Of the more than $88 million awarded in this round, over $76 million is going to businesses in the aerospace and defense industry. California enjoys $168 billion of economic impact thanks to our aerospace and defense industry — translating to roughly 800,000 direct and indirect jobs.

“California has been at the forefront of the aerospace industry for more than a century,” said Lenny Mendonca, Chief Economic Advisor to the Governor, GO-Biz Director, and Chair of the California Competes Tax Credit Committee. “Investing in this field is an investment in a California economy that works for all. The workforce development happening around this industry creates a runway for future good-skill, high-paying jobs which guarantees California maintains its innovative and economic edge.” 

GO-Biz Director and Committee Chair, Lenny Mendonca convened the committee, which includes Treasurer Fiona Ma, Director of the Department of Finance Keely Bosler, and Assembly appointee Madeleine Janis, in Sacramento.

The California Competes Tax Credit was created in 2013 to focus on helping businesses grow and stay in California. In 2018, the program was extended for an additional five years with at least $180 million in tax credits available for allocation to business each year through 2023.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit, www.business.ca.gov.

Kaitlin Lewis
Assistant Deputy Director of Communications
Email: kaitlin.lewis@gobiz.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 204-2107

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SB TAEP, launched in 2018 and continuing through 2023, allocates funding to eligible centers through a competitive process. This year’s funding is spread across the state and includes: Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, Rural Development Centers, Minority Business Development Agency Export and Business Centers, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center Network, and other similar programs within California to support small businesses. The grantees will focus on bridging the opportunity gap for underserved small businesses and communities by offering consulting and training founders need to launch, increase revenues, and create jobs.

“The 13 Women’s Business Centers in California were pleased to receive TAEP funding this year at record levels. This historic funding allows the Centers to expand the reach and breadth of their services for under-served women entrepreneurs across the state at a time when the capital access and wealth gap for communities of color looms so large in California,” said Nancy Swift, Executive Director of Jefferson Economic Development Institute and Chair of the Steering Committee of the Network of California Women’s Business Centers. “In addition to vigorous entrepreneurial training and business coaching, expansion efforts include adding curriculum in different languages, and opening new offices in locations such as Bakersfield and Redding.”

SB TAEP is available to small business technical assistance centers which are designated by federal funding partners to operate federal small business technical assistance programs throughout the state. These centers provide free one-on-one confidential consulting and low-cost or free training to help small businesses and entrepreneurs start, expand, facilitate investment and create jobs in California. SB TAEP provides state grant funding to build on and expand consulting and training services provided by existing and new centers, including satellite offices.

“These funds allow the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Network to leverage our federal dollars to support significantly more small businesses in the greater Los Angeles region,” said Pat Nye, Regional Director of the Los Angeles Small Business Development Network. “In the program’s first year, we counseled over 2,500 more clients than the previous year, leading to our highest levels of economic impact to date. Continued funding will further expand our client base and lead to development of new programs designed to increase support for underrepresented entrepreneurs.”

Visit the California Small Business Technical Assistance Expansion Program for more information on awardees.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit, www.business.ca.gov.

Kaitlin Lewis
Assistant Deputy Director of Communications
Email: kaitlin.lewis@gobiz.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 204-2107

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“It is encouraging to see all-time record low unemployment and record-high job expansion with the largest gains going to counties in inland Southern California. Looking forward, it’s important to focus on supporting the growth of quality jobs there and across all of California so that we can revive economic mobility.”

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit, www.business.ca.gov.

Kaitlin Lewis
Assistant Deputy Director of Communications
Email: kaitlin.lewis@gobiz.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 204-2107

Explore more articles by category:  GO-Biz News  |  CalOSBA News  |  Press Releases |  Opinion Editorials

“Out of decades of misguided drug policies, California is now building a cannabis regulatory framework that literally invests in social justice,” said Nicole Elliott, Governor Newsom’s Senior Advisor on Cannabis. “As we continue to build our legal cannabis marketplace, one of this Administration’s priorities is ensuring that revenues generated from the legal market are redistributed to those communities that have borne the brunt of being over-policed and under-resourced.”

The CalCRG program was included in Proposition 64, which was approved by California voters on November 8, 2016.  In accordance with the law, GO-Biz will award grants to local health departments and qualified community-based nonprofit organizations to support the following activities for communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies:

• Job placement 
• Mental health treatment 
• Substance use disorder treatment 
• System navigation services 
• Legal services to address barriers to reentry 
• Linkages to medical care

“Our patient population is primarily comprised of low-income communities of color who have directly endured a long history of discriminatory policies that have resulted from the War on Drugs. This form of racism is often a precursor to the high rates of mental health disorders and domestic violence faced by our target population,” said Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clinica de La Raza, Inc. “This funding will help us advance the health of the communities that have been affected by the War on Drugs the most.”

“The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) is honored to receive an inaugural GO-Biz California Community Reinvestment Grant. Support from GO-Biz directly impacts our ability to serve over 1,200 formerly incarcerated men and women through comprehensive reentry services such as job placement, mental health treatment, system navigation services, and legal services,” said Sam Lewis, Executive Director of ARC. “Our holistic model is unique in that ARC aims to help our members achieve much more than stability: we empower them to achieve personal transformation and reach their most aspirational career, educational, and personal goals. In partnership with GO-Biz, ARC’s programs will work to break the cycle of incarceration and recidivism so that we can build safer and more equitable communities for all people.”

The CalCRG program is funded by the cannabis excise and cultivation taxes imposed by Revenue and Taxation Code sections 34011 and 34012, respectively. Contingent upon sufficient tax proceeds generated, the future funding for the grant program is as follows:

• $30 million in fiscal year 2020-21 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021)
• $40 million in fiscal year 2021-22 (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022)
• $50 million in fiscal year 2022-23 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) and each year thereafter

As required by the law, at least 50 percent of the grant funding will be allocated to qualified community-based nonprofit

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit, www.business.ca.gov.

Kaitlin Lewis
Assistant Deputy Director of Communications
Email: kaitlin.lewis@gobiz.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 204-2107

Explore more articles by category:  GO-Biz News  |  CalOSBA News  |  Press Releases |  Opinion Editorials

Current members:

• Nely Galán, Founder, Galán Entertainment
• Charles Hudson, Managing Partner and Founder, Precursor Ventures
• Bismarck Lepe, Founder and CEO, Wizeline 
• Teddy Liaw, CEO, NexRep
• Irma Olguin Jr., Co-Founder and CEO, Bitwise Industries
• Carmen Palafox, Partner, MiLA Capital (Make in LA)
• Dilawar Syed, President and CEO, Lumiata and Chair of the Entrepreneurship Task Force

The Task Force, a historic initiative serving as a bridge between the State of California and the entrepreneurial community, will launch a series of listening sessions throughout the state to better connect government and entrepreneurs.

“We must make sure that the California economy continues to grow and prosper in a way that takes everyone into account,” said the Governor’s Chief Economic and Business Advisor and Director of GO-Biz Lenny Mendonca. “By going out and actually listening to entrepreneurs across the state, this Task Force will provide strategic guidance and advice to the State helping improve and modernize interactions with entrepreneurs and small businesses. By doing so, we maintain California’s innovative edge.”

In a May opinion editorial, GO-Biz’s Director of the Office of the Small Business Advocate Isabel Guzman, described the Task Force’s importance.

“Supporting more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems and markets will help deliver stronger outcomes for all entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses,” said Guzman. “With a diverse set of voices connecting government to the private sector, we will amplify successes to inspire the next generation and carve out pathways to success. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are too big to ignore, too big to fail, and too important to California’s future inclusive economy.”

The Task Force is comprised of a broad and diverse group of individuals who represent high-growth businesses as well as small and medium-sized firms from across the state. It is chaired by Dilawar Syed, President and CEO of Lumiata.

“California has led the way as a powerhouse in innovation and entrepreneurship globally. In a changing global dynamic, we must continue to lead with products and services that change the world,” said Syed. “The Entrepreneurship Task Force is a historic bridge between the entrepreneurial community and Sacramento, ensuring next generation businesses have the support they need to succeed.”

Issues tackled by the Task Force will include: retaining and advancing California’s global competitive edge and leadership, addressing barriers to accessing capital, helping open markets, providing resources and enabling strong networks, and tackling marketplace challenges such as promoting a skilled, globally competitive workforce.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit, www.business.ca.gov.

Kaitlin Lewis
Assistant Deputy Director of Communications
Email: kaitlin.lewis@gobiz.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 204-2107

Explore more articles by category:  GO-Biz News  |  CalOSBA News  |  Press Releases |  Opinion Editorials

“Today marks California’s longest job expansion on record — 114 months of job growth. We should celebrate sustained job growth. But it’s the story behind the number that counts, and the headline belies the reality. There is a dramatic diversion across the state in terms of economic opportunity — too many Californians are working hard but still falling behind. As we build a California for all, our fundamental economic objective is to ensure an inclusive economy that works for everyone, now and in years to come. It’s what future generations expect us to do and it’s the California we want to build.”

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit, www.business.ca.gov.

Kaitlin Lewis
Assistant Deputy Director of Communications
Email: kaitlin.lewis@gobiz.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 204-2107

Explore more articles by category:  GO-Biz News  |  CalOSBA News  |  Press Releases |  Opinion Editorials