The Legislature hereby declares that it serves a public purpose, and is of benefit to the state, to encourage and facilitate job maintenance and job development in distressed and declining areas of cities and towns in the state. It is the intent of the Legislature to further these goals by providing appropriate preferences to California based companies submitting bids or proposals for state contracts to be performed at worksites in distressed areas by persons with a high risk of unemployment when the contract is for goods or services in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).