Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez was awarded the Legislator of the Year Award by the California Association of Enterprise Zones at their annual conference in San Bernardino.

As reported in the Imperial Valley News:

San Bernardino, California – The California Association of Enterprise Zones (CAEZ) is honoring Assemblymember V. Manuel Pérez as “Legislator of the Year” for advocating for economic growth, jobs, and the California Enterprise Zone program. Assemblymember Pérez will accept his award at 4 p.m. today during CAEZ’s annual training conference in San Bernardino. Pérez offered the following statement about the award:

“It is truly an honor to be recognized by the California Association of Enterprise Zones, whose members are on the front lines of economic development and job creation in struggling communities. I believe in local economic development because that’s where job creation really happens, and as chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, I see my role as helping to empower the job creators with the tools they need to expand and grow. I have spent a lot of time in low-income communities, both growing up in a working poor family and then later working on behalf of these communities. Time and again, I have seen the transformative effect that comes from having a decent job and being able to provide for one’s family. I understand how valuable the Enterprise Zone program is for the revitalization of neighborhoods and communities. I am committed to working in partnership with zone administrators, local governments, and the business community to get Main Street thriving and communities back to work.”

Of the 42 Enterprise Zones located throughout the state of California, three are located in the 80th Assembly District — one in the Coachella Valley and two serving Imperial County. The three managers that oversee those zones are attending the CAEZ conference and today’s awards ceremony. They offered their congratulations to Pérez, expressing appreciation for his work and advocacy.

“As Chair of the Jobs Committee, our Assemblyman Manuel Pérez has been a true champion for business and job creation in the Coachella Valley,” said Mark Weber, Manager of the Coachella Valley Enterprise Zone. “I look forward to working with him and his talented staff to preserve his efforts this past year safeguarding one of the last job creation programs California has, our Enterprise Zones.”

“Assemblymember Pérez is certainly deserving of this honor,” said Diane Cason, Manager of the Imperial Valley Enterprise Zone. “He has been a strong advocate in Sacramento for the Enterprise Zone program. He and his staff have taken the time to understand the program and to listen to both the zone managers and the businesses benefiting from the zone incentives. He has taken this understanding and educated others in Sacramento. With his help, we hope to make the Enterprise Zone program even more effective in the future.”

“The CAEZ is fortunate to have Assemblymember Pérez representing the 80th district. With three Enterprise Zones in his district he has an understanding of the benefits the program can provide for local businesses, as well as to attract new business to the area,” said Danny Fitzgerald, Manager of the Calexico County Enterprise Zone.

The CAEZ is a non-profit organization formed in 1990 to advance economic development through the effective implementation of the Enterprise Zone program.

About this award, CAEZ President Craig Johnson noted, “During the last two years, Assemblymember Manuel Pérez has been instrumental in preserving the Enterprise Zone program for the thousands of California businesses and jobs that depend on it. We honor him as our Legislator of the Year for his continued support and dedication to building a healthy business climate and ensuring that businesses have the means to remain stable and grow.”

State Senator Denise Ducheny will also be honored at the event as “CAEZ Legislative Champion” for her many years of hard work as a member of the California State Legislature.

The Enterprise Zone Program was established to encourage investment, growth, development and job creation in economically distressed areas of the state. The program offers employers business and tax incentives to site in designated communities (“zones”) and to employ local residents. There are 42 zones in California and thousands of businesses located within them that may be eligible for the program. Approximately 1.5 million people work in California’s Enterprise Zones, accounting for 10 percent of the state’s workforce.

Held at the San Bernardino Hilton Hotel, this year’s CAEZ annual training conference is a three-day event dedicated to discussing opportunities to enhance the program and its effort to spur economic development and support businesses that provide good-paying jobs. Local elected officials and economic development professionals, business leaders, state lobbyists, tax credit consultants, accountants and Enterprise Zone administrators from around the state will be in attendance.

Here on the first day of the 2010 CAEZ Conference, the Board of Directors has announced the results of its elections for the coming year.

The new additions to the board are:

Laura Biery of the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone
Daniel Fitzgerald of the Calexico Enterprise Zone
Andrew Myrick of the Salinas Valley Enterprise Zone
and Mark Weber of the Coachella Valley Enterprise Zone

Reelected board members were:

Kelly Trevino of the Fresno Enterprise Zone
Mary Hansen of the Yuba Sutter Enterprise Zone

The other six board members will continue to server for the second year of their two-year terms.

Newly elected board members pictured from left Mark Weber, Andy Myrick, and Danny Fitzgerald.

The next quarterly CAEZ board meeting will be this Thursday in Sacramento. We are planning on having a detailed update on the current state of pending Enterprise Zone related legislation.

Here is the new CAEZ Newsletter for July 2010.

This edition features a Q&A with Larry Kosmont, President and CEO of the Kosmont Companies, and author of the Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey, which is recognized as the industry standard for comparing city taxes and economic incentives.

Q. CAEZ: In today’s Economy, how important are incentives, such as those offered by the California Enterprise Zone, to businesses deciding to move, invest in real estate, etc.?

A. Larry Kosmont: Particularly in the economic climate we are in today, incentives are vital to the decision making process for companies in California. In spite of the need for companies to invest in hiring, capital expenditures, and other factors which will compound their long term growth, many companies are delaying and/or minimizing expenditures – thus impeding economic growth. Often, we are seeing businesses make investments when they are able to take advantage of economic incentives such as Enterprise Zone tax credits. We have seen firsthand how Enterprise Zone tax credits have influenced businesses to move into the communities that need economic growth the most.

Here is the new CAEZ Newsletter for May 2010.

Check it out. Very nice.

Here is a link to the final 2009 CAEZ Conference brochure and schedule.  See you in Fresno.

CAEZ President Craig Johnson appeared on KTIE News Radio last Friday, here’s the audio:

At yesterday’s CAEZ Board meeting we were once again treated to an update from Frank Luera at HCD.

• Of the 31 zones designated in 2006-2008, 16 remain only conditionally designated.
• The deadline for applications in the 2009 round is March 27.  There are four slots available and HCD expects the round to be “highly competitive;” they have received close to 30 serious inquiries.
• There will be a 2010 application round with two open slots.
• A process has been initiated to amend the vouchering regulations.  The primary issue is to replace the I-9 form as acceptable documentation for TEA with the W-4 form.  There is also a process underway to develop regulations for the establishment of TEAs and for the expansion of zones.
• There have been some staff changes at HCD, and due to a general hiring freeze, open positions remain unfilled.

As in past years, the CAEZ Conference had the benefit of receiving updates from Frank Luera of HCD and Jeannie Harriman of FTB.

HCD expects the final application for the next round of zone designations to be released as early as the week of Oct. 27.  Those applications would then be due sometime next March or April.

As noted before, HCD is still working with the LAMBRAs to reexamine what ought to be the correct designation dates of those zones.

In addition, we should expect HCD to begin a process of modifying the vouchering regulations.  While the main impetus for doing so is to codify the allowance of the W4 form, there will likely be an opportunity to revisit many of the issues dealt with in the regulations.  That should be fun.

How does the current economic climate effect the program?  HCD feels that the Governor is actually embracing the program to an even greater degree than in the past and views it as an important part of an economic stimulus.

Most of the discussion with FTB centered around trying to understand the technical implications of the new budget and AB 1452 with SBX1 28.  Both the NOL suspension and the 50% usage limitation will not apply to taxpayers with “net business income” less than $500,000.  FTB is still not entirely certain how to define “net business income,” and will hopefully have some guidence out for us in the near future.

The requirement to file IRS forms 8886 and 8918 were reiterated (see also FTB Notice 2008-1).

When asked if the current budget troubles are resulting in an increase in FTB audits of credits, Jeannie answered that in fact the FTB is “winding down” their heightened interest in hiring credits.  FTB is operating with increased confidence in vouchers issued since the implementation of vouchering regulations in January 2007.  As more and more returns are filed based on vouchers issued subsequent to the regulations, FTB is reducing its audit activity with regard to the credits.

I have just returned from another great CAEZ Conference, this year in beautiful Long Beach. First of all, congratulations to Craig Johnson for hosting a very successful conference as well as being elected the new President of CAEZ.  Congratulations also to Kelly Trevino of Fresno on her election to the CAEZ Board.  Fresno, incidentally, will be the site of the 2009 CAEZ Conference.  I am honored to have the opportunity to serve along with them as a new Board Advisor.

Over the next week or so (because I’m busy) I will try to fill in the various updates we got from HCD, FTB and the zones.

Don’t forget to register for the CAEZ Conference in Long Beach October 22-24.

When did CAEZ get expanded powers?

In early 2008, the Salinas Valley received a conditional Enterprise Zone designation. Final designation from the California Association of Enterprise Zones is expected soon.

Here is a press release issued today by the California Association of Enterprise Zones:

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept 29, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Commenting on the state budget just passed, “The California Association of Enterprise Zones (CAEZ) appreciates that the Governor and the Legislature could have considered larger and additional cuts to various economic programs throughout the state and did manage to keep many programs intact, including the Enterprise Zone (EZ) Program,” said Lydia Moreno, San Diego Enterprise Zone Coordinator. “However, we are concerned about the impact of the various tax credit and Net Operating Loss provisions of the budget and how they will impact small businesses in our state, especially those located in EZs, which are comprised of distressed communities.” As managers of the EZs in California, the CAEZ is keenly aware of the difficult decisions that had to be made during this tough budget year.
With the highest unemployment rate in the history of California of 7.7 percent, putting the state in a tie with Mississippi for the third-highest jobless rate in the U.S., now is the worst time to add to the costs of doing business in our state. Lydia continued, “We are concerned these small businesses will face higher costs and will have trouble making ends meet, which could impact their ability to keep and retain employees. Even the businesses within EZs, where there have been added benefits for employers to stimulate job growth in the highest unemployment areas, will not be able to take advantage of those cost-cutting measures. Additionally, attracting companies to California will be difficult.”
“In rural areas, it’s worse,” said Tonya Dowse, Siskiyou County Economic Development Director and EZ Coordinator. “The jobless rates already are high in our area. At least being in an EZ had helped to attract businesses that might not have come here. Now the benefits of being in an EZ truly are hindered.”
“We look forward to working with the Legislature next year to find solutions that will help stimulate our economy and grow jobs. Additional jobs will help keep California strong by infusing more revenue into the state to help keep important programs that serve the people,” said Lydia Moreno.

Just in from Long Beach: Paul Codiga, Key Location Manager for the hit TV series “CSI: Miami” will be be keynote speaker for the 2008 CAEZ Conference.

Registration for the conference is already available online.