Nevada still getting new business from other states, less from California

Thursday, Oct. 30, 1997 | 9:24 a.m.

Companies from California now account for 25 percent of Nevada's new businesses, less than half the rate in 1994, says Bob Shriver, executive director of the state Commission on Economic Development.

"What happened is that California woke up, and found out how to hold on to its companies in the last year or two. In some cases, they have moved them within the state," he said.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the number of relocating companies dropped from 108 to 75. But Shriver said the newer businesses are bigger and are providing better jobs. Projections on new jobs created by the relocating companies total 6,886.

"We're getting more companies from the Mid-Atlantic region and the Midwest, and I think that shows the maturation of what we are doing," he added.

Shriver also said most of the companies relocating to Nevada are opening branches instead of establishing headquarters there.

Although gambling and mining remain head and shoulders above other industries in Nevada, Shriver said the state is making headway in diversifying its economy.

For example, distribution is a burgeoning enterprise in Nevada, which is a natural hub for the West, Shriver said.

While Nevada has benefited from the new businesses, it has not been as successful in creating its own industries. Shriver said the state needs to make more capital available to budding entrepreneurs.

Nevada voters rejected ballot questions in 1994 and 1996 that would have allowed the state to lend money to private industry. The issue can't appear on the ballot again until the year 2000. Other states, such as Utah and Kansas, have recently changed their laws to allow such lending, Shriver said.

"We are going to narrow the question next time so that it makes a single exception for Nevada-based companies in specific technology areas," he said.

The primary obstacle in recruiting new companies to Nevada has been the state's association with gambling, but that problem appears to be fading.

"Sixteen years ago, I can remember businessmen asking me if their workers would spend more time in the casinos than on the job," Shriver said. "You don't hear that any more."