(Photo Credit: Violeta Vaqueiro)
The California Economic Summit will attract regional civic and business leaders from across California to Sacramento on Tuesday to meet with state elected officials about ways to improve the state’s economy.
The unprecedented convening will discuss nine proposals to advance the state’s prosperity.
The California Economic Summit was conceived three years ago by California Forward and the California Stewardship Network to strengthen the state’s economy with the goal of creating more middle-class jobs.
On Tuesday, the issues of workforce, manufacturing, housing, infrastructure and water take center stage at the California Economic Summit – Capitol Day.
The Summit was founded upon one basic premise—the answer to California’s economic challenges is found through the active participation of civic and business leaders in the state’s many regional economies.
“While the economic recovery has been successful in some regions, it has also been uneven, with many of California’s inland communities lagging behind,” said Paul Granillo, president and CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership and chair of the California Stewardship Network. “The growing number of individuals, organizations, elected officials and business leaders involved in this project is an indication of the significance of the regional approach.”
The Summit Plan to Advance Prosperity in 2014 was developed to advance the following policy initiatives:
- Developing a 21st Century Workforce
- Advancing Manufacturing
- Creating Efficiencies Within the Regulatory Environment
- Improving Access to Capital
- Modernizing the State’s Infrastructure
- Increasing the Supply and Affordability of Housing
Enhancing the Working Landscapes Interface between Rural and Urban Regions.
The Prosperity Plan details nine Summit proposals within these policy initiatives that will serve as the foundation to rebuild California’s struggling middle class. While all nine proposals were examined, workforce, manufacturing, housing, infrastructure and water will be highlighted Tuesday through three separate discussion panels directed by key regional leaders.
The sessions slated for Tuesday include: “Training Workers for the Next Economy—How to quickly grow California’s workforce to capture and keep manufacturing jobs”;” Making the Promise of SB 375 a Reality: How to finance housing, transportation and sustainable communities”; “Water and Working Landscapes: How to make sure drought investments put California on a path to water sustainability.”
The Summit, which previously had statewide meeting in Santa Clara (2012) and Los Angeles (2013), is a unique year-round effort involves hundreds of regional leaders from across California.
“In its third year, we are pleased the California Economic Summit has become a part of the state’s economic landscape and we look forward to continuing our work to influence complex public policies that further investments in quality jobs,” said James Mayer, president and CEO of CA Fwd.
