Economic development.

(1) The Economic Revitalization Act establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as "GO-Biz," to, among other duties, serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law establishes the California Economic Development Fund holding funds that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, GO-Biz may use for economic development purposes, as specified. This bill would create the California Innovation Hub Program (iHub Program) within GO-Biz to create regional offices that would provide specialized counseling, training, and networking services to assist entrepreneurs establish and grow businesses for local and in-state job retention, creation, and future expansion. This bill would authorize GO-Biz, in collaboration with the Department of General Services, to identify unoccupied and underutilized real property owned or leased by the state, and use that real property to support the iHub Program, as specified. This bill would modify the California Economic Development Fund to be a continuously appropriated fund for the economic development purposes of GO-Biz, and in doing so, would make an appropriation. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for certain research and development expenses, as provided. This bill would, for taxable years commencing on and after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2019, increase the credit for research and development expenses, as provided. (3) This bill would provide that the provisions of this bill are severable. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.