Historic 1st Ever California Economic Summit Releases Its Action Plan

It Highlights Seven Signature Initiatives To Improve California's Economy.  

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The first-ever California Economic Summit has issued its Action Plan that will aid immediate job creation and long-term competitiveness for California. The Summit was held May 11 in Santa Clara. Since then Action Team Members from around the state have identified what needs to be done to implement seven  priority areas, called "Signature Initiatives."

"Californians know that our economy should be doing much better. They are ready for action. This plan is not an end but rather is another step in the process of fixing our state," said Lenny Mendonca,  a Director of McKinsey and Company and Chairman of the Summit Steering Committee. "Since the Summit ended only six weeks ago, nearly 300 Californians from around the state have been working on their own time to create this roadmap. It should not and will not be ignored!"

The Signature Initiatives address both immediate and long-term challenges to fixing California's economy:

• Streamline Regulation
• Modernize California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
• Workforce Preparation
• Encourage Innovation
• Raising Capital
• Financing Infrastructure
• Improving Water Infrastructure

The signature initiatives and the 47 recommended implementation steps that are outlined in the report are the result of a true "bottom up" process that began in 14 Regional Forums in California earlier this year.

"Over 1,300 Californians participated in the Forums in an unprecedented effort to bring together the diverse economic regions of California to create an action agenda to help revive California from the bottom up,"  said Becky Morgan, former California State Senator and founder of the California Stewardship Network.  

The California Stewardship Network sponsored the Regional Forums and co-sponsored the Summit with California Forward. Those Californians who attended the Regional Forums were invited to the first California Economic Summit in Santa Clara.

"We are not filing this report and going away. We are committed to working on these implementation steps and getting this economy going again," said Pete Weber, of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley who is co-chair of Action Team on Water Infrastructure. "It's hard work, but hundreds of us are willing to put in the time which we believe will inspire our elected officials to start taking the necessary steps to restore California's leadership in the world economy."  

The final report can be viewed in its entirety at www.caeconomy.org/

The California Economic Summit can also be found on  Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CAeconomy and on Twitter: #caeconomy

The California Economic Summit (www.ca.economy.org)  is an unprecedented effort to develop job creation and increase competitiveness in the state. The framework for the Summit is based upon recent reports developed by the Think Long Committee for California, the Brookings Institute/McKinsey Global Institute, the California Stewardship Network and California Forward. The Summit is hosted by California Forward, a bipartisan government reform effort engaging regional leaders to improve performance and democracy (www.cafwd.org) and the California Stewardship Network, an alliance of regional partnerships promoting California's economic vitality (www.castewardship.org).

Contact:
Ed Coghlan
California Forward
818-489-4774

SOURCE California Economic Summit