§ 12099

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Job creation through rapid technology commercialization is a vital part of the state’s economic well-being, as identified in a January 2012 symposium held by the Brookings Institute.

(b) Innovation and tech-driven entrepreneurial activity coupled with venture investment creates small business startups and expansions at an accelerated rate, which leads to significant employment opportunities that contribute to the state’s financial health and economic competitiveness.

(c) In order to maintain a healthy state economy and to aid communities, entrepreneurship and technology-based small businesses must be stimulated and supported.

(d) The Innovation Hubs (iHubs) are operated in California through a cooperative agreement between the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and geographically distinct regions, all of which are partnered with public universities, community college districts, local governments, research institutions, industry, angel and venture capital networks, and traditional financial institutions. The iHubs are California’s premier resource for facilitating the success of entrepreneurial and small technology startups that can grow California’s economy by assisting business owners in creating and retaining jobs, increasing sales and profits, securing business financing, and creating a successful new business climate in the state.

(e) The iHubs’ economic impact in fostering entrepreneurial business activity leads to job creation and an innovation in the economy by establishing a formal partnership between the office and the iHub program.

(f) It is necessary to establish a fund that would enable the office to obtain funding from private sources, for appropriation to state designated iHubs, iHub partner organizations, and within state iHub-designated regions for the purpose of establishing, promoting, and enhancing California’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

(Added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 530, Sec. 1. (AB 250) Effective January 1, 2014.)