DEMOCRATS’ JOBS PACKAGE ADVANCES IN STATE SENATE

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May 9, 2010 (Sacramento) – “The Senate continues to make progress to restore California's economy and put people back to work,” Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) announced. In April, Senate committees passed several bills as part of “Agenda 2010”, Democrats’ plan that aspires to create 140,000 jobs without raising taxes or dismantling workplace and environmental protections.

 

The jobs package put forward by the Democratic majority focuses on improving  infrastructure, training people for new jobs in wind and solar energy,  keeping families in their homes, and stabilizing college costs. According to the California Research Bureau, the jobs package would generate at least $6.7 billion in economic activity.

 

The following bills cleared Senate committees in April:

Career Training: SB 974, the “Jobs of the Future” bill by Senate Pro Tem President Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), would provide tax incentives for businesses to invest in "career pathways" that encourage students to stay in school and train for the careers of the future.

College Fee Stability: SB 969 by Carol Liu (D-Glendale) would establish a long-term, predictable and affordable fee policy for students in California community colleges, and the California State University and University of California systems. For charts showing the dramatic spike in cost to attend UC and CSU schools, see http://senweb03.senate.ca.gov/focus/agenda2010/pdf/SenFlorezPressCharts2....

 

Streamlined Permitting: SB 959, authored by Senator Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego), would help cities and counties develop "one-stop" agencies that allow businesses to more easily navigate the environmental permitting process.

 

High-Speed Rail Jobs: SB 964 by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) would spend $25 million of voter-approved bonds for the first phase of a workforce training program to construct, maintain, and operate a high-speed rail system in California.

 

Transportation Infrastructure: SB 1371 by Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) would create a formula for disbursing federal transportation funds to local government, especially for "shovel ready" projects.

 

For details on the Democrats' Agenda 2010, see: http://senweb03.sen.ca.gov/focus/agenda2010/

 

The Senate Republican Caucus webpage has no listings regarding jobs bills, instead focusing on other legislative priorities such as pension reform and rolling back healthcare reforms.

 

Assembly Republicans have put forward their own package of jobs bills to address the state's 12% unemployment rate. The GOP package focuses on cutting taxes and fees for businesses, streamlining regulations, and tort reforms to limit lawsuit awards. The Republican package does not specify any measures in green jobs training, transportation or infrastructure project job creation, or  college affordability. http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/

 

Neither party has put forward proposals to directly increase revenues short-term for California, which faces a $20 billion budget deficit and the prospect of more budget cuts this year, though both contend their plans will improve the economy and thus improve the state's financial situation in the long term.
 


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Comments

Jobs

Here we go, more of the same dumb, meaningless "incentives" for job growth. This legislature will do anything except what will really grow business. Green jobs don't work you can Google what Spain's experience has been. Read the Bloomberg reports on how Spain loses 2 jobs for every one job it creates in green jobs. It also costs them $750,000 to create that one job. If we vote this yahoos back into office all we will get is more unemployment and more businesses leaving California. Then who will pay for the government employee's union's high salaries, benefits, and retirement? Who will pay for all the social entitlements and ecological empowerment costs? There has to be a private sector to generate taxes.

Jobs

They way to create more jobs is to make California friendly to business. Right now it costs more in California than other states to build a structure, start up a business, taxes both corporate and personal, car registration, gas, electricity, water, workman's comp, unemployment insurance, business taxes, housing, property tax, taxes that are ecologically related, etc.

Why would any business stay or start up in California that doesn't have to. How does a business compete world-wide under circumstances where they are at a disadvantage even within the U.S.?

All of the job stimulus plans offered by our state government are just a way to look like they are doing something but, in fact, have no substance.

If a business can't make a profit they will not survive. If we have a government that puts huge costs on business they are causing them to be less competitive in an economic environment where they need all the help they can get. Without business there are no jobs, without jobs there are no taxes to run the government and pay government employees and politicians their high salaries, retirement, and benefits.