California companies receive $4.17 billion annually in state subsidies, with the agriculture industry getting the largest chunk of that funding, according to a new investigation by the New York Times.
Sonoma County saw $2.5 million in incentive program funding in the past 10 years, all of it aimed at workforce training, according to NYT data.
Some were to target areas of high unemployment, such as Sonoma County Junior College District, according to the data.
Still, the amount given to Sonoma County businesses, and those throughout the state, is far from the $19.1 billion in subsidies doled out in Texas, the state with the most robust incentive programs. Yet, it still amounts to 5 cents of every dollar in the California state budget, the data collected by the NYT showed.
The leading kinds of incentives in California were corporate income tax credits, rebates or reductions, at $2.29 billion, followed by other income tax breaks ($1.44 billion) and sales tax refunds or exemptions ($386 million), according to the NYT.
The top incentives by industry in the state ranked agriculture No. 1 with $208 million. The film industry received $191 million and tech ranked third with $105 million.
The state trend of supporting agriculture is somewhat mirrored in Sonoma County. Locally, money benefits agriculture companies such as Sonoma-based Viansa Winery, Kunde Estate Winery and Vineyard in Sonoma and Kendall Jackson Wine Estates based in Santa Rosa.
But the business that has received the most funding, according to the New York Times, is Medtronic, a medical device company, which received four grants totaling $1.22 million from 2004-2010.
Medtronic operates in Sonoma, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties. See below for a list of local companies that benefitted from state subsidies.
AmountCompanyNo. of grantsTypesTown, city or countyYears $1.22 millionEmployment Training Panel
4 Free services sonoma county,los angeles county,
santa barbara county 2004-2010 $532,670 Sonoma County Junior College District Employment Training Panel,
Employment Training Panel (high unemployment area) 7 Free services sonoma county,
lake county 2004-2009 $433,377 ITT Corporation Employment Training Panel 3 Free services los angeles county,
sonoma county 2003-2004 $79,455 BIW CONNECTOR SYSTEMS, LLCEmployment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2002 $74,400 VIANSA WINERY AND ITALIAN MARKETPLACE Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2004 $38,487 SCHURTER, INC. Employment Training Panel 3 Free services sonoma county 2006-2010 $37,200 SONOMA METAL PRODUCTS, INC. Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2006 $32,355 Redwood Regional Medical Group Employment Training Panel,
Employment Training Panel (high unemployment area) 3 Free services sonoma county,
lake county 2005-2009 $25,074 THE NAPA-SOLANO UNITED ASSOCIATION OF PLUMBERS & STEAMFITTERSEmployment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2004 $24,960 TRINITY CONSTRUCTION DBA TRINITY ENGINEERING, INC. Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2004 $23,091 KUNDE ESTATE WINERY AND VINEYARDSEmployment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2009 $11,704 FREIXENET USAEmployment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2002 $11,690 STOESSER INDUSTRIES DBA STOESSER-GORDON PLASTICSEmployment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2009 $9,880 KENDALL JACKSON WINE ESTATES, LTD.Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2002 $8,840 LA TORTILLA FACTORY Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2004 $6,560 SPECTRUM ORGANIC PRODUCTS, INC. Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2006 $2,411 CODDING STEEL FRAME SOLUTIONS, INC.Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2010 $1,280 CABLE CAR CLASSICS, INC. Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2006 not available MESA BOOGIE LTD.Employment Training Panel 1 Free services sonoma county 2010
