Golden State Stimulus: When will the $500 extra golden state stimulus in California be sent?

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new proposal on Monday 10 May that would include a $600 direct payment for 80% of taxpayers in the state. The “California Comeback Plan” will also include additional payments valued at $500 for undocumented families and taxpayers with dependents.

How to claim the benefit?

In order to receive the payments, the proposal must be passed by the state legislature.

Lawmakers will receive the full proposal Friday 14 May and the governor is hoping to see the legislation approved by mid-June. If approved, payments would begin being disbursed shortly after based on tax information provided this year. The deadline to file taxes in California is 17 May.

Who is eligible?

In order to qualify for a payment, households must make less than $75,000 a year. In February, the state enacted a covid-19 economic recovery plan that sent direct payments to all filers making less than $30,000 a year. These families would not qualify to receive another $600 check but they may be eligible for one of the $500 additional payments.

On 6 May, the California Franchise Tax Board, the entity tasked with distributing the Golden State stimulus checks said that had sent 2.5 million checks worth a combined total of $1.6 billion. The Governor reminded residents that even if they do not normally file a tax return, they should do so this year because they may qualify for this benefit.

What else does the California Comeback Plan include?

Each day this week the different components of the package will be announced. On Monday came the news of the additional direct payments and on Tuesday the Governor explains what the proposal does to address issues of housing in the state. 


Homelessness has become a greater issue in the state in recent years. According to Capital Public Radio, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the state grew 24% from 2018 to 2020. With many residents slipping into poverty during the pandemic, the state sees it as a key priority to ensure families can stay in their homes. The California Comeback Plan includes 7 billion dollars to help residents pay rent and utilities, including back rent that could lead to a major wave of evictions if not covered soon.

On Tuesday Gov. Newsome also announced  $12 billion in “proven solutions” to reduce homelessness including, $7 billion for “home key acquisitions”
, $1.5 billion to construct thousands of affordable housing units, $447 million to address the issue of student homelessness. These investments to combat homelessness would be the largest in the state’s history.

The plan will also address family homelessness specifically by allocating funds for rental assistance to prevent homelessness as well as the construction of new housing units for families in need.

To address the issue of encampments the bill will include $50 million to rehouse residents to safer options. To prevent the issue, the proposals include a $1.5 billion jobs program to create 15,000 low-barrier jobs for people who are or have experienced homelessness, at-risk youth, veterans, and formerly incarcerated people.

More information on what the final proposal will include is expected in the coming days.