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Californians who qualify for a $ 600 state stimulus payment could see the money arrive as early as a month after filing their tax return under a 7-month COVID-19 economic relief program, $ 6 billion approved Monday by the state legislature.
Designed by Governor 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. These companies can soon apply for the grants, followed by an approval process that state officials say would take 45 days.
The legislature is expected to follow through on additional $ 2 billion in corporate tax relief this week, bringing the total to $ 9.6 billion.
Stimulus help for residents earning $ 30,000 a year or less will come much faster – four to five weeks on average after filing their 2020 tax return with the National Franchise Tax Commission if they do. ‘also sign up for direct deposit, said HD Palmer, a spokesperson for the California Department of Finance. The wait could be up to seven weeks for those who received the $ 600 in checks from the state.
“This is such an important bill because it gives millions of hardworking Californians instant cash they desperately need during this difficult time, during this pandemic,” MP Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) during the indoor debate before the Legislative Assembly vote. half a dozen 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 aims to help those in the most difficult financial times, said Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).
“Our low-wage workers have been disproportionately affected,” said Skinner, chair of the Senate Budget and Review Committee.
The COVID-19 relief program was made possible by higher-than-expected tax revenues in California despite economic hardship caused by the pandemic.
Some 3.8 million of the payments will go to households that qualify for the state-earned income tax credit for 2020, which is available to residents earning less than $ 30,000 per year.
About 565,000 stimulus payments will go to these with individual tax ID numbers who have not received federal stimulus payments and whose income is less than $ 75,000, many of whom are immigrants to the country illegally. Taxpayers with individual identification numbers who are also eligible for the state of California earned income tax credit would receive a total of $ 1,200 in state stimulus.
Stimulus payments of $ 600 will also go to 1.2 million people who receive money from federal Supplemental Security Income or state supplemental payment programs, and 405,000 payments will be made to participants in CalWORKS, the state welfare program at work. 15,000 additional payments are planned for participants in the cash assistance program for immigrants.
CalWORKS payments will be placed on EBT cards and issued to attendees by mid-April, although the timing may change depending on the ability to automate the process, Palmer said. The timing and method of payment of grants for SSI and SSP beneficiaries is still being worked out and depends 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 a month for a household and pay for utilities, said Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of the advocacy group Housing and Economic Rights Advocates.
“This saves people time to start coming out of the pandemic stop,” Brown said. “It’s $ 600 that could make the difference for some people between surviving or not surviving.”
The provision of the relief program that sparked the most debate in legislative hearings was the proposal to provide stimulus checks for immigrants who are in the country illegally.
State Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) questioned the provision of the money when the state budget, although still now, could suffer problems in the future if the COVID-related recession -19 continues.
“This budget will create long-term obligations to undocumented migrants,” Nielsen said during a legislative debate.
Skinner noted that the stimulus check for immigrants is a one-time payment, not a permanent budget obligation, while Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) said the proposal for immigrants and other low-income residents is important but doesn’t go far enough.
“I think it’s a big step forward. It’s a recognition of all these low-paid workers… that they work hard and have been disproportionately affected by unemployment, ”said Durazo. “I think it’s possible to include more people who are still not covered by our state or the federal government [programs]. “
Immigrant advocates have said many will not get a stimulus check because they do not have an individual taxpayer identification number, and noted that immigrants also cannot get unemployment benefits or federal stimulus measures.
“That doesn’t cover all the relief they’ve been left out of, and we’re creating inequality as a result,” Sasha Feldstein, director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, told lawmakers at a budget hearing.
She noted that an immigrant household with two ITIN-filing parents and two children would be entitled to a maximum of $ 1,200 in state stimulus, which is about 21% of the federal relief they were excluded from.
“More is needed to protect thousands of undocumented workers left behind,” added Fanelly Millán, organizer of the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center.
The relief program approved by the governor and the legislature also provides $ 2.1 billion in grants ranging from $ 5,000 to $ 25,000, a program administered by the California office of the Small Business Advocate.
“This will help skilled small businesses that have been economically devastated by the COVID pandemic,” said Senator Anna Caballero (D-Salinas), author of the subsidy bill. “As we know, small businesses across the state continued to struggle to survive during door-to-door orders.”
She cited a recent survey by the advocacy group Small Business Majority which found that 35% of small businesses were three months away from closing if they didn’t get additional financial assistance.
MP James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) said in Monday’s debate that the relief bill should not have been as important as it was if the state had not forced companies to close for so long.
“This governor arbitrarily and unilaterally decided to shut down mostly small businesses in this state and as a result many small businesses have already gone out of business,” Gallagher told colleagues before joining the bipartisan vote to support the project. Law on Business Subsidies.
The legislature’s approval of the grant came months after Newsom launched the program with an executive order that provided $ 500 million in grants to 21,000 small businesses.
But the demand for grants is greater than the money available. In the first round of grant awards, 350,000 small businesses applied for more than $ 4.5 billion, officials said.
Businesses with a gross annual income of up to $ 2.5 million are eligible. Since not all applicants will receive a grant, applications are ranked and judged based on criteria, especially if the company is in the industry sector most affected by the pandemic.
Nominations will also be scored to ensure that there is a wide geographic spread and that businesses owned by people of color are fairly represented.
“Our commitment to this effort is to underserved communities and underrepresented communities, which means we’re going to be very aware of where these dollars are going,” Newsom said Monday at a press conference in Arvin.
Once a company is notified that it has been selected for a grant, it will face additional verification requirements before the money is disbursed, said Kaitlin Lewis, a state spokesperson. .
“All final rewards will be finalized within 45 business days of a round’s close and businesses are verified and paid on an ongoing basis,” Lewis said.
Part of the relief program that a vote is slated for this week would allow businesses to deduct up to $ 150,000 in loan-covered expenses from the Federal Paycheck Protection Plan. More than 750,000 PPP loans have been taken out by small businesses in California, officials said.
Two years of fee relief will also be granted to about 59,000 restaurants and bars licensed by the State Department of Alcohol Control, according to bills approved Monday. They normally pay an annual fee ranging from $ 455 to $ 1,235. More than 550,000 hairdressing and cosmetology licenses will also be exempt from fees.
In addition, $ 50 million will go to grants for cultural institutions that have suffered financially because of the pandemic. The program also includes grants to community college students and additional funds for child care, food banks, diapers, and housing for farm workers in quarantine.
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