Governor Releases Jobs Package

In her state of the state message Tuesday, Gov. Gregoire said she wanted to create 40,000 new jobs. Yesterday, in Seattle, she presented her plan at the 2010 economic forecast conference of enterpriseSeattle (video here).

The governor outlines her plan in this two-pager. The press release summarizes it this way:

Gregoire’s plan contains a combination of capital investments and financial incentives, including:

• A Business & Occupation tax credit for large capital projects equal to five percent of the project cost. The program will be capped at $100 million, distributed first-come-first-served, and is expected to create 20,000 construction jobs and 5,000 ongoing jobs over the next 3 years.

• Reducing the threshold a company must meet in order to qualify for the Rural County New Employee tax credit from a 15 percent to a 10 percent increase in the number of people they employ.

• A $2,000/new employee tax credit for small businesses that don’t qualify for other incentives.

Along with reducing the Rural County New Employee credit, the tax credit for small businesses is expected to create 15,000 jobs that will help businesses stay open and put more people to work.

At Olympia Business Watch, AWB president Don Brunell writes:

The good news is the Governor recognizes the importance of stimulating the private, tax-paying sector.  AWB believes the private sector must lead our state's recovery and create jobs...

Even though her plan is just a proposal right now, it is a good starting point and deserves our support. Combine that with much needed workers comp reforms, reduced unemployment taxes, holding the line on taxes and fees, regulatory streamlining, and reducing the costs of compliance with state mandates.....and, Washington will be ahead of the rest of the country as we all struggle to recover from this deep recession.

That last point bears repeating. Any jobs plan must incorporate workers' comp reform, a commitment to controlling taxes and business costs, and regulatory streamlining. The governor's plan is a good starting point. So iss the WashACE competitiveness agenda.