California legislators approve $7.6B relief package

SACRAMENTO — Californians who qualify for a $600 state stimulus payment could see the money arrive as soon as a month after filing their tax returns under a $7.6-billion COVID-19 economic relief package approved Monday by the state Legislature.

Crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders last week, the pandemic assistance plan also includes more than $2.1 billion in grants and fee waivers for small businesses. Those companies can soon apply for the grants, followed by an approval process that state officials estimate would take 45 days.

Another $2 billion in tax breaks for businesses is expected to be acted on by the Legislature later this week, which would bring the total package to $9.6 billion.

The stimulus assistance for residents earning $30,000 a year or less will come much quicker — four to five weeks on average after they file 2020 tax returns with the state Franchise Tax Board if they also sign up for direct deposit,

said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the California Department of Finance. The wait could last as long as seven weeks for those receiving the $600 in a check from the state.

“This is such an important bill because it gives millions of hardworking Californians instant money that they so desperately need during this tough time, during this pandemic,” Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) said on Monday during the floor debate before the Legislature passed a halfdozen bills that make up the economic relief package. Newsom said he hoped to sign the measures on Tuesday.

Some 5.7 million payments totaling $2.3 billion will go to low-income Californians under the Golden State Stimulus program, which is aimed at helping those in the most dire financial straits, according to state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).

“Our lower-wage workers have been disproportionately impacted,” said Skinner, chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

The COVID-19 relief package was made possible by higher-than-expected tax revenues in California despite the economic hardships brought on by the pandemic.

Some 3.8 million of the payments will go to households that qualified for the state earned income tax credit for 2020, which is available to residents earning less than $30,000 annually.

About 565,000 stimulus payments will go to those with individual tax identification numbers who did not receive federal stimulus payments and whose income is below $75,000, many of whom are immigrants in the country illegally. Taxpayers with individual identification numbers who also qualify for California’s state earned income tax credit would receive a total of $1,200 in state stimulus.

The $600 stimulus payments will also go to 1.2 million people who receive money from the federal supplemental security income or state supplementary payment programs, and 405,000 payments will be provided to participants in CalWORKS, the state’s welfare-to-work program. Another 15,000 payments are planned for participants in the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants.

The CalWorks payments will be placed on EBT cards and issued to participants by mid-April, although the timing could change based on the ability to automate the process, Palmer said. The timing and method of grant payments for those on SSI and SSP is still being worked out and is dependent on conversations with the federal Social Security Administration, he added.

The $600 stimulus checks for low-income residents could be enough to put food on the table for the month for a household and pay for utilities, according to Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of the advocacy group Housing and Economic Rights Advocates.

“It buys people time for us to begin to emerge from the pandemic shutdown,” Brown said. “This is $600 that could be the difference for some people between surviving or not surviving.”

The provision of the relief package that generated the most debate in legislative hearings was the proposal to provide stimulus checks for immigrants who are in the country illegally.

State Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) questioned providing the money when the state budget, while flush now, could suffer problems in the future if the COVID-19-related recession continues.

“This budget is going to be creating long-term obligations to the undocumented,” Nielsen said during a legislative debate.

Skinner noted that the stimulus check to immigrants is a one-time payment, not a continuing budget obligation, while state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) said the proposal for immigrants and other low-income residents is important but does not go far enough.

“I think it’s a great step forward. It’s an acknowledgment of all these lowwage workers … that they are working hard and they have been disproportionately impacted through unemployment,” Durazo said. “I think there is room to include more who are still not covered either by our state or by the federal [programs].”