Jerry Brown adds details to clean-energy jobs plan
Source: David Siders/Sacramento Bee
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown released a beefed-up jobs plan Sunday, expanding on an existing clean-energy jobs plan that was widely panned for its lack of detail.
In his new plan, released on his website, http://jerrybrown.org, Brown said he would invest in state infrastructure projects, reduce regulations on businesses and create a "strike team" to attract and retain jobs.
He also said he would consider tax incentives and other ways to increase manufacturing jobs.
Brown reiterated his call for investment in renewable-energy technology, which he said could create at least 500,000 jobs. Brown referred to AB 32, the state's landmark environmental law, saying it would lead to the creation of clean-energy jobs.
"It is absolutely imperative that we continue to lead and not back off these policies that will create the jobs of the future," Brown said in his plan. "This is a fundamental point of difference between Meg Whitman and me."
Whitman, the Republican nominee, has said she would suspend implementation of AB 32.
Her jobs plan includes targeted tax cuts she says would spur economic growth, including eliminating the state capital gains tax.
In an e-mail, Whitman spokeswoman Andrea Jones Rivera responded to Brown's plan by criticizing his job-creation efforts when he served as governor in the 1970s and early '80s.