Governor McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bolling have made clear that their top priority is getting Virginia’s economy growing again and creating jobs, and since taking office they have worked hard to keep that commitment.

Shortly after his inauguration, Governor McDonnell named Lieutenant Governor Virginia’s Chief Job Creation Officer.  In that role, Lieutenant Governor Bolling is responsible for overseeing Virginia’s economic development efforts and coordinating those initiatives across state agencies. 

Governor McDonnell also named Lieutenant Governor Bolling Chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Economic Development and Job Creation.  The Commission was composed of 63 business leaders from all across Virginia and was tasked with developing a series of achievable, innovative recommendations to help create jobs and grow Virginia’s economy.  A full list of the Commission’s recommendations can be found here.

The Administration has worked hard to make certain that Virginia remains a great place to do business by reducing spending, keeping taxes low, eliminating overly burdensome regulations, maintaining a favorable litigation environment and protecting Virginia’s right to work law.

Governor McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bolling have also implemented an aggressive legislative agenda to make certain that Virginia’s economic development infrastructure, incentive programs and workforce development system remain competitive with peer states.

During the 2010 General Assembly session, the McDonnell/Bolling Administration received broad bipartisan support for their Jobs and Opportunity Agenda.  This $57M package was designed to give Virginia more tools to recruit new business and industry to Virginia and help existing businesses expand, and dedicate more resources to proven economic development and job creation programs.  For more information on the Jobs and Opportunity Agenda, click here.

In 2011, the General Assembly approved $41M in additional economic development investments as part of the Administration’s Opportunity At Work Agenda.  This package of strategic initiatives will better position Virginia to compete for new business and jobs in a wide range of sectors including emerging technologies, information technology, advanced manufacturing, alternative energy, tourism and small business. For more information on the Opportunity at Work Agenda, click here.

The McDonnell/Bolling Administration’s aggressive approach to economic development is already producing tangible results, including:

• 276 economic development deals closed to date.  These deals will ultimately create 27,900 new jobs and produce $2.7B in capital investment.
• 49,200 net new jobs created.  This is the 8th highest number of net new jobs created in the nation. 
• Virginia’s unemployment rate has been reduced from 7.2% to 6.4%.  This is the 9th lowest unemployment rate in the nation and the 3rd lowest east of Mississippi River.
• In 2010, Virginia was ranked as the #1 or #2 state for business by Forbes.com, CNBC and Pollina Corporate Real Estate.

The record is clear.  The McDonnell/Bolling Administration is making steady progress creating jobs and improving Virginia’s economic competitiveness.  However, we will not stop working until every Virginian who wants a job can find a job.

Jobs And Opportunity Agenda (2010)

• More than doubled funding for the Governor’s Opportunity Fund
• Created a state based industrial mega-site fund to help localities develop large industrial sites to attract new advanced manufacturing employers
• Established state economic development offices in major growth markets such as China, India and the United Kingdom
• Increased funding for Virginia's growing commercial spaceport at Wallops Island
• Improved Virginia’s small business services by:
• Increasing funding for the Loan Guarantee Program
• Continuing funding for the Business One Stop Program
• Increasing financial support for the Virginia Jobs Investment Program
• Changed Virginia’s Enterprise Zone programs to ensure that job creation grants are fully funded as a priority. 
• Expanded eligibility for the Major Business Facility Jobs Tax Credit to assist more job creating businesses
• Expanded the Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant program to help attract major businesses to Virginia
• Increased resources for the Virginia Tourism Corporation to develop an aggressive national and international marketing campaign for the first time in years
• Increased funding for the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund
• Dedicated a portion the Wine Liter Tax to the Wine Promotion Fund to expand marketing of Virginia wines and vineyards
• Waived administrative permitting fees for veterans establishing a small business in Virginia
• Provided temporary business licenses for applicants who hold comparable licenses issued by another state

Opportunity At Work Agenda (2011)

• Expanded the Commonwealth Research and Commercialization Fund to promote and foster commercialization of products in key emerging technology sectors and more effectively coordinate research with Virginia’s research universities
• Established a refundable Research and Development Tax Credit for start ups and early stage firms in targeted industries which will provide incentives for collaboration with Virginia’s colleges and universities
• Established a Clean Energy Manufacturing Incentive Grant program to restructure and several existing initiatives into a single program that provides negotiated  incentives to companies that manufacture or assemble equipment, systems or products used to produce renewable or nuclear energy,
• Created a first in the nation Tourism Development Grant Program to assist with gap funding for certain locally endorsed tourism development projects
• Established a Virginia Winery and Vineyard Development Tax Credit to encourage the growth and development of new wineries around the Commonwealth
• Expanded the Tourism Partnership Marketing Grant Program to provide a marketing tool for local tourism projects
• Additional funding for Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund
• Established a Virginia Port Tax Incentive to encourage Virginia businesses to expand use of the Virginia’s ports
• Additional investment in the Industrial Site Revitalization Fund to assist localities in attracting new business to abandoned industrial sites
• Additional funding for the Enterprise Zone Program
• Increased investment in the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority to provide financial resources for small businesses
• Provided funding to promote regional collaboration among localities to help pool resources and market regional assets to potential economic development projects
• Increased funding for non-credit courses at community colleges
• Expanded the career pathways programs in middle and high schools
• Streamlined the Governor’s Opportunity Fund by reducing several levels of qualifications to allows the Governor more discretion in areas with high unemployment rates