SPACE TAX CREDIT STUMBLES SUPPORTERS NOW AIM FOR FALL LEGISLATION.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- A proposed tax credit aimed at bringing work on NASA's next manned spacecraft to California did not make it into the state budget, but supporters said they remain hopeful they can still win approval for the incentive.

Space supporters are seeking to offer companies a 10 percent tax credit for wages paid and equipment purchased for work in California on the Crew Exploration Vehicle, a spaceship intended to replace the aging space shuttles. Supporters have been seeking the next tax credit in conjunction with an effort to extend a similar credit on the F-35 joint strike fighter program.

``We will work through the Governor's Office,'' said Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster. ``We're trying to work with the administration on issues that provide jobs - high-paying jobs.''

Efforts to include the tax credit in the budget failed and a bill for the CEV and JSF tax credits died in the Assembly's Revenue and Taxation Committee. The bill was authored by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-El Segundo, and Runner and had been backed by the California Space Authority, the state's space advocacy body.

Supporters are now looking at the possibility of getting the incentive included in an omnibus legislative package of various proposed tax credits to be crafted later this year.

``We want to make sure the joint strike fighter/CEV tax credit is included in the mix,'' said Eric Daniels, spokesman for the California Space Authority. ``We still are hopeful. We haven't given up hope.''

Runner said also noted the possibility of getting the tax credit included in the omnibus legislation. If that fails, Runner said she will try to get the incentive included in next year's budget.

The CEV program is expected to cost more than $104 billion over the next 15 years.

The CEV is intended to be a key component for efforts to return American astronauts to the moon by 2020. Sometime this fall, NASA will select either a team led by Lockheed Martin or one led by Northrop Grumman, with Boeing as its major partner, to build the CEV.

The craft looks like a larger version of the Apollo spacecraft that went to the moon in the 1960s and `70s.

The Lockheed Martin team has already announced it will assemble the spacecraft in Florida if it wins the contract.

The Florida state government is putting up an incentive package valued at $45.5 million for the winning contractor team.

The Northrop Grumman-led team will not disclose its assembly site, saying that it would be premature to talk about proposal details.

California officials said they haven't given up on attracting work from either team. Incentive packages for both teams have been put together.

The details of those packages are not being disclosed, but officials said they include tax credits for research and development work, assistance with employee training, and information about local incentives, such as the Antelope Valley's enterprise zone, which provides tax credits on wages and equipment purchases for work done within the zone.

The planned spacecraft will transport up to six crew members to and from the International Space Station and up to four astronauts for moon missions, which the agency expects to start in 2018.

james.skeen(at)dailynews

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