The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a)Job creation is a critical part of improving the economic well-being of the state’s designated blighted neighborhoods.

(b)Introducing new industries into these blighted areas, such as high-tech, biomedicine and genomics, space technology, and manufacturing industries, and coupling them with social innovative financing to provide the resources needed to retrain the community will help to create employment opportunities at an accelerated rate, which will lead to the state’s improved financial health and economic competitiveness.

(c)In order to maintain a healthy state economy and to aid communities, social and economic development must occur simultaneously.

(d)It is the intent of the Legislature that:

(1)Socioeconomic development pods be operated in California through a cooperative agreement between the office and initially two geographically distinct regions, all of which are partnered with public universities, community college districts, local governments, research institutions, industry, social innovative financing networks, and traditional financial institutions.

(2)The socioeconomic development pods developed under this article serve as California’s premier tool for facilitating growth and socioeconomic development within underrepresented and low-income communities in California.

(3)Providing residents of these communities with viable employment opportunities through the creation and retention of jobs in the newly developed industry will facilitate a change in demographics and economic outcomes of the designated neighborhood by removing the “blighted” stigma permanently.

(e)Social innovative financing is characterized by the following steps:

(1)A governmental entity contracts with an intermediary to obtain a service.

(2)Private investors provide the funding for the service to the intermediary.

(3)The intermediary then distributes the money to the service provider.

(4)The intermediary issues a “pay for success contract” to the investor.

(5)The government is responsible for paying investors the principal and agreed-upon interest earned if and only if the benchmarks are met.

For purposes of this article, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

(a)“Blighted community” means an area that was previously a functioning city, or part of a city, that has fallen into disrepair and decrepitude. A blighted community may feature deindustrialization, depopulation or changing population, economic restructuring, abandoned buildings, high local unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement, crime, and a desolate, inhospitable city landscape.

(b)“Pod” means a specific geographical area designated as “blighted” or underrepresented, identified and developed into a pod by ZIP Codes, including or close to a university, research facility, or community college within the designated ZIP Codes.

(c)“Socioeconomic development” means the process of social and economic development in a society. Socioeconomic development is measured with indicators such as gross domestic product, life expectancy, literacy, and levels of employment. Socioeconomic development also includes changes in less tangible factors, such as personal dignity, freedom of association, personal safety and freedom from fear of physical harm, and the extent of participation in civil society.

(d)“Socioeconomic development pod” means a hybrid urban enterprise zone that utilizes some of the incentives of the urban enterprise zone to encourage certain industries to develop in a designated blighted area where retraining of the community is financed by social innovative financing. Social redevelopment and economic redevelopment occur simultaneously.

(e)“Social innovative financing” means an approach to expanding social programs whereby the government pays a service provider based on the results delivered, as opposed to the activities performed. “Social innovative financing” also means a partnership in which philanthropists and impact investors take on the financial risk of scaling up social programs.

(a)The California Socioeconomic Development Pod Program is hereby created within the office.

(b)The office shall designate socioeconomic development pods within the state to stimulate partnerships, economic development, and job creation by leveraging assets to provide stimulation and incentives for industry, economic development organizations, business groups, and those who fund social innovation. The assets may include, but are not limited to, research parks, technology incubators, universities, and federal laboratories.

(c)The office shall oversee, coordinate, and provide assistance to each socioeconomic development pod.

(a)The office shall identify blighted areas suited for the California Socioeconomic Development Pod Program.

(b)The office shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following in the designation of a pod:

(1)A statement of purpose.

(2)A signed statement of cooperation and a description of the roles and relationships of each entity involved in the partnership.

(3)A designated socioeconomic development pod coordinator.

(4)A clear explanation and map conveying the pod’s physical boundary.

(5)A clearly identified designee to coordinate pod activities.

(6)A clearly identified central location.

(7)Clearly identified benchmarks or milestones with approximate dates as to when they will be achieved.

(8)A list and brief description of local and regional incentives and support programs.

(9)A list of the pod’s assets and resources.

(10)A clearly articulated focus area of the pod, including industry sectors or other targeted areas for development and growth.

(11)A list of specific resources available to support and guide training.

(12)Expectations for job development and business creation.

(13)Defined performance standards agreed upon by the partners involved in the development of the pod.

(14)Evaluation procedures that will be used to measure the level of achievement for each stated goal.

(15)A plan for sustainability.

A designated pod shall include at least one major university or research center or institute, one economic development organization, and at least two of the following:

(a)A business support organization, including a workforce development or training organization, incubator or business accelerator, chamber of commerce, and networking organization that supports innovation.

(b)An educational consortium, including technology training representatives.

(c)A social innovative financing network, including traditional investors.

(d)A community-based organization specializing in retraining, reducing recidivism, or homelessness.

(e)A municipal economic development division or department.

(f)A federal government partner.

(a)A pod may do, but is not limited to doing, any of the following:

(1)Provide counseling and technical assistance, either by direct or indirect services, in the areas of retraining or reduction in recidivism.

(2)Conduct workshops, seminars, or conferences with local partners including, but not limited to, state universities, state community colleges, local governments, state and federal service providers, private industry, workforce investment boards and agencies, small business service agencies, economic development organizations, or chambers of commerce.

(3)Facilitate partnerships between innovative startup businesses, research institutions, and venture capitalists or financial institutions.

(b)To the extent feasible, a pod shall do all of the following:

(1)Perform activities in close collaboration with the office as its primary statewide partner.

(2)Coordinate activities with the Employment Training Panel, the California Workforce Investment Board, the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the University of California, the California State University, and other state economic and workforce development programs.

(a)Notwithstanding any other law, the office may, with the consent of the Director of General Services, use vacant or underused state-owned or leased property that is controlled by the Department of General Services for purposes including, but not limited to, assisting pods in the establishment of incubators and demonstration sites.

(b)State property under this section, when authorized by law, may be used as matching funds to meet federal funding requirements.

(a)The office may authorize a business or nonprofit organization to use a state-owned or leased property, or both, pursuant to Section 12099.112.

(b)State-owned or leased property under this section shall be used only in furtherance of this article.

The Pod Accelerator Fund is hereby created within the State Treasury. All moneys collected and received by the office for the California Socioeconomic Development Pod Program from gifts, bequests, or donations shall be deposited in the Pod Accelerator Fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340, the moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the office to be used for purposes of this article pursuant to the terms of the gift, bequest, or donation.