California Governor Jerry Brown proposed on Thursday what according to him is a job creating package. Shortly thereafter, state Republican leadership was out with their reaction. In this OC180NEWS report, we bring our readers both sides of this important issue.

It is the policy of OC180NEWS to avoid coloring our articles with our opinions on political issues as much as possible. We attempt to present what our politicians say in their own words with minimum spin, whether we agree with them or not.

We will, whenever possible, publish both sides of the issues. But beyond that, we leave it to our readers to assess what our representatives have to say or write. Of course, these political statements from both sides, rarely give any consideration to the opposing side, so readers must understand these statements are by their very nature, almost exclusively biased and one sided. Let the readers beware.

First, here is what the Governor had to say on Thursday, August 25, 2011 about his job package:
“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.”

[End of Governor’s first statement.]

Governor Brown quickly followed this statement with a list of supportive business organizations and quotes. Here is the Governor’s second statement, also issued on Thursday, August 25, 2011:

SACRAMENTO – Following Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.'s proposal of a three-part California Jobs First plan this morning, business leaders expressed overwhelming support for his plan to put Californians to work.

Biocom

"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.”

Boeing

“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.”

California Healthcare Institute

“CHI, representing the biomedical industry in the state, supports Gov. Brown’s effort to incentivize investment in innovation and job growth in California,” said David L. Gollaher, Ph.D., California Healthcare Institute’s president and CEO. “The biomedical industry is one of the strongest sectors in California's hard-hit economy and has been a catalyst for innovation, job growth and revenue that could help lead the state to economic recovery. The governor’s jobs package will provide valuable incentives to promote continued growth for California’s innovator industries.”

Genentech

“This plan creates valuable new incentives for businesses to increase manufacturing in California and hire new workers,” said Andrea Jackson, Director of State Government Affairs at Genentech. “Genentech is pleased that Governor Brown is taking action to restore confidence in California’s economy and to provide more stability and predictability for California businesses.”

SunPower

“The governor has shown great leadership in supporting job growth in the solar industry,” said Tom Werner, SunPower CEO. “With the kinds of policies proposed today, SunPower has expanded to more than 1000 direct jobs, including manufacturing jobs in Silicon Valley. In addition, thousands more solar jobs have been created at our dealers and partners who install the world’s highest efficiency solar systems across the state on homes, businesses, schools and power plants.”

Valley Industry and Commerce Association

“The Governor’s tax package addresses several important reforms needed in the state’s tax law,” said VICA President Stuart Waldman. “Expanding and increasing job-creation tax credits and reducing taxes for manufacturers are exactly the kinds of things government should be doing to help revitalize our economy. Single sales factor apportionment is a matter of tax fairness. If we want to keep businesses in the state we have to takes steps to put local firms on equal footing with their competitors, not give advantages to companies that are based outside our state.”

Representatives from the following companies joined the Governor at this morning’s news conference: Abbott Labs, Bay Bio, Biocom, Boeing, California Healthcare Institute, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Genentech, Solyndra, SunPower, California Teamsters Public Affairs Council and Tesla.

[End of Governor’s second statement.]

Now, to the other side of the coin:

Sacramento – Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton (Rancho Cucamonga) put out the following statement in response to Governor Brown’s “Jobs Plan” announcement:

Attacking one set of job creators, in an attempt to benefit a different set of job creators, is not the heavy-hitting jobs-creation plan that California needs.

Any discussion of amending the single sales factor formula should only occur as part of a comprehensive, bipartisan tax reform effort.

The clock is ticking. Two million Californians remain out of work. Jerry Brown has been governor nearly nine months. As the majority party, the Democrats have declared they're going to tackle job creation on their own.

What counts are results, not talk. California remains stuck at 12 percent unemployment. Instead of leading the national recovery, we're holding it back.

Legislative Democrats have killed nearly every common-sense Republican bill that would spur job creation and improve California’s business climate, including regulatory, pension and CEQA reform.

[End of Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton’s first statement.]

Not to be out done by Brown, the Republicans get two shots as well. The following statement was issued on August 26, 2011.

Sacramento – Since returning from the summer recess, legislative Democrats had the sudden revelation that the last few weeks of session should be dedicated to solving California’s chronic unemployment problem.

In a column by George Skelton from the Los Angeles Times on August 15, Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat from Sacramento, said, “…Everything's got to be about the economy and jobs. It doesn't take any genius to know that should be the legislative focus... We've got to get our arms around regulatory reform.”

“Senate Republicans have been focused on jobs and the economy for years. Democrats’ recent realization is better late than never. We welcome the opportunity to work with legislative Democrats and Governor Jerry Brown to craft a comprehensive bipartisan jobs package to help put the more than two million unemployed Californians back to work,” countered Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton.

While Democrats say they want the remainder of session to be focused on jobs, it might be helpful to look at the scores of job-killer bills Senate Democrats passed this year; bills that California’s leading employers and employment organizations say are bad for job creation and bad for California’s state’s economy.

A sample of job-killer bills Democrats authored and passed so far this year:

SB 104 (Steinberg-D) expands the power of unions, while eliminating individual rights of the employees they are meant to protect.

SB 111 (Yee-D) opens the door to frivolous lawsuits by expanding the Unruh Civil Rights Act to include a person’s language as yet another protected class, along with race, creed, sexual orientation, etc.

SB 469 (Vargas-D) requires cities and counties to prepare an economic impact report before they approve the construction of “Big Box” retailers. At a time when California's unemployment rate still hovers above 12 percent, this bill makes it even more difficult for businesses to expand and create jobs in California.

SB 432 (DeLeon-D) would require hotels to purchase fitted sheets and long-handled bathroom cleaning equipment, as part of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations imposed on all workers in the state of California.

A handful of Democrats joined Republicans in opposition to this sample of job-killer bills, but a majority of Democrats were able to pass them:

SB 829 (DeSaulnier-D) substantially and unfairly disadvantages employers by allowing private parties to interfere with the appeals process in California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) citations, thereby dissuading its use, with potentially major state costs, and potentially devastating legal fees and costs to employers. This bill was opposed by practically every large employer in the state, and we wonder why businesses are fleeing.

SB 508 (Wolk-D) creates uncertainty for California employers making long-term investment decisions by requiring all future tax credits to sunset after ten years, unless reviewed and reinstated by the legislature.

SB 535 (DeLeon-D) basically enacts California’s “Cap and Trade” legislation and funnels that money to a so-called “California Communities Healthy Air Revitalization Trust” in the State Treasury.

SBx1 23 (Committee on Budget) creates uncertainty for taxpayers by providing 58 counties, over 70 community college districts, and over 1,000 school districts, subject to voter approval, the authority to impose and/or increase a local tax on all products and services.

SB 223 (Leno-D) authorizes a county to place on the ballot a measure to impose an additional assessment on vehicles owned by residents of that county.

SB 364 (Yee-D) penalizes companies with more than 100 employees if the business experiences a 10 percent or more reduction in full-time employees over the previous year.

One bill authored by a Democrat, Senate Bill 242, stands alone as a job-killing measure that bipartisan opposition defeated, preventing more damage to the state’s economy.

SB 242 (Corbett-D) would have prohibited a social networking Internet Web site from displaying the home address or telephone number of a registered user of that Internet Web site without consent.

“There are only two weeks left of session to pass bills that help put people back to work, not more legislation that kills jobs. Let’s not waste any more time. Actions speak louder than words,” said Dutton.

[End of Dutton’s second statement.]