On December 17, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010.  The Tax Relief Act extended many important tax rates and programs and some have been curiously left out.   On the Federal level, the Act extends the Empowerment Zones for two more years, but not the Renewal Community Zones.  Fortunately for tax payers, the Empowerment Zone credit per employee is twice the amount of the Renewal Community credit.

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

In case you missed it, this piece was recently published in the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

By Sen. Bob Dutton

It’s no secret that California is facing an economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression. Unemployment in the Inland Empire has now reached 13 percent, and the state is facing a $26 billion deficit.

While the entire nation is suffering during this economic downturn, I believe there is a direct correlation between California having the fourth highest unemployment rate in the Country and this state’s anti-business climate.

I’ve repeatedly referred to study after study, including from Forbes Magazine, Chief Executive Magazine and the American Legislative Exchange Council which show that California continues to rank as the most expensive place to do business. I believe these studies and California having the fourth highest unemployment rate in the nation are directly related and why businesses are fleeing California for nearby states that offer a more business-friendly atmosphere.

Companies of all sizes are being lured to Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. Nevada, for example, has rolled out the welcome mat and is aggressively recruiting businesses to not only with an advertising campaign but by keeping costs and regulations to a minimum that make our neighbors to the west a very attractive place for a struggling California businesses to succeed.

California is a major economic power, but we are losing our standing in the nation and world because of the unneeded and unnecessary regulations on businesses that are forcing them to leave. If we are going to ever turn around California’s economy it must come through the creation of private sector jobs.

Recently, I met with representatives from the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone along with some of the zone’s businesses who traveled to Sacramento to talk about the value of the Enterprise Zone Program. This program is one of the only remaining incentive programs that California still possesses. I believe it must be maintained and protected, if not expanded, to continue the support of business growth in this state.

We talked about how this valuable program played a key role in keeping these businesses in the state. Without it, their businesses would be in financial jeopardy and they would be forced to leave creating an even worse business environment.