According to the LA Times on Saturday, Brown’s May budget revise leaves the EZs intact:

The governor would use an unexpected multibillion-dollar influx of tax receipts to fill the gap left in his budget by the shorter period of income tax increases. He would also use the new money to keep in place “enterprise zone” tax credits for businesses that hire workers from blighted areas. Brown originally proposed eliminating those tax credits to save the state $924 million.

Just waiting for the official word today at 11.

The Democratic leadership responded to the Five Point Plan with this Letter.  Steinberg discusses the Enterprise Zone as follows:

You noted the need to fix redevelopment and enterprise zone programs, but you urge the Legislature to preserve their job generation capacity.  We agree.  We should point out, however, that both redevelopment and enterprise zone programs are major sources of the state’s fiscal problem (through additional state costs for schools and loss of state tax revenue).  Two respected non-partisan institutions, the Legislative Analyst and the Public Policy Institute of California, have raised serious questions about whether redevelopment and enterprise zones actually help with job creation and retention.

From the Sacramento Bee just now:

Assembly Republicans issued their own budget proposal a few days ahead of the Governor’s May revised budget.  There is no mention of Enterprise Zones in the Republican proposal.

Read the full article.

One of the biggest disadvantages facing California employers is, not surprisingly, the unions.

One big finding: labor unions are more powerful in California.

“Andrew Puzder from Carl’s Jr. talked about how the 8-hour work day and the meal breaks (required in California) are harmful, especially for restaurant businesses,” said Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda. “Because they may get a truckload of ….teenagers at 2:00 and he’s got to tell half of his staff to take a break while people line up out the door.”

 Read about the entire trip here.

This is from today’s Sacramento Bee:

From the Sacramento Bee just now:

The Senate Republicans made public their list of 53 demands in exchange for their vote to allow Jerry Brown to put the tax extensions on the June ballot.  Preservation of the EZ is on the list.  Assembly speaker John Perez said that the parties are now “farther apart” than they were before the list.

Today the FTB issued a legal ruling with guidance on the application of the BOE’s official opinion in the Nassco matter.

John Coupal issued a stinging missive today highlighting just how much Brown has caved to the Unions.  While everyone else is “sacrificing”, the Unions and Brown have made minimal cuts.  His rhetoric and his actions have been far from consistent.  And at the Unions, its business as usual.

Today, Assemblyman Don Wagner came out in favor of maintaining the Enterprise Zone program – and he doesn’t have on in his district.

By repealing the tax credits that fuel enterprise zones, California’s many employers who took the state at its word, located and grew their businesses in such zones, and have helped improve some of our struggling communities will instead find their tax bills climbing dramatically. This will leave them with less in their budgets for payroll, benefits, capital improvements and hiring.

At a time when California has the nation’s second highest unemployment rate, we will see more people collecting unemployment insurance rather than paying taxes. Additionally, businesses that set up shop in enterprise zones, will suffer from decreased productivity or have to shut down, thereby further reducing state and local revenues.

Read the full article.