SACREMENTO, Calif. — Assemblymember Rudy Salas announced Monday that a bill looking to assist economic stability in the Valley passed unanimously out of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee.

Assembly Bill 3205 establishes the Regions Rise Grant Program within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development that will enable regions to collaborate and create inclusive regional strategies for economic prosperity.

“The people living in the Central Valley and Inland Empire deserve the same opportunities that are available in other areas of the state,” said Assemblymember Salas. “I look forward to working with economic development groups to revitalize and reimage our local economies through the Regions Rise Grant Program. Through increased collaboration, we can make our state’s economy stronger and more equitable.”

AB 3205 was introduced in partnership with California Forward and is supported by dozens of economic development groups and local governments that will utilize these new incentives and resources to create a regional strategy that brings new business and good paying jobs to the parts of the state like the Central Valley.

“In order to create a California that works for everyone and addresses the economic and demographic disparities that have been aggravated by COVID-19 we need an economic renewal, and AB 3205 provides the essential framework to support our regions in that effort,” said Micah Weinberg, CEO of California Forward. “We’re grateful for Assemblymember Rudy Salas’ leadership, a broad coalition of organizations who lent their support, and to the members of the Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy for moving this important legislation forward.”

AB 3205 now moves on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.