{"id":182508,"date":"2021-05-10T05:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T12:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=182508"},"modified":"2021-05-10T10:01:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T17:01:49","slug":"california-stimulus-checks-relief-package-newsom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/newsletters\/whatmatters\/2021\/05\/california-stimulus-checks-relief-package-newsom\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom wants to send stimulus checks to two-thirds of Californians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall election, wants to use the state\u2019s sizable budget surplus to put money in the majority of Californians\u2019 pockets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The governor today will unveil an $11.9 billion proposal that would send $600 stimulus checks to two-thirds of Californians and an additional $500 to families with kids. Details, including who would qualify, were unavailable late Sunday, although Newsom’s office said the payments would benefit the middle class as well as low-income residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If approved by the Legislature, the plan would triple the size of the Golden State Stimulus package<\/a> Newsom signed into law in February. That package included one-time $600 payments for an estimated 5.7 million residents who receive the state\u2019s earned income tax credit and an extra $600 for low-income undocumented taxpayers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new plan also would include payments for families, building on the expanded child tax credit in the recent federal stimulus package<\/a> that experts say could cut the Golden State\u2019s child poverty in half<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom’s office is promoting it as \u201cthe biggest state tax rebate in American history,” part of a $100 billion economic recovery package to address \u201cfive of the state\u2019s most stubborn challenges.\u201d Newsom will unveil the rest of the relief plan this week before officially presenting on Friday his revamped state budget, which accounts for a larger-than-expected surplus<\/a> that emerged after his initial budget proposal in January<\/a>. That will kick off another round of negotiations with lawmakers \u2014 who have their own ideas for how the state should spend its surplus \u2014 before the June 15 deadline to pass the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other four \u201cstubborn challenges\u201d remain to be seen, but Newsom is under pressure from advocates to address mounting utility debt \u2014 Californians\u2019 unpaid water bills total $1 billion<\/a> \u2014 expand rent relief<\/a> and extend the state\u2019s soon-to-expire eviction moratorium<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom previewed another major budget proposal in a Mother’s Day video message shared on Sunday<\/a>: He wants to fund 100,000 more child care slots, invest millions of dollars in child care providers and families, and direct $200 million to support career pathways for home health care workers. The governor has long emphasized<\/a> families and mothers in his budget proposals, but he’s also likely trying to shore up key Democratic support<\/a> ahead of the recall election<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some child care providers still haven\u2019t received relief payments<\/a> promised by the state, and at least 8,500 licensed child care sites have shuttered<\/a> amid the pandemic, straining parents and throwing providers \u2014 who are disproportionately women of color \u2014 out of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The coronavirus bottom line:<\/strong> As of Sunday, California had 3,654,545 confirmed cases<\/strong> (+0.1% from previous day)<\/strong> and 61,228 deaths<\/strong> (+0.1% from previous day)<\/strong>, according to a CalMatters tracker<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California has administered<\/a> 32,471,842<\/strong> vaccine doses<\/strong>, and 44.7%<\/strong> of Californians are fully vaccinated<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus: <\/strong>CalMatters regularly updates this pandemic timeline tracking the state\u2019s daily actions<\/a>. We\u2019re also tracking the state\u2019s coronavirus hospitalizations by county<\/a> and lawsuits against COVID-19 restrictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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