Sandoval releases economic plan

February 9, 2012 by Haley Etchison 

Governor’s proposal will use $10 catalyst fund, establish regional industry authorities to report on jobs progress

Gov. Brian Sandoval released a plan on Tuesday that would aim to create 50,000 new private-sector jobs over the next three years.

The proposal will install regional development authorities who would distribute grant money to help stimulate growth and report to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development on progress in their respective business sectors.

“This is a blueprint for building a vibrant, sustainable economy for all Nevadans,”� Sandoval said in an address at the University of Nevada, Reno. “It puts us in a better position to succeed in the hyper-competitive push to champion a strong economy that creates good jobs.”

Nevada has a 12.6 percent unemployment rate — the highest in the U.S. — but Sandoval said that his plan would employ “industry specialists” to help market Nevada to business owners and build businesses that are already here.

The plan is the result of 2011 legislative action that set up a $10 million “catalyst fund”� and commissioned research on how Nevada can diversify and grow its economy.

The bill also created a “knowledge fund”� that never received money.

The Sandoval plan was written by Steve Hill, who will head the project, and influenced by a report presented on Nov. 14 to the state Board of Economic Development by members of the Brookings Institution and the nonprofit research contractor SRI International.

The report identified seven business sectors on which it suggested Nevada should focus: tourism, gaming and entertainment; health and medical services; business and IT ecosystems; clean energy; mining, materials and manufacturing; logistics and operations; and aerospace and defense.

Hill mentioned the role education will play in making the plan a success.

“We all know that we need a higher level of education achievement in order to drive this economy forward,” he said.

He also emphasized what he sees as the importance of Nevada’s growing role in a global economy.

“We need to learn how to capitalize on [global markets] better,” he said.

Hill included exporting and drawing foreign investment as areas in which the state should build its profile on the world stage.

Haley Etchison reports on the Nevada Legislature for The Rebel Yell. Contact her at news@unlvrebelyell.com.