CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS TO RETURN TO SESSION

Mending California’s coronavirus-ravaged economy and fixing a state unemployment agency that is at the center of a titanic fraud case that could exceed $2 billion are at the top of the to-do list when lawmakers resume their session today.

They already have introduced numerous bills responding to the pandemic, ranging from extending protections for renters to attempting to regain some decision-making authority they had delegated to Gov. Gavin Newsom. They pushed back their usual start by one week because of the latest coronavirus surge.

Among their most urgent priorities, lawmakers are racing to extend eviction protections that otherwise will expire Jan. 31.

Two lawmakers are pursuing bills that would maintain a law passed months ago barring evictions for people who have been unable to pay their rent since the pandemic began in March, though they must pay 25 percent of what they owe since September. Assemblyman David Chiu wants to extend the protections at least through 2021, while a bill by Sen. Anna Caballero, a fellow Democrat, proposes an extension through March.

Newsom has endorsed an extension, but did not say how long it should be.

Newsom proposed a $227 billion budget on Friday that would take effect July 1. But he is asking lawmakers to act sooner on a number of proposals.

Those include giving a one-time stimulus payment of $600 to taxpayers who earn less than $30,000 annually. The effort would cost the state $2.4 billion.

Newsom also wants the state to pony up $575 million for grants to small businesses, plus millions more in loans and fee waivers. And he is proposing the state spend $2 billion to help schools pay for testing, ventilation and personal protective equipment in the hopes they will resume in-person instruction.