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An economic development agency chaired by State Treasurer John Chiang on Tuesday approved nearly $40 million worth of sales tax exclusions for California’s leading electric vehicle maker and a fast-growing space satellite manufacturer. . . The financial assistance program, which frees companies from paying sales-and-use tax on some purchases, is positioning California to reap an employment bonanza by luring both start-up and mature car and aerospace companies back to the state, said Chiang.

Los Angeles County, Calif., led the nation in the number of Hispanic-, Asian-, and American Indian and Alaska Native-owned firms in 2012, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. It also ranked second in the number of black or African American- and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms (after Cook County, Ill., and Honolulu County, Hawaii, respectively).

The total for the 2015-16 tax roll, $5.2 trillion, is a 5.9 percent increase from the previous year’s $4.9 trillion and should generate about $57.3 billion in property taxes for schools and local governments, roughly $3 billion more than the current year’s levies. The state government also benefits because increases in school property taxes reduce the legal requirement for state aid.

Assessed property values in California have jumped six percent over the last year, according to new data released Monday by the state Board of Equalization. That means $3.3 billion in higher revenues for schools and local governments – and higher tax bills for homeowners.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez offered a glimpse Monday of what could be the next chapter in a battle involving workers in the so-called gig economy. Upcoming legislation would allow those workers to collectively bargain for rights like health care – even if they aren’t unionized. . . The forthcoming legislation comes from a political consultant and lawyer with professional ties to organized labor, though this legislation is not pushed by any particular labor group, said Evan McLaughlin, chief of staff to Gonzalez.

It’s to bypass unions entirely and create a new organizing tool that allows groups of gig workers to collectively bargain with the company operating the app. It’s titled the California 1099 Self-Organizing Act — 1099 being the annual tax form independent contractors are supposed to receive from the entity paying them, such as Uber.

Introduced by the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties, and Association of California Water Agencies, the measure comes eight months after an appellate court struck down a Southern California city’s method of charging water users based on a tiered-rate system – essentially charging larger users a higher per-unit rate. . . In the case out of San Juan Capistrano, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled in April that tired rates must correspond to the cost of delivering the service.

In 2013, the latest year for which comprehensive data are available, California ranked fifth among the states in creation of new businesses, fourth in job creation from new businesses and fourth in total job creation.

To meet the city of San Diego’s goals for fighting climate change, a lot of people will have to get out of their cars and start walking, biking or taking public transportation to work.

If motorists do pay more in taxes and fees, they may be disappointed to hear that the money will do little to improve their biggest complaint about roads — traffic. The money under discussion is primarily to keep roads, bridges and related infrastructure like culverts from falling apart, not relieve traffic.

Millions of Californians continue to face economic hardship despite the steady job gains and declining unemployment of recent years. California’s official poverty rate in 2014 stood at 16.4 percent, down slightly from the prior year but still well above the state poverty rate in 2007, the year the Great Recession started in California.

The State of California added 26,700 private sector jobs during the month of November, according to the ADP Regional Employment Report . . .

According to official poverty statistics, 16.4% of Californians lacked enough resources—about $24,000 per year for a family of four—to meet basic needs in 2014. The rate has declined a little from 16.8% in 2013, but it is well above the recent low of 12.4% reached in 2007. Moreover, the official poverty line does not account for California’s housing costs—or other key family needs and resources.

The report’s list of top states for net job creation in 2013 ranks Delaware first, with a job creation rate of 6.4 percent. North Dakota was second with a rate of 4.3 percent, followed by Montana (4.1 percent), California (4 percent) and Idaho (3.8 percent).

In the second quarter, the U.S.’s hottest growth areas traveled toward the coasts where service-oriented sectors like finance and professional services dominate, away from the mining-focused heartland.