Immigrant entrepreneurs may be getting all the attention, but California is ponying up for domestic clean-tech manufacturers.
Is California the golden state again? Sens Kerry and Lugar draw accolades for innovative bill in Congress
The state on Thursday became the first to offer large-scale incentives to green-tech companies eager to set up shop in the U.S.
Both moves show how policy makers are shifting their focus to innovative companies and start-up founders to combat what many believe could be a long period of slow employment growth in the U.S.
For their part, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind) introduced a clever bill in Congress that will make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to obtain visas. If these innovators can raise $100,000 from angel investors or $250,000 from venture capitalists – and create at least five jobs in two years – they deserve special treatment, the bills states.
This long-sought effort to open America’s doors to creative foreigners drew support from more than 100 VCs.
The second barrel of policy initiative was fired at the start of the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. The California Energy Commission said it set aside $90 million to support manufacturers. The decision reflects a new urgency in the state, which has lost 32 percent of its manufacturing base since the dot.com crash 2001. With it went 600,000 jobs.
Commission Chairman Karen Douglas said $30.6 million will be available in the form of low-interest loans for manufacturers focused on renewable energy or energy efficiency.
An additional $59.5 million of support will go to companies developing transportation technologies, such as electric cars, and renewable fuels.
With both announcements, it appears the time has come for the state and the country to open their sails and welcome the next generation of business leaders. The timing couldn’t be better considering the paltry $15 billion job package Congress approved Wednesday.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
