Governors Briefs: California Investments Create Nearly 6,000 Jobs and New Governors Appointment

California Invests $149 Million in Cutting-Edge Companies, Creating Nearly 6,000 Jobs

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom Nov. 17 announced that California has awarded more than $149 million in grants and tax credits to 12 innovative companies, creating nearly 6,000 full-time jobs and bringing in an estimated $1.3 billion in private investment over the next five years.

The funding, from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development’s or GO-Biz CalCompetes program, is going to companies expanding their operations in California and advancing the state’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, building the next generation of electric vehicles and electric aircrafts and more.

The California competes tax credit was created in 2013 to help businesses grow and stay in California. GO-Biz evaluates the most competitive applications based on the factors required by statute, including total jobs created, total investment, wages and benefits paid to employees, economic impact, strategic importance and more. In 2022, the program was extended for an additional five years with at least $180 million in tax credits available for allocation to businesses each year through 2028.

The California competes grant program was created in 2021 and extended each of the following two years, with a total of $120 million allocated for the 2023-24 fiscal year. A significant priority for this grant program is to make resources available to businesses who cannot take advantage of a non-refundable tax credit and is one of the state’s main incentive programs to leverage tens of billions of federal funds available under the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors or CHIPS Act, and to encourage growth and expansion of semiconductor manufacturing and research and development in California.

In total, CalCompetes has awarded grants and tax credits to more than 1,200 businesses, creating nearly 165,000 jobs. 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/California-Competes 

Gov. Newsom Announces Appointments
SACRAMENTO — Gov.  Gavin Newsom Nov. 15 announced the following appointment:

William D. Parham, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Governor’s advisory council on physical fitness and mental wellbeing. Parham has been a professor in the School of Education as well as director of the Center for Trauma Informed Education at Loyola Marymount University since 2011. He has served as the inaugural director of the mental health and wellness program for the National Basketball Players Association since 2018. Parham was a psychologist and associate director for the University of California, Los Angeles Counseling and Psychological Services from 1981 to 2006. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and a fellow in three divisions: counseling psychology, society for sport, exercise, and performance psychology, and the society for the psychological study of culture, race, and ethnicity. Parham earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Counseling Psychology from Southern Illinois University, a Master of Arts degree in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Ecology from University of California, Irvine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Parham is a Democrat.