03/19/2024

News

California-China Trade and Investment Office Hires Diane Long as Executive Officer

SHANGHAI, CHINA – Positioning California to attract a growing share of China’s massive foreign investment pool and bolstering California-China trade, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., the Bay Area Council and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today announced the hiring of Diane Long as the Executive Director of the new California-China Office of Trade and Investment.

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GO-Biz Announces Initiative to Streamline Permitting of New Hydrogen and Electric Fueling Stations

Sacramento, Calif. — California state economic development director Kish Rajan today announced an effort to streamline the permitting process for zero emission vehicle fueling stations and significantly expand California’s hydrogen and electric vehicle capacity.

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GO-Biz Director Announces Addition of Four New Innovation Hubs (i-Hubs)

Riverside, Calif. – California state economic development director Kish Rajan and deputy director Louis Stewart today joined state and local elected officials in Riverside to announce the designation of four new Innovation Hubs (i-Hub), further expanding the largest network of state sponsored innovation clusters in the U.S. This announcement comes just days after Governor Brown signed legislation–AB 250–to formally recognize the i-Hub program in statute and establish the Innovation Accelerator Account.

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Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Expand the California Infrastructure Bank

Sacramento, Calif. – Executive director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) Teveia Barnes announced today that Governor Brown has signed legislation to expand the I-Bank and increase small business lending in California.

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Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Support California Business

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed 18 bills to strengthen the state’s business climate.

Today’s action builds on the legislation Governor Brown signed in July to revamp the state’s economic development program, known as the Governor’s Economic Development Initiative (AB 93 and SB 90). The Initiative, which received broad, bipartisan support in the Legislature, helps bolster California’s business climate and put Californians to work by establishing a statewide sales tax exemption on all manufacturing equipment and research and development equipment purchases for biotech and manufacturing companies; hiring credits for businesses in areas with the highest unemployment rate and poverty; and provides the opportunity for California businesses to compete for available tax credits based on the number of jobs to be created and retained, wages paid in those jobs and other factors.

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California Sues Federal Governmnet to Protect Pension Reform

SACRAMENTO – Moving to defend Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s landmark package of pension reforms, the state of California today sued the U.S. Department of Labor for improperly denying federal grants to California public transit providers after it erroneously concluded that the pension reforms constrain workers’ collective bargaining rights.

“Bringing this lawsuit is just another step to ensure that our pension system is viable long into the future,” said Governor Brown.

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