By Ben Christopher, CalMatters, January 8, 2021
“Despite — or maybe because of — the last 10 months of arrested economic activity and unchecked viral contagion, Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced a record-breaking $227 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year.
“It includes:
- A higher level of education spending per pupil than ever before.
- An extra $4.6 billion to fund expanded summer school programs.
- Nearly $1.5 billion to subsidize electric car sales and expand charging infrastructure.
- $16 billion into the state’s rainy day fund.
- $5 billion in “immediate action” pandemic programs he hopes the Legislature will pass in the coming weeks.
An analysis by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst found that revenues were more resilient than expected, with a 20% higher than projected tax revenue than projected in June 2020.
Other budget proposals by the governor include:
- “The ‘Golden State Stimulus’: The governor wants to send $600 checks to pad the pockets of hard-up Californians. Unlike the federal government’s COVID relief bill, these checks will only go to the state’s lowest earners — those who make less than $30,000. [This includes some undocumented and mixed-status families.]
- “Rental assistance: California got an extra $2.6 billion from the most recent federal relief bill to help renters. The governor wants to pass that renter relief alongside an extension to the current moratorium on evictions.
“It’s not clear when these measures will be introduced — and once introduced, when and if they will pass. But Newsom said he hopes to see some of these policies introduced ‘in the next few weeks.’”
Read the full article here.
Related: In Bloomberg CityLab, Sarah Holder writes about 11 U.S. cities piloting guaranteed income programs, including a San Francisco program supporting pregnant Black and Pacific Islanders.