Gov. Gary Locke Promotes Washington's Economic Development Successes at Statewide Forum - Upd Dec 01, 2004

Locke Highlights New National Top 10 Pro-Business Ranking in Keynote Address

Gov. Gary Locke promoted Washington state's economic development successes during his keynote address at the Governor's Economic Development Forum at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. Locke also highlighted Washington's ranking as a Top Ten Pro-Business State in a new national study.

"I am very proud of the progress we've made during the past eight years,"
Locke told attendees at the forum. "From raising academic achievement and
job growth to regulatory reform; from increasing sales of Washington
agricultural products to foreign markets to improving services to Washington
citizens, we have Washington right on track for a very bright future."

Locke said, "We're proud to be named one of the top ten pro-business states
in the nation. It's a credit to all of our hard work during the past
several years to make Washington more competitive."

The governor pointed to several other recent studies by independent
organizations that confirm Washington's success in improving the state's
business climate:

• A study by the Tax Foundation ranked Washington 9th best in
  the nation for its business friendly tax climate.
• The Small Business Entrepreneurial Council ranked Washington
  the 4th friendliest business environment.
• The U.S. Census Bureau recently released state rankings for
  combined state and local tax burdens. Washington ranked 31st - meaning 30 states had higher combined tax burdens. This is the best the state has
  ranked in this category since 1981.

Locke also said today that, despite continued national economic distress,
Washington state is showing clear signs of a strong economic recovery, and
that the recovery is broad and deep across the entire state.

Employment in Washington is increasing more rapidly than in the country as a
whole. Washington added more than 61,000 jobs in the last year, including
10,000 net new jobs in October alone. The state's unemployment rate has
dropped by almost two percentage points since a year ago, twice as fast as
the rest of the country.

Locke credited several proactive economic development efforts for the
state's economic development successes. "From our Priorities of Government
budget process to the nickel transportation package to our successful trade
missions, to targeted tax incentives to skills training for specific
business sectors, we have taken many steps to bring economic prosperity back to the state," he said.

Locke said the trade missions are a great example of how the state has
helped facilitate economic success for businesses from both sides of the
state.

"We have worked hard to open markets in places like China, Japan, South
Korea, Vietnam, and Mexico, and our efforts have resulted in significant
success," Locke said. "Our first trip to China in 1997 has resulted in the
lifting of longstanding restrictions on the import of Washington wheat. We
helped create record sales of cherries in Asia after our 1998 mission to
Japan and Taiwan. We created a great market in Mexico for Washington
potatoes and French fries. We had similar success with our potatoes in
South Korea. We sent first-ever potato shipments to both these markets in
2003. Washington hops were introduced to Japan, with nearly $1 million in
new contracts signed.

"Our last two trade missions to China have been very successful. Our
business delegates reported actual sales of $3.9 million and approximately
$81.4 million in projected new sales during the next 12 months. All these
sales contracts create new jobs in Washington state. This is all as a
result of our missions."

Locke said partnerships between state and local governments and private
organizations have also been significant contributors to the state's
success.

"A great example is the Action Washington team that convinced Boeing to
locate final assembly of the 7E7 in Washington," Locke said. "The
statewide, bipartisan effort was unprecedented and very successful.
Together, we've developed a powerful model of collaboration for business
retention and recruitment. We need to bottle the energy, enthusiasm and
collaboration we generated during the 7E7 effort to focus on other economic
development objectives."

Locke said the state is working to grow key industries. A good example is
the Bio21 Initiative. Two years ago, the governor convened a group of
industry experts, scientists, venture capitalists, and government officials
to look at how our state can be even stronger in biomedical research by
bringing together bio-technology and information technology to accelerate
medical research and ultimately develop treatments and cures."

"We have had great success in other industries as well," Locke said.
"Marine services, food processing, forest products, energy efficiency and
various high-tech sectors are just a few examples of areas of targeted
industries in the state that have resulted in economic success.

"Another tool we have used is the Community Economic Revitalization Board,
or CERB," Locke continued. "CERB is a valued program that creates
significant economic impacts in participating communities. But the demand
for CERB far exceeds the available funding. A stable funding source is
needed to ensure the future of the program. Proposed changes to the current
funding formula will allow critical local public infrastructure projects to
continue - projects that encourage private development and investment in
high-wage jobs."

"We must give our communities the economic development tools they need,"
Locke said. "We should partner with local communities to fund
infrastructure to attract new businesses and help existing businesses grow
and expand. Forty-eight states now use tax increment financing to allow
growth to pay for itself. I've proposed in the past that we do the same.
Our communities need this tool to keep moving in the right direction. It's
time we delivered it."

"Our state is a leader in so many areas - and that didn't happen by
accident," Locke said. "We've worked hard and made tough decisions over the
years because we believe in this state. And we believe in an even brighter
future for our citizens."

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