Dear CAEZ Members,

On Tuesday, July 21, Tonya Dowse, Max Shenker, Gary Buse, Lina German and I had the opportunity to meet with Jeanne Harriman at the Franchise Tax Board offices. Jeanne introduced us to two of her colleagues, who will be assuming her Enterprise Zone program duties and have been welcomed as part of the CAEZ family. James Dudley and Jaymie Mora have a combined 16 years experience handling Enterprise Zone-related issues for FTB and have been working with Jeanne for many years. They are happy to make themselves available to CAEZ Members. They will be attending our Sacramento Board meetings and handling the FTB update portion of our meeting agenda. They have also been invited to attend and participate in our Annual Conference in Fresno.

Following the Board meeting on Wednesday, July 22, the CAEZ Board of Directors and Advisors met with the new HCD senior management team, which is responsible for the Enterprise Zone program. James Nunn, has been appointed Program Manager for the Enterprise Zone program and Tom Bettencourt has been named the Federal Programs Branch Chief. Frank Luera’s position as Section Chief is still open and a search is underway to fill that slot. Another new face is Kristin Power, Deputy Director for Legislation at HCD. Kristin will be assuming an active role in Enterprise Zone legislation and public policy issues related to the program.

This new management structure has also invited CAEZ to form an HCD/CAEZ Advisory Council, to facilitate better and more frequent communication with the HCD administrative team. The exact shape and structure of this Advisory Council will be discussed between the Board of Directors and HCD staff in the coming weeks. I envision this Advisory Council as a forum for the CAEZ Board and our Members to enhance the program, as well as raise questions and concerns about the program and have them discussed and resolved. I will keep you informed as this develops further.

Thank you for your continued support of CAEZ and the Enterprise Zone program.

CRAIG JOHNSON
President
California Association of Enterprise Zones

Tags: California Enterprise Zones, letter

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