The California Trade and Commerce Agency was created by Governor Pete Wilson as a cabinet-level agency that consolidated the former Department of Commerce, the World Trade Commission, and the state's overseas offices. In 2001, under Governor Gray Davis, it became the Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency (TTCA) The TTCA is the state's lead agency for promoting economic development, job creation, and business retention. The agency oversees all state economic development efforts, international commerce, and tourism. Some of the array of agencies coordinated by the TTCA include the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank), which helps local governments and businesses secure capital for infrastructural and non-profit projects; the California Export Finance Office (CEFO), which provides loan guarantees to financial institutions lending to small and medium-sized California exporters; the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program (SBLGP); and the California Financing Coordination Committee (CFCC) which consists of state and federal agencies that work together to coordinate and streamline infrastructure financing in local communities.
In fulfilling its mission to improve California's business climate, the agency works closely with domestic and international businesses, economic development corporations, chambers of commerce, regional visitor and convention bureaus, and the various permit-issuing state and municipal government agencies.
The International Trade and Investment Division is headquarters for California's international offices and the Offices of Foreign Investment, Export Finance, and Export Development. The Agency also houses the Tourism Division, and the Economic Development Division, which includes the Offices of Business Development, Small Business, Strategic Technology, Permit Assistance, Major Corporate Projects, and the California Film Commission.
California offers a broad array of state economic development incentives, including a business assistance program, including guidance through regulatory and permitting processes. California also has a statewide network of small business development centers. California has an enterprise zone program with 39 zones offering various tax credits, deductions, and exemptions. The zones focus on rural and economically distressed areas.
There are ten foreign trade zones in the state, and an Office of Foreign Investment with incentives to attract foreign companies. In 2003, the legislature voted to stop funding for the states 12 foreign trade office, which had received $6 million in 2002, amid the state's budget crisis and questions about the trade offices' claims to have generated $44 million in business for state enterprises. The foreign trade office established in Yerevan, Armenia in 2002 remained open because it was financed by the Armenian community.
Among the development projects being pursued in 2003 was the STAR (State Theatrical Arts Resources) program begun in 2001 as a continuation of the successful "Film California First" program of 2000. The STAR program seeks to support California's $33 billion filmmaking industry, and in April 2003 the government announced the completion of eight distinctive filming locations. In January 2003, the Governor introduced a "Build California" program aimed at expediting the construction of schools, housing, roads, and other infrastructural projects as a means of reviving the state economy. In January 2002, the TTCA gave its support to a national campaign called Back on Track America which aimed at helping small businesses through the country's economic turndown. In January 2003, the government announced that outstanding loans under the SBLGP, created in 1999, had surpassed $200 million. Through the Goldstrike partnership, the Office of Strategic Technology supports the growth of high technology in California. The conversion of former military bases to new manufacturing and commercial sites is also a priority of the state government. Among the development projects announced in 2003 was $10 million in low-cost state financing, arranged through the I-Bank, for Sacramento County to be used for the economic development of the former McClennan and Mather air force bases.