Sacramento — TechNet,
the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior
executives, today named Senator Ben Allen and Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin as
California Legislators of the Year.

“We
are honored to recognize and award Senator Ben Allen and Assemblymember Jacqui
Irwin as TechNet’s Legislators of the Year for 2016,”
said Andrea Deveau, TechNet’s Vice President of State Policy and Politics. “These
legislators are true champions of technology, and we thank them for their
leadership and ongoing support of the innovation economy.”

Senator
Ben Allen has a deep understanding of the issues facing the
innovation economy and has championed meaningful legislation of relevance to
the technology industry. As Chair of the
Senate Education Committee, Senator Allen continues to fight for California’s
youth by helping provide access to 21st century skills education and
training, including increased focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering,
and math) fields. Senator Allen has
supported historic climate change legislation, and he continues to fight for
increased access to the arts in schools, especially in disadvantaged
communities.

Assemblywoman
Jacqui Irwin has been a leader on many issues of importance for the
technology and innovation economy. She is an expert on cybersecurity and information security policy and has been a champion on these issues in the
legislature. In addition, Assemblywoman
Irwin has been a thought leader on clean energy and education policy and has supported
future of work initiatives that are critical to ensuring California remains a
leader in innovation. As a member of the Commission on the
Status of Women and Girls, she is a leading advocate for eliminating inequities
that affect California’s women and girls.

TechNet will honor Senator Allen and Assemblymember Irwin at
a reception in Sacramento on Monday evening.

About
TechNet
TechNet
is the national, bipartisan network of technology CEOs and senior executives
that promotes the growth of the innovation economy by advocating a targeted
policy agenda at the federal and 50-state level. TechNet’s diverse membership includes dynamic
startups to the most iconic companies on the planet and represents more than
two million employees in the fields of information technology, e-commerce,
advanced energy, biotechnology, venture capital, and finance. TechNet has offices in Washington, D.C., Silicon Valley, San Francisco,
Sacramento, Austin, Boston, Seattle, Albany, and Tallahassee.