Working in Partnership to Create Jobs

By Elaine White Alquist

The private sector -- not government -- is the engine of job creation in Santa Clara County.

I have pushed for more high-tech jobs through more business capital. Recognizing that half of all new jobs are created in the small business sector, I strongly backed a bill to empower small and start-up businesses with new capital.

I have also worked to streamline unreasonable regulations. I believe that government and local business should work together to keep California's air clean. I fought for a bill which encourages consistency between local, state and federal clean air standards, thereby reducing the high cost of compliance for Silicon Valley companies.

And I have demanded more accountability in state government's procurement of computer systems. As Chair of the Assembly Information Technology Committee, I led the investigation into the problem-plagued Statewide Automated Child Support Systems or SACSS, the largest and most expensive state-run information technology project in history. I helped save California's taxpayers more than $200 million.

As a member of the Revenue and Taxation Committee, I have stood up for high-tech tax relief. In California, technological innovation has created thousands of jobs and improved the quality of life for working families. To ensure our state continues its investment in high-tech research and development, I co-authored a bill to remove prohibitive tax barriers to private information technology research.