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This tax proposal, like all of them, creates winners and losers and would hurt certain industries disproportionately. Developers, for example, who buy, sell and develop multi-million dollar properties would be hard-hit by this new tax, and I would imagine they’d have some serious objections to it. Warehouse owners would also be hard hit, as would any business that involves a large real-estate footprint in California. Retailers, manufacturers and restauranteurs could all be negatively impacted.

The bill, passed by the Senate on a party-line vote, is clearly aimed at discouraging other local governments from adopting COIN. Those voting for SB 331 are, therefore, voting for more secrecy in how countless billions of dollars in salaries, fringe benefits and pensions are committed.

A reasonable estimate would be $350 billion, equivalent to a sixth of the state’s economic output and over twice the official budget number of $167.6 billion.

CalSTRS said Friday it earned 4.8 percent profit on its investment portfolio in the just-ended fiscal year, its lowest gain in three years.

The “Coffee Break” ring, which allegedly took in $500,000 in fraudulent insurance claims, was broken up, officials said, when an alert California Highway Patrol investigator noticed that too many people in Santa Clara County were spilling too much coffee.

The nation’s largest public pension fund said its investments returned just 2.4% for its fiscal year, ended June 30, far below its 7.5% investment target.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s California Competes program has allocated some $200 million in tax credits in fiscal 2016 for companies to expand in or relocate to California.

For the first time in more than a decade, overall crime is up in Los Angeles through the first six months of the year, rising by about 12%, according to a Times analysis..

California’s cash position was very poor for FY 2013. When including all forms of cash, the state had 1.29 times the amount of cash available to cover short-term expenses, which was almost three times less than the national average. On a fiscal year basis, California had sufficient revenues to cover expenses and ran a slight surplus. But the long-term picture showed several warning signs. Long-term liabilities accounted for nearly 80 percent of the state’s total assets. The largest area of fiscal risk was in California’s state-run pension systems, which had a staggering $636 billion shortfall when calculated on a risk-free or guaranteed-to-be-paid basis. 

California employers’ workers’ compensation insurance premiums jumped by $2 billion in 2014 but payments to workers for job-related injuries and illnesses remained static, while medical costs declined, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.

Relocation plans are up slightly on a year-over-year basis. Thirty percent of the Corporate Survey respondents plan to relocate a domestic facility over the next three years (figure 26). Among the reasons cited for relocation are high taxes (44 percent) and excessive government regulations (29 percent), as well as labor availability (26 percent) and labor costs (24 percent).

Area Development analyzed economic and workforce data for 373 MSAs to determine which U.S. cities are creating jobs and nurturing sustainable economic development. The results of the Leading Locations 2015 study clearly reflect the strength of the western half of the United States: eight of the top-10 MSAs are in the West — three in Colorado, two in California, two in Texas, and one in Washington State.

For several weeks, the groups have complained City Hall isn’t focusing enough on job growth with critics contending Garcetti’s economic team, led by longtime staffer Kelli Bernard, has failed to recruit business or cut red tape for existing companies.

For several weeks, the groups have complained City Hall isn’t focusing enough on job growth with critics contending Garcetti’s economic team, led by longtime staffer Kelli Bernard, has failed to recruit business or cut red tape for existing companies.

The business portal, a tool from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, provides companies with a map to navigate state and federal regulations, and access state assistance in areas like finding a site and accessing agencies that train workers.