SACRAMENTO—Corporate executives who haven't considered investing in California for a long time suddenly have new reasons to do so. That is according to a recent report from the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.

Gov. Jerry Brown is now rolling out the welcome mat to expanding companies with a “new set of tools in his recruitment arsenal.” Armed with new tax credits, more funding for economic development, balanced budgets and improved credit ratings, California now competes for jobs and industry without the burden of financial shackles, says the Governor, who says that the results speak for themselves (see below examples):

• After years of stagnation, the California economy is growing faster than the national average. The state's economy grew by 2% in 2013, better than the US average of 1.8%. And after a slow start to 2014, the state's economy grew by 4% in the second quarter of the year.
• California accounted for 14.2% of the country's net employment gain in the second quarter of 2014, as state businesses added 109,800 new jobs.
• Nearly 700 California companies made the annual Inc. Magazine ranking of the 5,000 fastest-growing firms in the country—by far the most of any state. California boasts the No. 1 company on the list—Fuhu, the El Segundo firm that makes large tablet computers for kids - and four of the top 10.
• California boasts the two highest ranking US metro areas in per-capita GDP: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara ($100,115) and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward ($78,844).
• California added 35,600 construction jobs from Aug. 2013 to Aug. 2014 - the second highest amount in the country. The jump increased construction employment in the state by 5.6%.
• Existing home sales in California rose by 6.9 percent during the second quarter of 2014.

These performance benchmarks have been set as Brown, the one-time mayor of Oakland and now three-term Governor, continues to remake the California business climate. “The capstone of this makeover is the governor's $750-million annual plan to attract and retain business,” says the Governor's office.
After years of experimenting without much success with community development programs, California scrapped them and replaced them with new business tax incentives. The new programs include a tax exemption for R&D in manufacturing and biotech; a job tax credit for increasing the number of full-time workers; and a California Competes tax credit given to companies that relocate or expand in the state.

One of the most recent business losses to the State was Toyota, which announced plans to slowly move its North American headquarters to Dallas, TX. The move will take three years and displace approximately 2 million square feet of space.