With the recent breakdown of budget talks in Sacramento, the California Association of Enterprise Zones (in the person of its President Craig Johnson) is breathing a hesitant and reluctant sigh of relief.  In an e-mail to association members this afternoon, Mr. Johnson states

While elimination of the Enterprise Zone program is not the immediate threat that it has been, it’s critical that our ongoing educational /outreach efforts in Sacramento continue unabated, as we now must be wary of potential statewide ballot initiatives emerging for a November special election.

It is unfortunate that the state’s budget process is limping so pitifully towards . . . what? Elimination of the Enterprise Zone program would make little if any contribution, even in the short-term, towards a solution to California’s real problems. It will be interesting and painful, I fear, to see what kind of solutions ultimately come out of Sacramento in coming weeks and months.
As far as the Enterprise Zone program itself, my office continues to support proactive efforts to reform it. If for nothing else, reform is critical in order to avoid similar political threats to the program in the future. Until business owners can feel confident about the program’s future, opportunities will continue to be lost as expanding businesses look elsewhere.