(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) Californiaâs economic development organizations and corporations are an integral component of the state job creation effort because they are a critical link between state economic development activities and the statewide business community, providing an excellent opportunity to leverage state resources. (2) Economic development corporations and organizations provide broad public benefits to the residents of this state by alleviating unemployment, encouraging private investment, and diversifying local economies. (3) Economic development corporations engage in a wide range of programs and strategies to attract, retain, and expand businesses, including marketing the community, small business lending, and other financial services, a wide range of technical assistance to small business, preparation of economic data, and business advocacy. (4) By using public sector resources and powers to reduce the risks and costs that could prohibit investment, the public sector often sets the stage for employment-generating investment by the private sector. (b) For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply: (1) âLocal economic development organizationâ means a public or public-private job creation activity recognized by cities and counties as the lead agency within that city or county for planning and implementation of job creation involving business expansion, business retention, and new business development. (2) âRegional economic development organizationâ means an organization comprised of any of the following: (A) A single county. (B) More than one county. (C) A subregion within a county established by the cities and county within that subregion. (D) An economic development corporation. (3) âEconomic development corporationâ means a local or regional nonprofit public-private economic development organization recognized in a defined region by the public and private sector as the lead agency for the planning and implementation of job creation involving business retention and new business development. (4) âRegional economic development corporationâ means a corporation comprised of any of the following: (A) A single county. (B) More than one county. (C) A subregion within a single county established by a group of cities and counties. (5) âEconomic developmentâ means any activity that enhances the factors of productive capacity, such as land, labor, capital, and technology, of a national, state, or local economy. âEconomic developmentâ includes policies and programs expressly directed at improving the business climate in business finance, marketing, neighborhood development, small business development, business retention and expansion, technology transfer, and real estate redevelopment. âEconomic developmentâ is an investment program designed to leverage private sector capital in such a way as to induce actions that have a positive effect on the level of business activity, employment, income distribution, and fiscal solvency of the community. (6) âLocal economic developmentâ is a process of deliberate intervention in the normal economic process of a particular locality to stimulate economic growth of the locality by making it more attractive, resulting in more jobs, wealth, better quality of life, and fiscal solvency. Prime examples of economic development include business attraction, business expansion and retention, and business creation. (7) âEmerging domestic marketâ means people, places, or business enterprises with growth potential that face capital constraints due to systemic undervaluations as a result of imperfect market information. These markets include, but are not limited to, ethnic-owned and women-owned firms, urban and rural communities, companies that serve low-income or moderate-income populations, and other small- and medium-sized businesses. (8) âFinancial intermediaryâ means an institution, firm, or
‹ Prev All California sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.