$600 checks OKd in California for lowincome people

“Even with the support that the federal government has provided, our lowestincome Californians have really faced hardships.”

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, DBerkeley

SACRAMENTO — Millions of lowincome Californians will receive direct $600 payments and small businesses will be eligible for billions of dollars’ worth of grants and tax deductions under a plan approved Monday by the Legislature.

The package of bills passed the Assembly and Senate by overwhelming margins with bipartisan support, as lawmakers acknowledged they needed to do far more to ease the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our small businesses are dying, and we simply cannot let that happen,” said Assembly Member Cottie PetrieNorris, DLaguna Beach (Orange County).

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who helped craft the coronavirus relief package, said he expected to sign the measures Tuesday.

The $600 payments — which are separate from the stimulus checks that the federal government has handed out — could reach more than 5 million lowincome households this spring.

Much of the money will be distributed through the tax filing process. Taxpayers who claim the state earned income tax credit for the working poor — generally, those with incomes of $30,000 a year or less — will receive a $600 rebate. Noncitizens who pay taxes using an individual taxpayer identification number also will be eligible for a rebate if they made $75,000 or less last year, regardless of their filing status.

The state will distribute extra $600 grants in the coming months to Californians enrolled in its welfare and supplemental Social Security programs.

“Even with the support that the federal government has provided, our lowestincome Californians have really faced hardships,” said state Sen. Nancy Skinner, DBerkeley. “It has been much harder on those Californians that are constantly struggling to make ends meet.”

The plan includes more than $4 billion for businesses that have been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. About half is set aside to help small businesses with annual revenue of $2.5 million or less adapt their operations for the coronavirus, extending a program started in December that provides grants of between $5,000 and $25,000.

Small cultural institutions that have been unable to operate or are otherwise financially challenged by the pandemic will get $50 million in grants. Those include museums, art galleries, theater and dance companies, musical groups, zoos and botanical gardens.

The state will also waive some fees for bars, restaurants, barbershops and manicure salons that have been required to close down or limit their capacity during the pandemic.