Advisory Board: Governing Board of the Green Empowerment Zone (GEZ)
Subject: Receive update on economic development research and stakeholder engagement to support a high-road clean energy manufacturing strategy for the GEZ
Presenter: Jessie Hammerling and Will Toaspern, UCB Labor Center
Contact: Jessie Hammerling, Co-Director, Green Economy Program, (612) 743 2530 and Will Toaspern, Lead Policy Researcher, (720) 226 6039
Information:
The PowerPoint presentation is attached.
Referral History and Update:
On September 12, 2023, the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County authorized an agreement with the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000 to be used to provide administrative and other support services for the Green Empowerment Zone consistent with the State legislation AB 179, the Budget Act of 2022. The term of this Agreement is July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2026. The Governing Board of
the Green Empowerment Zone had its first meeting on December 7, 2023.
On December 7, 2023, the Green Empowerment Zone Governing Board received an informational presentation from the UC Berkeley Labor Research Center on a proposal of research to inform planning for the Green Empowerment Zone. Pursuant to the Green Empowerment Zone legislation, AB844 (Grayson), the duties of the Green Empowerment Zone include to partner with the University of California, the California State University, community colleges, and the state's other research and educational institutions, as well as private foundations, to provide guidance, advice, and encouragement in support of studies of particular interest and importance to the energy industry in the Northern Waterfront area of the County of Contra Costa. The UC Berkeley Labor Center refined its proposed concept to focus on developing a high road strategy for the clean energy sector. This refined concept represented an example of research to inform planning for the Green Empowerment Zone t...
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