Incentives

The Sacramento Region offers companies looking to locate or expand in the region many benefits and incentives. They include:

an abundant and well-educated workforce
relatively lower housing costs
strong academic institutions including University of California, Davis; California State University, Sacramento and seven community colleges
plenty of ready-to-go sites
seismic stability
an excellent transportation system which includes the intersection of the main north/south, east/west freeways for the west coast of the United States
local jurisdictions offer companies and their consultants a single point of contact per project to expedite plans, permits and project details through the local processes.

In addition, companies can take advantage of many of the following statewide and local business incentives.

Employment Training Panel Program

This program allows for up to 50 percent reimbursement of wages during a training period. The training period is designated by the company, but cannot exceed six months. In some cases, where necessary, out-of-state training may be an eligible reimbursable cost. The training program is designed by the business to meet their performance needs. An average training reimbursement amount under the Employment Training Panel Program is $2,500-$3,000. This program is available to businesses statewide.

Enterprise Zones and LAMBRAs

There are 36 state-designated Enterprise Zones across the State of California and eight Local Agency Military Base Recovery Act (LAMBRA) sites – there are four Enterprise Zones and two LAMBRAs in the Sacramento Region. Companies locating in Enterprise Zones and LAMBRAs can take advantage of state and local incentives and programs not available to businesses outside the Enterprise Zone. Tax credits and benefits available to companies locating in these areas include:

tax credits for sales and use taxes paid on the first $20 million of machinery purchased, including electronic, computing and communications equipment;
a hiring credit for wages paid to qualified employees during the employees first 60 months on the job;
a 15-year carryover of up to 1oo percent of net operating losses;
expensing of certain depreciable property.

Sacramento Training and Response Team (S.T.A.R.T.)

The S.T.A.R.T. group is comprised of representatives from federal, state and local job training agencies, working together to assists Sacramento Region businesses. In the training agencies, working together to assist companies with recruiting, screening and implementing any required testing of new employees. If a company locates within an Enterprise Zone the S.T.A.R.T. group will recruit employees which will allow the company to maximize benefits under the program.

Redevelopment Areas

A Redevelopment Area is an approved area within a local jurisdiction (city or county) where the Redevelopment Agency captures a large share of the 1 percent property tax levied in the State of California. As such, many local jurisdictions will rebate that portion they collect back to the business for an agreed upon period of time. These moneys can be utilized to write down the cost of land, make infrastructure improvements or to cover miscellaneous fees, to name just a couple options. In the Sacramento Region, this includes the city of West Sacramento and the South Placer area.

Electric Utility Providers

In Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, Yuba and Sutter counties, the current provider of electricity is Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). In Sacramento County and all the cities therein, the current electrical provider is the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). In the city of Roseville, service is provided by Roseville Electric.