AB 1477 — Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development: California Competes Grant Program
Status (as of 2025-04-22)
- Introduced: 2025-02-21
- Last action: From Assembly Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact Committee — do pass and re-refer to Appropriations with recommendation: to Consent Calendar (Ayes 8, Noes 0). Re-referred to Committee on Appropriations.
- Earlier steps: amended in committee (author’s amendments), read second time; originally referred to the same committee on 2025-03-24.
Purpose
- To extend the statutory life of the California Competes Grant Program administered by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO‑Biz) by one year and to make a nonsubstantive edit to the statutory provision establishing GO‑Biz.
Key provisions
- Amends Government Code section 12096.6.6 to change the repeal date for the article that creates the California Competes Grant Program from January 1, 2030 to January 1, 2031.
- Makes a nonsubstantive amendment to Government Code section 12096.2 (the section establishing GO‑Biz); the amendment does not alter the office’s duties or powers substantively but adjusts statutory text.
- Does not change the program’s grant criteria, funding mechanism, or authority to award grants — the program continues to operate only “upon appropriation by the Legislature,” as under existing law.
Who is affected
- GO‑Biz (administration and continuity of program operations).
- Businesses, local governments, and other applicants that seek California Competes grants for job creation or capital investment in California — extending the program allows continued eligibility for future grant rounds subject to legislative appropriation.
- State budget/legislative appropriations processes (no appropriation is made by this bill).
Fiscal and procedural impact
- The bill itself does not appropriate funds and does not change funding rules; fiscal impact depends on subsequent legislative appropriations to the California Competes Grant Program.
- Short-term administrative impact: preserves GO‑Biz’s authority to administer the program through calendar year 2030 (i.e., until Jan 1, 2031) unless further extended or made permanent by future legislation.
Bottom line
- AB 1477 is a narrowly targeted bill that extends the sunset/repeal date of the California Competes Grant Program by one year (to Jan 1, 2031) and makes a technical, nonsubstantive edit to GO‑Biz’s enabling statute. It preserves the program’s existence pending future appropriations and legislative action but does not change eligibility, grant criteria, or funding authority.
