By Miriam Raftery

July 18, 2013 (San Diego) – Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation into law that overhauls the state’s enterprise zone program of tax credits for employers hiring in designated areas.  The old Enterprise Zone system had been criticized as wasteful and ineffective at creating jobs.

The reforms were backed by labor and manufacturing interests, though some business representatives have raised concerns over elimination of the old enterprise zone program.

The new measures, including Senate Bill 90 and Assembly Bill 93, were signed into law  in San Diego on July 11 at Takeda, a local biotech firm.