State Senator Kevin de León introduced a bill to establish the first "Green Bank" in California, a proposal to increase the amount of clean energy at a low cost and encourage private investment by reducing the overall risk of clean energy projects.

The first-ever ABS backed by property tax assessments funding residential renewable and efficient energy projects - known as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans - priced last week.

The "Tax Reform Act of 2014" recently proposed by Rep. David Camp would eliminate or seriously reduce the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds that California and other states rely upon to build public and private projects.

California's Chief of Business and Economic Development outlined the state's new business-boosting programs and incentives. Those include a sales and use tax exemption for equipment, a new employment tax credit, and an income tax credit for businesses that move to or expand in California.

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted this week to pull out of the Tulare County Economic Development Corp. The independent agency has lost the support of the county itself after 31 years of affiliation.

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The 2013 Feature Film Production Study by FilmL.A. analyzes a sample of 108 US. feature films released theatrically last year, identifying where they were filmed, how much was spent to produce them and how many jobs they sustained during production. The report also analyzes California's current attractiveness to feature film producers.

Wells Fargo reports California's economy continues to grow at a pace slightly ahead of the nation's. Technology, tourism and retail trade have led the recovery in job growth in recent years, which has helped trim the unemployment rate and revive housing demand. Preliminary figures showed job growth moderating during the second half of the year while also gains broadening across more industries.

An asset map is being developed as an economic development tool for Imperial County, San Diego County and Baja California. This map is a marketing tool to show businesses the kind of support they would already have around them if they chose to locate to the mega-region. Although in-progress, the map already has multiple layers of valuable information and is being updated constantly.

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