AB 2757: Southeast California Economic Region.

Existing law establishes the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, to, among other duties, serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. In this regard, existing law authorizes GO-Biz to develop content on its internet website or through other mediums to be used for public dissemination, through outreach activities, in order to provide information and resources to inform the general public about place-based and other geographically targeted economic development programs, including California Promise Zones and California Opportunity Zones. Existing law requires the office to convene, at least annually, representatives from various programs and agencies across the state and from various federal programs and agencies for the purpose of discussing how California can leverage promise zones and opportunity zones to meet state and local community and economic development needs.

Existing law establishes the Community Economic Resilience Fund Program, within the Workforce Services Branch of the Employment Development Department, to build an equitable and sustainable economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 on Californias industries, workers, and communities, and to provide for the durability of that recovery by fostering long-term economic resilience in the overall transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Existing law requires the Community Economic Resilience Fund Program to be administered by Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Office of Planning and Research, and GO-Biz. Existing law refers to these 3 agencies as the Inter-Agency Leadership Team.

This bill would, until January 1, 2030, designate the Southeast California Economic Region, as specified, and would state that its purpose is to, among other things, better align state and federal programs, services, and funding within those communities most impacted by the extraction and processing of lithium and other minerals from the Salton Sea and additional clean energy development in the surrounding areas within the region. The bill would require the Inter-Agency Leadership Team, on or before September 1, 2025, to prepare a list of state programs that use the Southeast California Economic Region designation for planning and funding purposes, as specified. The bill would authorize the Southeast California Economic Region to facilitate regional collaboration on developing a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development, as described.

The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Imperial.