CRP Chairman’s Statement on Speaker Perez and Senate President Steinberg’s Lawsuit against State Controller John Chiang

SACRAMENTO, CA – California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro today issued the following statement in regards to Assembly Speaker Perez and Senate President Darrell Steinberg's lawsuit against State Controller John Chiang:

  

"This cynical lawsuit seeks to chill the efforts of the Controller's office and makes a mockery of Prop 25. We could benefit from a more robust State Controller that audits our government programs and looks for savings in every corner. Rather than blame the Controller for last year’s illusory budget, the Democrats should look for positive ways to ensure reform in this year's budget."

Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Streamline Environmental Review and Fast-Track Job Creation

LOS ANGELES – Taking action to fast-track the creation of thousands of jobs, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed legislation to streamline environmental review for key construction projects. The two bills, signed during a ceremony at the proposed site of the Farmers Field stadium, are expected to drive hundreds of millions in economic investment while ensuring all projects meet California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) criteria.

“It’s time for big thinking and big projects that put Californians back to work,” said Governor Brown. “Projects like Farmers Field can create thousands of jobs during a tough economic time, so it is imperative for the state to cut the red tape that could delay projects like this for years. These bills strike the right balance between protecting our environment and kick-starting jobs and investment in California.”

Governor Brown signed the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011, AB 900, during a ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center, at the proposed site of the Farmers Field stadium. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Joan Buchanan (D-San Ramon) and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), establishes an expedited regulatory review for projects designated by the Governor as “leadership projects.”

Under AB 900, these projects are not exempt from CEQA, but will go through a fast-track judicial review process in California’s Court of Appeal.

The Governor also signed SB 292 by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), which designates the Farmers Field NFL football stadium as a leadership project subject to a streamlined review that mirrors AB 900. It enacts a strict set of criteria for the stadium’s construction, requires the project to be carbon neutral, mitigates impacts on traffic and air quality, and establishes a less onerous review process. The only review timeframe reduced by SB 292 impacts the City of Los Angeles and the developer, who will now have 5 days—rather than 30—to reply to project challengers, who retain the timeframes already laid out by CEQA.

“I’m pleased the Governor has signed the legislation to move the Farmers Field and Convention Center Project forward in a way consistent with California’s environmental laws,” said Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles). “This project will create 23,000 jobs for our economy while building the most environmentally advanced stadium in the United States. This stadium will be a source of pride for every Californian.”

“There is no more important priority than creating jobs for Californians and growing our economy,” said Senator Steinberg. “These bills will create tens of thousands of new jobs for hardworking people in Los Angeles and throughout our state, while also respecting the quality of life and environment California is famous for around the world.”

Construction of the 68,000 seat stadium is expected to generate more than 10,000 jobs, bringing in an estimated $40 million a year to the city, county and state. AEG’s design for Farmers Field would make it “the most environmentally friendly stadium in the nation,” a LEED-certified facility with a net zero carbon footprint.

Governor Brown Proposes California Jobs First Package to Spur Local Job Creation

SACRAMENTO – Taking action to put Californians to work, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today proposed a three-part California Jobs First plan that offers over $1 billion a year in tax relief for businesses that create jobs in the state.

“Boosting job growth in California is a top priority, and this proposal is a critical step in making sure the state does everything it can to support local job creation,” said Brown. “Our state has added 116,000 jobs since January, but we must do more to build economic momentum. This legislation would expand a currently existing job credit to make it more effective while adding new tax incentives for growth in the manufacturing sector.”

The first part of the California Jobs First plan reforms and expands an underutilized tax credit for small businesses worth hundreds of millions of dollars. To date, much of this funding has been left on the table because too many small businesses were excluded from the credit. The Governor’s plan expands eligibility to small businesses with up to 50 employees (up from 20) and the credit for each new hire will jump from $3,000 to $4,000. These changes will encourage small businesses to hire immediately, as the credit will expire at the end of 2013.

The second part of the California Jobs First plan will give California’s economy an immediate shot in the arm by providing over $1 billion in tax relief to businesses that purchase new manufacturing equipment. The plan exempts start-ups in their first three years from the state portion of sales tax (3.9375 percent)—and provides an exemption of 3 percent for all other firms— on manufacturing equipment purchases. The exemptions will drive innovation, investment and growth by targeting many of California’s most dynamic industries, including manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, clean energy and software.

The backbone of the California Jobs First plan is the application of the Mandatory Single Sales Factor (SSF) to all businesses in California. This change levels the playing field by eliminating what Governor Brown called “an outrageous and perverse tax incentive that encourages multi-state businesses to create jobs outside of the state.” This places California-based businesses at a competitive disadvantage and is a disincentive for out-of-state businesses to locate jobs here.

The revenues produced by closing this loophole will fund the expansion of the small business tax credits for new hires and the sales tax exemption for manufacturing equipment.

“Job creation is essential to our economic recovery and future budget stability,” said Senate Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg. “Our tax laws should reflect that reality, rather than provide incentives for companies to increase their profits within California by investing and creating jobs outside of California.”

“Democrats in the Legislature fought hard all Spring and Summer to enact the Governor’s budget proposals to close the Single Sales Factor loophole and to generate in-state jobs – but the efforts fell short when no Republicans would step forward to support a compromise that would help California businesses,” said Speaker John A. Pérez. “It’s time to enact this common-sense plan that puts California’s economy and our jobs ahead of out-of-state tax loopholes.”

Governor Brown’s proposal drew immediate praise from California job creators.

“As a company with several major manufacturing sites in this state, Boeing applauds the governor’s initiative to support manufacturing in California,” said Jeff Sweet, Director of California Government Relations for the Boeing Company. “He understands the need for consistency and certainty to spur investment and job growth, and is seeking solutions that will help accomplish that goal.”

"The package proposed by the Governor will make California more competitive with other states and provide a foundation upon which we can rebuild California's job base,” said Joe Panetta, President and CEO, BIOCOM, “Governor Brown is to be commended for putting the strength of his office into these efforts.”

In addition to the California Jobs First plan, the Governor has taken other actions to help put Californians to work. He spent the first seven months of the year working hard to deliver an honest, on-time balanced budget that stabilized the state’s finances and provided certainty to business leaders. Rating agencies shifted California’s status from “negative” to “stable” as a result. Last week, the Governor appointed Michael E. Rossi as the Senior Advisor for Jobs and Business Development in his office. This follows the plan the Governor introduced last year to create hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2020.

They Said It! Democrat Senate President Proclaims Ownership of California's Unemployment Crisis!

As California’s double-digit unemployment continues, Democrat Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told capitol reporters during a press briefing last Monday that Democrats will focus on job creation on their own, without input from Republicans:

"We intend on our own, as the majority party, to do all that we can, to put people back to work." [AUDIO]

But as quickly as Steinberg announced Democrats are now assuming full responsibility for job creation in California, he also made it clear not to expect much in the way of results:

"I don’t want to oversell though in the sense that um, you see how the national government is struggling to figure out to impact the unemployment numbers. California on its own, and certainly not in three and a half weeks, and certainly not with, you know, a series of bills, is going to turn that around overnight, but we have to do our part." [AUDIO]

More than two million Californians have lost their jobs in the past three years. Steinberg says that after six months of failed efforts to raise taxes, Democrats will now generously devote the remaining three weeks of the legislative session to job creation.

"These are three and a half very important weeks, and they’re weeks where our focus must be on doing everything we can to help the economy and put people back to work." [AUDIO]

A mere seven weeks after Democrat lawmakers passed their state budget plan, signed into law by Democrat Governor Jerry Brown, it’s collapsing under the weight of its rosy economic assumptions. According to State Controller John Chiang, the state took in about $4.7 billion in tax revenues in July, $538.8 million below 2011 budget projections.

Yet Steinberg still claims his flawed plan will be the key to California’s economic recovery:

"While balancing the budget is probably the most important thing we can do to maintain, you know, to instill confidence, that we also have a lot of legislative tools here to put people back to work." [AUDIO]

While Democrats were busy trying to raise taxes, Republicans were working to create jobs. But our common sense Republican-authored job creation bills for curbing frivolous lawsuits, increasing worker flexibility, analyzing regulatory impacts, and more were routinely killed in Democrat-dominated committees.

"How do we, in a responsible way, provide an economic impact analysis, that is standard, that is standardized across state agencies, whenever a new regulation is put forward?" [AUDIO]

And, even while Steinberg says Democrats will be focusing on job creation, at the same time they’ll be considering 13 more pieces of Democrat-authored legislation the California Chamber of Commerce has declared to be Job Killer bills. Cal Chamber’s 2011 Job Killers List.

Link to the full video of Monday’s press briefing: on.cagop.org/pYsNNg