Gavin Newsom wants to send $600 to millions of Californians, extend renter protections

Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking state lawmakers to approve an additional $600 in cash for low-income families and an extension of California’s eviction moratorium to help people through the coronavirus pandemic, Newsom announced Wednesday morning.

The proposal, which he’s calling the “Golden State Stimulus” would provide help on top of the national stimulus package passed by federal lawmakers late last year. The federal stimulus package provides $600 to people making less than $75,000.

Newsom’s proposal would give money to people who receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit, a credit for families earning less than $30,000 that includes some undocumented and mixed-status families. About 3.9 million households applied for the tax credit last year, according to Newsom’s office.

The governor’s office estimates that sending $600 to qualifying families under the plan will cost the state $2.4 billion, Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said.

“Through the Golden State Stimulus, Californians who have been impacted by this pandemic will get help to provide for their families and keep a roof over their heads,” Newsom said in a written statement. “This plan will provide relief for Californians in need by distributing $600 rapid cash support — for some, at least $1,200 when coupled with federal relief — and extend the eviction moratorium.”

Lawmakers and Newsom enacted an eviction moratorium last year to stop a wave of evictions of people who lost income because of the pandemic and can’t pay rent, but that policy expires at the end of this month. Assemblyman David Chiu, the San Francisco Democrat who authored the original moratorium, has already introduced a bill for this year that would extend the policy.

The current moratorium protects to renters who have lost money because of the pandemic but still pay at least a quarter of their rent. Newsom’s office did not say for how long the governor would like to extend renter protections.

Newsom also announced Wednesday that he will call on lawmakers to quickly distribute California’s $2.6 billion share of federal aid for low-income renters.

The proposals Newsom unveiled Wednesday are part of his 2021-22 state budget plan, which he will unveil in full Friday. They are part of what Newsom is calling his early action budget plan, a series of emergency expenditures he’s asking lawmakers to pass immediately when they return to Sacramento on Monday. Normally, budget bills take months to craft and don’t pass until June, ahead of the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

Also included in Newsom’s early action proposal are $2 billion for school reopenings and nearly $1 billion in small business help.

Under Newsom’s proposal, the state would give $600 to people who received the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2019 in February and March. Some undocumented people who are newly eligible for the credit will receive the $600 payments once they file their 2020 taxes this year, according to the governor’s office.

This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Gavin Newsom wants to send $600 to millions of Californians, extend renter protections."