Newsom lays out new plan for additional $600 stimulus checks

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a second round of $600 state stimulus checks on Monday to hasten California’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, hoping to expand the payments from low-income residents to also include middle-class families, saying that doing so would benefit 2 out of 3 state residents.

The proposal to deliver $8 billion in new cash payments to millions of Californians is part of a $100 billion economic stimulus plan made possible in part by a budget that has swelled with a significant windfall of tax revenues, a surplus the governor put at $75.7 billion. Newsom also proposed $5 billion to double rental assistance to get 100% of back rent paid for those who have fallen behind, along with as much as $2 billion in direct payments to pay down utility bills that are overdue.

“Direct stimulus checks going into people’s pockets and direct relief — that’s meaningful,” Newsom, a Democrat, said during a visit to the Unity Council, a nonprofit social equity development corporation in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland.

Under the governor’s proposal, which still requires approval from the Legislature, households earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income will be able to receive the second round of stimulus payments. The expanded program would provide financial assistance to twothirds of Californians.

In addition to the $600 stimulus checks for eligible Californians, the governor proposed that families with children would get an additional $500.

The payments are part of what Newsom is calling a California Comeback Plan, pitched by a governor who is fighting a Republican-led campaign to recall him from office. The state recently announced that the proponents of the recall turned in sufficient signatures to put a vote on the statewide ballot this fall.

Millions of Californians lost jobs or income since the pandemic began more than a year ago and the state ordered businesses to restrict operations and people to stay home. As vaccines and social-distancing have significantly reduced the spread of the virus, the state is poised to reopen much of its economy by June 15.

Still, many Californians are still struggling to pay rent and cover other expenses.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf welcomed the new round of financial help, which she said is “an unprecedented moment where government is coming to the aid of those who need it the most.”

“Oakland is a city that has been hit hard by this pandemic,” she said. “Direct aid to people is what is going to get our economy roaring back.”

Newsom’s proposal is supported by Chris Iglesias, the chief executive of the Unity Council.