McDonnell pushes job-creation program

RICHMOND, Va. -- Gov. Bob McDonnell took a stab at playing poacher yesterday.

He told a business breakfast in Richmond that as corporations think about fleeing high-tax states such as California, he hopes to talk to their executives about the attractions of Virginia.

"I intend to spend a lot of my time calling businesses convincing them to come to Virginia," McDonnell told a breakfast meeting sponsored by the National Federation of Independent Business, the Virginia Retail Merchants Association, and the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association.

"I may be called a corporate raider" by other states, he joked.

McDonnell told the group that economic development is his top priority, and he asked them to support his proposed $50 million program of incentives.

"This is my top issue for this year, to look at everything the state can do to be an ally with business to do everything we can to create jobs," McDonnell said.

At a subsequent news conference at the state Capitol, McDonnell promoted his agenda as a bipartisan effort. Ten Democratic legislators joined almost two dozen Republican legislators to endorse the jobs-creating proposals.

"There shouldn't be red jobs and there shouldn't be blue jobs, but we should have green jobs," said Del. Mark L. Keam, D-Fairfax, co-sponsor with Del. Charles D. Poindexter, R-Franklin County, of a bill that would allow a $500 income-tax credit for the creation of green jobs.

"Jobs creation is not a partisan issue," McDonnell said.

In economic development, "you've got to spend money to make money," said Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who is McDonnell's chief job-creation officer.

McDonnell and Bolling estimated, using figures compiled by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, that the proposals would create 29,300 jobs during the next two years and $311 million in revenues over five years.

The state has an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent. About 100,000 jobs have been lost in the past year, the governor said.

He said his program targets key sectors, including small business -- where he hopes to close red tape over permits, taxes and regulation -- as well as tourism, biotech and film production.

His proposal includes more than doubling the Governor's Opportunity Fund, used to lure business to Virginia, with a $12.1 million increase; and committing $5 million to a fund to develop large industrial sites.

He also wants to resume funding the business-incubator program and increase funds for the Virginia Tourism Corp. by $3.6 million a year for the next two years.

The job tax incentives would apply to new jobs only and not to the hiring of workers who had been laid off, a spokesman said.