Neel Kashkari's Jobs Plan

By Neel Kashkari

By putting people back to work, strengthening the state's tax base, and generating a more reliable revenue stream, California can regain its economic footing and have a stable platform from which to initiate a tax reform process that lowers rates and supports broad economic growth. California is uniquely positioned to execute a real economic comeback. With a breadth of industries that includes agriculture, manufacturing, technology, financial services, and entertainment, among many others, there is a strong base on which to launch a turnaround.

My Jobs Plan champions 10 reforms that will unleash the private sector to put Californians back to work and rebuild the middle class:

Manufacturing

1. Make California a jobs magnet by attracting new companies and encouraging existing manufacturers to expand here at home.

• Attracting new companies. For any existing business currently operating outside of California that moves to California and brings at least 100 new jobs, that company will be free from paying any state corporate taxes associated with the income generated by its new California operation for 10 years. This program will include strict anti-fraud and anti-abuse protections to make sure only companies that bring and keep at least 100 jobs to California will qualify.

• Encouraging existing manufacturing to expand here at home.Any existing California company that opens a new manufacturing facility in the state will operate free from any state corporate taxes associated with the income generated by its new California manufacturing facility for 10 years. Anti-fraud and anti-abuse protections will ensure only new, incremental manufacturing production will qualify.

Water

3. Ask voters to cancel high-speed rail and redirect bond money toward critical water storage projects, while working with Washington to craft a cost-sharing agreement. Put high-speed rail back on the ballot, empowering the people of California to reject the misguided project. Neel will ask voters to approve a plan using the bond money + up to $9.95 billion as was originally approved for high-speed rail + for water storage to strengthen California's ability to cope with and manage an unreliable and highly volatile water supply. Neel will also work with the state's congressional delegation to partner with the federal government to craft a cost-sharing arrangement.

4. Fully utilize current reservoir capacity. Clear existing reservoirs of sediment that currently reduces water storage capacity. Costs associated with restoring existing reservoirs to their full capacity will be included in the water bond dedicated to increasing water storage across the state.

Natural Resources

5. Support safe development of the Monterey Shale Formation.Advocate for the environmentally sound development of the Monterey Shale formation, partnering with industry to ensure that the interests of environmental protection and economic growth work in partnership to serve the people of California.

6. Create an Energy & Environment Jobs Taskforce to identify impediments to the rapid development of this critical sector.Comprised of experts from the energy industry, the environmental sector, and the state government, the Taskforce's mission will be to accelerate the environmentally sound development of California's energy resources to spur rapid job creation in the state. The Taskforce will report directly to the governor and will issue a preliminary report within 100 days of inauguration identifying obstacles to the urgent creation of energy jobs in California. It will then issue quarterly reports monitoring progress and identifying new obstacles as they emerge. The Taskforce will continue its urgent work until at least 500,000 jobs have been created in the California energy industry with the option to continue, if industry, environmental, and state leaders deem it appropriate in consultation with the governor.

Regulatory Relief

7. Impose a 10-year mandatory regulatory sunset and review to achieve regulatory neutrality. Reform the regulatory system by spearheading a law that will require a 10-year rolling regulatory sunset whereby all regulations are evaluated in light of changing economic conditions, evidence that the regulation is ineffective, or at the emergence of a superseding federal regulation that may require better coordination. Specifically, every existing and future regulation will automatically sunset on its 10-year anniversary unless the Little Hoover Commission reviews the regulation and votes to keep it through a two-thirds majority.

8. Reform CEQA to provide a fair and certain process for all.Champion CEQA reform that ends abusive lawsuits and provides process certainty to all, not just well-connected interests that are able to win the special favor of the governor and powerful legislators. To that end, all projects that come under CEQA challenge should be afforded the same injunctive relief and expedited review process that the Sacramento arena warranted.

9. Adopt Flex Time rules to allow greater cooperation between employers and workers. Replace the restrictive eight-hour work day with a 40-hour work week, where overtime is triggered after a worker exceeds 40 hours of work within a given work week. This flexibility will empower workers with the ability to better balance their work and personal lives while maximizing earning capacity and strengthening the jobs market.

10. Improve the state's jobs climate by capping non-economic personal injury rewards at $250,000 to match the state's medical malpractice regime. Promote symmetry in the legal system by aligning non-economic awards for personal injury cases with the current $250,000 cap on medical malpractice claims. Similar to reforms ushered in through the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, economic damages may still be fully compensated. This will not only help ensure victims the ability to win fair and appropriate compensation for their injuries, but capping non-economic damages on personal injury cases will also strengthen the jobs climate by providing more certainty to businesses + especially small businesses that bear a disproportionate burden of costs associated with the tort system.