Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s recent visit to California to woo businesses to relocate to his state made headlines last week. California Gov. Jerry Brown made light of Perry’s visit, but it does bring an important issue to the forefront: the dire business climate in California.

Sacramento can stop future junkets from happening by lessening the regulatory burden placed California’s businesses.

California has one of the worst business environments in the nation. CEO Magazine ranked California as the worst state to do business in for the 8th straight year and The Tax Foundation ranked California 48th of 50 states in their 2013 State Business Climate Tax Index. With these poor business climate rankings, it’s no wonder that Governor Perry thinks California is a prime site to recruit businesses from.

In order to stop these kinds of recruitment trips from happening Sacramento must take steps to make California more business friendly.

The process for creating and reviewing regulations should be made more efficient, effective and transparent.

Sacramento should coordinate all existing regulations against other state and federal regulations to ensure conformity and continuity. If a regulation is found that is not working as it was designed it must be eliminated.

California businesses will not remain competitive if complying with existing regulations is not both cost-effective and technologically feasible.

California has some of the smartest and hardest working people in the world. Sacramento must take action to ensure Californians can find good jobs. By working together we can create an environment where business can grow and thrive.

Scott Wilk represents the 38th Assembly District, which encompasses Simi Valley, the northwestern section of the San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa Clarita Valley.