Rushed AB 1776 Could Cost California $1 Trillion in GDP and 1.6 Million Jobs in 10 Years

April 6, 2026

Trevor Wagener

California Assembly Bill 1776, also known as the COMPETE Act, is rushing forward before any meaningful official analysis of its expected costs and benefits has been conducted. If enacted, the Compete Act would jeopardize about $67 billion in GDP and 180,000 full-time equivalent jobs in its first year in effect by reducing GDP by nearly 1.6%. This impact, relative to a baseline scenario without the enactment of AB 1776, would continue growing over time, rising to a relative loss of about $1,000 billion ($1 Trillion) and 1,600,000 full-time equivalent jobs by year ten.

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