Relief To Californians Experiencing Pandemic Hardship •

– Governor Gavin Newsom outgoing Senate President Tony G. Atkins and Speaker Anthony Rendon announced today that they have agreed on a package of emergency measures that will provide rapid assistance to individuals, families and businesses experiencing the most severe economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 recession.

This compromise builds on initiatives in the State Governor’s proposal that provide monetary assistance for low-income California residents, increased support for small businesses and exemptions from permit renewal fees for businesses affected by the pandemic. In addition to these measures, the agreement provides tax credits for businesses, additional funding for essential child care, and funding for emergency financial aid for community college students

As we continue to fight the pandemic and rebuild, I am grateful to the Legislature for its partnership in providing emergency assistance to California families and small businesses where they need it most, Governor Newsom said. From child care to small business support, direct financial support to individuals, financial support to community college students and so on. – These measures are essential for the millions of Californians who embody the resilience of the California spirit.

We have been living with this pandemic for almost a year now, and millions of Californians are still feeling the effects on their wallets and their daily lives. Business is bad. People are struggling to make ends meet. This agreement builds on and strengthens Governor Newsom’s proposal in many ways so that we can provide the emergency assistance that families and small businesses desperately need now, said Senate President Pro Tempore Atkins. People are starving and suffering, and businesses that have loved our communities for decades are threatening to close their doors. We are at a critical juncture and I am proud that we were able to join forces to provide the necessary assistance to Californians.

Californians suffered. Our response is designed to address the human and economic impacts of COWIDA in a way that reflects U.S. President Biden’s stimulus package and will help those hardest hit. We are laying an economic foundation for job recovery, for small business recovery and even for our daily lives, President Rendon said.

In addition, the governor and legislative officials stated that discussions are underway on measures to safely reopen Public Schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade, including strategies to address learning losses caused by the pandemic.

The main provisions of the Emergency Agreement are as follows

Direct assistance to individuals and families

The agreement includes the Governor’s golden state Stimulus Plan to help California families bear the disproportionate economic burden of the COVID-19 recession – families with incomes under $30,000 and families who were unfairly excluded from previous federal stimulus packages.

The agreement provides a one-time subsidy of $600 for households benefiting from California’s ITDP through 2020. In addition, the agreement provides for a one-time payment of $600 to taxpayers with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) who were ineligible for the $1,200 per person federal payments and subsequent $600 federal payments last spring. The agreement provides for payments of $600 per month. The Total Cost of the project is $1.5 million for households with an ITIN and an income of less than $75,000. ITIN taxpayers who are also covered by California’s CETI will receive a total of $1,200. The payment to these households will be made shortly after the submission of the 2020 TAX RETURN

The agreement builds on this original plan and now provides direct assistance to low-income Californians through a one-time $600 grant to CalWORKS households and beneficiaries of the ISS/PSS and Cash Assistance for Immigrants (CAPI) program. Payments for CalWORKS household grants are expected in mid-April; timelines for ISS/PSS and CAPI grants are currently being discussed with federal officials.

Together, the agreement amounts to a total payment of $5.7 million to low-income Californians.

Immediate assistance to small enterprises Quadruple assistance

The agreement provides for a fourfold increase, from $500 million to more than $2 billion. – Grants of up to $25,000 for small businesses affected by the pandemic and $50 million for cultural institutions.

The agreement also partially complies with California’s new federal tax law on payroll protection plan credits, which allows companies to deduct up to $150,000 of expenses covered by the PPP loan. All businesses with loans of $150,000 or less can maximize their deductions for government purposes. For larger companies taking out larger loans, a deduction remains in place with the same $150,000 limit. More than 750,000 public-private partnership (PPP) loans have been made by small California businesses. This tax treatment also applies to loans for economic loss.

Exemption of duties for most concerned licensees

The agreement provides a reduction for two years for approximately 59,000 restaurants and bars licensed by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, ranging from $455 to $1,235 per year. The agreement also provides duty exemptions for more than 600,000 individuals and businesses in the hairdressing and cosmetology industry licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Increased resources for critical care of children

The agreement adds just over $400 million in new federal funding that will provide $525 per child enrolled in all publicly funded child care centers and preschools serving about 400,000 children in subsidized child care centers across the state. Thanks to new federal funding, access to subsidized child care for essential workers will be extended through June 2022 and access to subsidized child care for more than 8,000 children of essential workers and vulnerable children currently not in the system will be extended through June 2022.

Extra help for individuals and families

The agreement provides $24 million in financial assistance and additional services under Harvest Housing, an assistance program for farmworkers quarantined as a result of COWID-19. The agreement also includes a total of $35 million for food banks and diapers.

Emergency financial aid for students at community college.

The agreement provides an additional $100 million in emergency financial aid for low-income students who own six or more housing units; the amount of the grants will be determined locally and made available in early April. The agreement also provides for the payment of $20 million to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The government has allocated a total of $2.5 million to reopen community schools for students who have dropped out as a result of the pandemic or to employ students who are at risk of dismissal.

CalFresh student information and application help

The agreement provides about $6 million for the University of California, California State University and California Community College to help students who are eligible for CalFresh, the federal nutritional supplement program. The agreement also provides for the allocation of $12 million to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The county has received $1.5 million from the state to support the county’s work in this area.

In addition, the following provision is included in the agreement:

Recovery from contractions

The agreement replaces previous reductions effective January 1, 2009. July for the University of California, California State University, the court system, child care and housing for middle-income returnees.