevada have not to pick off the low hanging fruit of California’s over taxed and over regulated business community? Why wouldn’t they press their advantage of being able to offer most business a tax saving of $300,000 to $3.5 million a year? This does not even touch on the environmental and regulatory barriers that are not present in Nevada.
I came to Sacramento to make a difference. Even though many of the points being made today have been made before it is my sincere hope they will not fall of deaf ears. The people of California deserve to have their legislative leaders talking openly and honestly about protecting California’s jobs.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:00 am
We should all applaud men like Assemblymen Hagman, Logue and Villnes for these endeavors.The state needs to investigate the causes for so many business leaving the state, especially when the main causes might be in its own policies and agencies. I do work for Gregg Industries, Inc., a foundry in El Monte, California which is closing its foundry doors this month after almost 70 years of operation. Gregg was one of the last surviving major foundries in Southern California. In October 2008, before the steep economic downturn changed its fortunes, Gregg reached a settlement agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) that would have turned the foundry into on of the cleanest in North America. The main goal of the agreement was to reduce odors from foundry operations. Gregg was willing to spend millions to mitigate odors and keep operating in California. As part of the agreement Gregg engaged a AQMD-approved independent environmental monitor to patrol the facility and ensure that Gregg is meeting environmental goals. Now, even though the appointed inspector has found that Gregg is doing everything it can and is complying with all agreed upon goals and regulations, the AQMD continues to send its inspectors, to a facility that is now being forced by the economic climate into shutting down, and one which is already monitored by an independent third party inspector. Its agencies like AQMD, which are entirely dependent on placing fines and fees on business, that are forcing businesses like ours out of the state or out of business entirely. Thank goodness our legislators are taking it upon themselves to investigate the true causes of these fleeing businesses
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
And what about those legislators that would attack and defile one of the few economic development tools that the State has left…the Enterprise Zone Programs. AB 1139 (Juan Perez) was an attack on businesses that employ the citizens of this State, create jobs for the disadvantaged, and allow businesses to grow, if not just maintain given this problematic economy. At the April 29th JEDE Ctme meeting those who opposed the bill were maliciously call “Poverty Pimps” by Perez’s cohort, union lobbyist Barry Broad…maybe the number of those who went on record (over 200) in opposition of AB 1139 gave Mr. Broad concern and he could only counter with a verbal atrocity.
The California Association of Enterprise Zones (CAEZ), with only a week and a few days before the hearing, rallied businesses, Cities and Counties along with their lobbyists, Chambers of Commerce, EDCs, and many more to oppose this bill resulting in over 200 letter of opposition. I am sure this took Perez and Broad by surprise. However, they continued to move forward with statements and testimonies that were fraught with misinformation and accusations that had no basis in reality.
Thanks to the stellar efforts of CAEZ, and over 200 supporters, AB 1139 was not voted on and remained in Committee. But CAEZ’s work is done yet, AB 1139 will surely return, but no earlier than January 2010.
If AB 1139 passes in any form that negatively impacts the Enterprise Zone Programs of this State, we will see businesses close, businesses leave, unemployment increase, public assistance rolls increase, etc. If this State wants to keep businesses and jobs here and lower unemployment and public assistance rolls, then our legislature needs to wake up and listen to the State’s businesses and not accept union backed bills that have no merit or desire to keep this State solvent.
As side note of interest: AB 1139 was first written to define the term “ex-offender” for the Enterprise Zone Programs. A week and a few days before the hearing it was gutted to reflect to the bill that was heard on April 29th…a tactic that did not work in rallying opposition to AB 1139.