Sacramento, California - Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) will hold his first informational hearing of the legislative session with the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy (JEDE).

"California is uniquely positioned to be competitive in the shifting global economy," said Garcia, who chairs JEDE.  "As elected officials, it is our job to help make California a better place to start and grow a business."

The Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy – the committee assigned to oversee state programs and review legislation related to small business development, international trade, and infrastructure.        

Informational hearing on the California economy including a look at small businesses as economic drivers of the economy.  

Room 444 of the State Capitol 

Wednesday, February 11, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to noon

The first witness is Donna Davis, the Region IX Administrator for the Small Business Administration, who will talk about the economic importance of small businesses.  The following witnesses will focus on:

• Understanding the California economy with Mac Taylor, the California Legislative Analyst and Dr. Jerry Nickelsburg, UCLA Anderson Forecast.

• Examining the impact and opportunities provided by the federal budget with Molly Ramsdell, the federal policy director for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

• Testimony from California's primary economic driver – small businesses with three executives from small businesses including Ehsan Gharatappeh, Cellpoint Corporation, Costa Mesa; Dave Petree, Cloak and Dagger, Sacramento; and Scott Hauge, Cal Insurance and Associates, San Francisco.

  More information about the hearing is available at http://ajed.assembly.ca.gov/ including a full list of witnesses, background paper, and fact sheets.

The JEDE hearing will be available to watch online at http://www.calchannel.com/live-webcast/