BILL NUMBER: SCR 25CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 127 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 22, 2015 ADOPTED IN SENATE JULY 16, 2015 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Senators Block, Allen, Hertzberg, Jackson, Leno, Stone, and Wolk (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Levine, Linder, Medina, Nazarian, and Thurmond) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chvez, Chiu, Chu, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood) MARCH 5, 2015 Relative to the memorandum of understanding between Israel and California. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 25, Block. Trade: Israel: memorandum of understanding. This measure would state the Legislature's support for the memorandum of understanding for strategic partnerships for joint innovation, exchanges, and cooperation between California and Israel. WHEREAS, The California Legislature recognizes the many ties that inexorably bind the State of California to the nation of Israel; and WHEREAS, Two-way trade between Israel and California totaled over $4.2 billion in 2014--one of the largest two-way trade relationships between Israel and a state of the United States; and WHEREAS, California and Israel share close ties and are global leaders in the alternative energy, environmental technology, and other technology-based industry sectors; and WHEREAS, California is home to the largest in-state innovation network in the United States, which offers technology-commercialization opportunities for Israel; and WHEREAS, March 5, 2015, marks the one-year anniversary of the historic meeting at which the Governor of California and the Prime Minister of Israel signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for strategic partnerships for joint innovation, exchanges, and cooperation between California and Israel; and WHEREAS, This action was the culmination of an effort started in the California Legislature as Assembly Bill 1032 of the 2009-10 Regular Session, calling for the creation of the MOU geared toward fostering the exchange of information and research. The MOU will strengthen relationships with Israel and help California and Israel grow in these areas; and WHEREAS, The participants in this MOU have expanded the current level of cooperation between Israel and California in areas including, but not limited to, alternative energy, environmental technology, health, food, trade, agriculture, and other technology-based industry sectors, business innovation, research, development, and academia; and WHEREAS, Two additional agreements have been signed with the assistance of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). The first agreement being an agreement between GO-Biz and Israel to add an economic component to the bilateral partnership and a second agreement between the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Israel's Ministry of Economy to facilitate matching grants for stem cell research and development; and WHEREAS, A cybersecurity strategic plan was developed between Israel and California to explore government to government high level security discussions on responding to targeted attacks, gaining access to California or Israel markets and workforce development projects; and WHEREAS, Israeli water experts met with California elected officials, regional and local water managers, as well as water management experts from the Central Valley; and WHEREAS, The unfettered collaboration between Israeli and California universities has and will benefit multiple disciplines and enhances the academic experience of the faculty and students from Israel and California; and WHEREAS, The Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego, and the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics at California State University, Northridge, continue to lead California's collaboration with Israeli universities; and WHEREAS, The MOU will also establish a formal relationship between the two parties to foster economic cooperation and economic development, facilitate joint industrial research and development, and enhance business relationships and educational opportunities between all Israeli universities and all California universities to foster job creation and incubate global solutions from joint California-Israeli innovation initiatives; and WHEREAS, Collaboration with Israel will foster peace and democracy in the Middle East; and WHEREAS, To achieve these aims, the MOU envisions undertaking the following actions: convening bilateral, interagency working groups with international expertise to coordinate initiatives; facilitating collaborations between Israeli and California entrepreneurs and researchers through the California innovation hub network; supporting and encouraging further development of interpersonal contacts and exchanges and promoting mutual cooperation, understanding, and friendship by encouraging ad hoc task forces, trade delegations, and professional exchanges between Israel and California in key sectors; creating public-private partnerships between Californian and Israeli entities in the areas of economic development, social entrepreneurship, and academic research; strengthening the sister city program; and facilitating collaboration between universities in California and Israel to foster research and development; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby supports the memorandum of understanding for establishing strategic partnerships between California and Israel that support joint innovation in clean technologies, water conservation, health, biotechnology, cybersecurity, education, agricultural technology, research, and other informational exchanges, and that also promote mutual cooperation, understanding, and friendship by encouraging trade delegations and collaboration on mutual projects and issues of interest; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.