California lawmakers approve $600 stimulus payments for lower-wage workers
The California state Legislature approved a $7.6 billion COVID-19 economic relief package on Monday that includes $600 stimulus payments to residents earning $30,000 a year or less and more than $2.1 billion in grants and fee waivers for small businesses.
The stimulus payments will be delivered quickly, a spokesman for the California Department of Finance told the Los Angeles Times — on average, about four to five weeks after a person files their 2020 state tax returns. About 5.7 million payments will be made, totaling $2.3 billion, to help "lower-wage workers" who have been "disproportionately impacted" by the coronavirus pandemic, state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D) said.
The Legislature passed six bills on Monday to make up the relief package, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he intends to sign the measures on Tuesday. The legislation also includes $50 million for cultural institutions, grants to community college students, and fee waivers for barber and cosmetology licenses. The state received higher-than-expected tax revenues, as many Californians were able to keep their jobs and work from home, which made this relief legislation possible. Lawmakers are expected to pass an additional $2 billion in tax breaks for businesses later this week, the Times reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Anders Breivik to testify in prison isolation lawsuit against Norway
Speed Read Far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in 2011 claims he has received 'inhuman treatment' in custody
By The Week UK Published