GO‑Biz moves California Jobs First from planning to implementation

Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, told the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on State Administration that GO‑Biz is shifting the California Jobs First program from planning to implementation and will continue to coordinate multiagency investments over a 10‑year strategy.

Myers described California Jobs First — formerly the Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) — as the state's first statewide economic development strategy in 20 years and said the administration had moved “from the planning phase into the implementation phase.” She said GO‑Biz has engaged communities and is dedicating resources to follow through on the blueprint.

Why it matters: GO‑Biz framed the initiative as a long‑term, regionally tailored approach to support tradable sectors while strengthening local “anchor” services (child care, health care, housing and workforce development) seen as prerequisites to private investment. The administration said the program has sought to balance investments that accelerate near‑term job creation with strategic “bets” on emerging sectors.

Key details: Derek Kirk, senior advisor for economic policy at GO‑Biz, said the Jobs First effort divided the state into 13 economic regions and engaged more than 10,000 Californians during planning. He described a portfolio of investments across regions and stage‑of‑life sectors and said the administration has focused initial effort on ag tech and farm equipment, life sciences, semiconductors and microelectronics, and space/defense and satellites with an emphasis on advanced and precision manufacturing.

Myers and Kirk provided figures they said tracked planning and early implementation: the legislature's original 2021 investment was $600,000,000 before budget reductions left $450,000,000; GO‑Biz said it has invested $286,000,000 to date, including about $65,000,000 for regional planning and roughly $40,000,000 into pilot projects. The administration said it also provided predevelopment support (described in testimony as $14,000,000 per region for planning gaps) to help communities prepare feasibility and environmental work.

Kirk and Myers emphasized that Jobs First is intended as a 10‑year strategy and that many components will require additional administrative action or future budget requests. They said implementation work is already underway across multiple agencies including the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and requires partnerships with local governments, higher education institutions and private capital.

Quotes and attribution: “The spirit of innovation is core to our brand,” Director Dee Dee Myers told the subcommittee. Senior advisor Derek Kirk said, “California Jobs First is about ensuring that we're building a community led climate forward economy.”

What remains open: Committee members asked how GO‑Biz will evaluate which investments produced net new jobs versus organic growth, and GO‑Biz described reliance on program criteria (for existing incentives such as California Competes) and said it will pursue private and philanthropic co‑investment to leverage state dollars. Specific budget asks for administrative policy changes and some program components were described as future items not included in the hearing's budget action.

Ending: GO‑Biz presented the Jobs First Economic Blueprint as the framework for multi‑year implementation. Committee members signaled interest in outcomes reporting and fiscal accountability as the administration moves from planning to program delivery.