From Senator Anthony Portantino’s office:
$9.6 Billion Immediate Action Agreement
In early January, Governor Newsom proposed a bold immediate action stimulus package to provide support to working families facing the unprecedented financial hardships brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senate President pro Tempore, Assembly Speaker, and respective budget committee chairs have reached an agreement with the Governor that builds on that proposal and provides $9.6 billion in immediate relief for individuals, families, small businesses and other key programs which will provide ongoing support to impacted Californians where they need it most.
Direct Relief to Individual and Families:
This agreement will provide direct relief to California households that have been disproportionately impacted by the economic devastation of the COVID-19 Recession – those with incomes below $30,000, as well as those unfairly excluded from previous federal stimulus payments. Under this agreement, a total of 5.7 million payments will be distributed to hard working Californians.
* Golden State Stimulus for working Californians earning less than $30,000:
o Provides $600 in one-time relief to 3.8 million taxpayers who are eligible to receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) for the 2020 tax year. ($2.3 billion)
* Golden State Stimulus for targeted Californians left out of federal stimulus programs:
o Provides a $600 one-time tax refund to 575,000 taxpaying Californians who were excluded from federal stimulus payments, such as undocumented households that file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and earn up to $75,000 of income. ITIN tax filers will also be eligible to receive a $600 refund through CalEITC, totaling $1,200 in relief payments shortly after they file their 2020 tax returns. ($470 million)
* Provides an additional $600 one-time grant to 405,000 families enrolled in California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) to
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Senate Democratic Caucus 02/17/2021
help pay for housing, food, medical care and other necessary expenses. ($243 million)
* Provides an additional $600 one-time grant for 1.2 million elderly, blind and disabled individuals enrolled in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) to help meet individual’s basic needs of food and shelter. ($750 million)
Support for Small Businesses:
* Small Business/non-Profits Grants:
* Builds on the $500 million program that began in December 2020 by providing an additional $2.1 billion in grants for small business and non- profits (up to $25,000), totaling $2.6 billion to help them overcome the economic challenges created by the pandemic.
* This agreement also allocates $50 million for cultural institutions. Small Business Tax/Fee Cuts:
* Provides $2 billion in tax cuts for small businesses by partially conforming California tax law to new federal tax treatments for loans provided through the Paycheck Protection Program, (PPP) which allows companies to maximized their deductions for state purposes up to $150,000 in expenses covered by the PPP loan. Larger firms that received a higher loan amount would still be subject to the same ceiling of $150,000 deductibility. This $150,000 deductibility ceiling would also extend to the Economic Injury Disaster Loans as well. California small businesses received more than 750,000 PPP loans due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Provides $115 million in fee reductions to help with ongoing recovery efforts by waiving various fees for two years for small businesses in heavily impacted service industries including 59,000 restaurants and bars licensed through the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Commission and more than 600,000 barbering and cosmetology businesses licensed through the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Additional Key Relief Items:
* CalWORKs Eligibility Expansion: Provides $240 million to expand CalWORKs eligibility for working families impacted by the pandemic by exempting the supplemental federal Unemployment Insurance benefits from income calculations.
Office of Senator Anthony J. Portantino, 25th District
NOTE NEW ADDRESS: 601 E Glenoaks Ave Suite 210, Glendale CA 91207 | 818.409.0400
