California Main Street Program.

(1) Existing law authorizes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to develop content for public dissemination to provide information and resources to inform the general public about place-based and other specified geographically targeted economic development programs. This bill would include among those specified programs the California Main Street Program, which is administered by the State Office of Historic Preservation, and cultural districts certified by the Arts Council. (2) Existing law requires the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to annually convene specified individuals from various programs and agencies to discuss how California can leverage Promise Zones and Opportunity Zones to meet state and local community and economic development needs. Existing law requires the convention topics to include discussions on enhanced engagement opportunities and targeted outreach to assist designated areas in their efforts to access state resources and services. This bill would additionally require these discussions to address leveraging those programs identified above, and would provide that convention topics on efforts to access state resources and services includes creating vibrant and resilient areas, including, but not limited to, successful entrepreneurial ecosystems, as defined. (3) Existing law establishes the California Main Street Program within the State Office of Historic Preservation, and requires that program to provide technical assistance and training for small cities' government, business organizations, merchants, and property owners to accomplish community and economic revitalization and development of older central and historic business districts and neighborhoods. This bill would specify that those older central and historic business districts are located in rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods. The bill would authorize the State Office of Historical Preservation to collaborate with the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to determine how the California Main Street Program can support business development by providing, among other things, economic and demographic data.