California Golden State stimulus check: when is the new payment coming?
California Governor Gavin Newsom has passed a massive stimulus package aimed at boosting the state's post-pandemic economy, but when will payments arrive?
With no sign of a fourth stimulus check from the federal government, some states have sought to provide their own short-term financial boost to residents.
On 12 July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 129 into law, approving the majority of the state’s 2012/22 budgetary agreement. The centre-piece inclusion in the package was the $100 billion California Comeback Plan, the largest economic recovery bill in the state’s history.
It included a round of stimulus checks covering around two-thirds of Californians, which are expected to be sent out in September.
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How much are the California stimulus checks worth?
The new legislative package will see the majority of California residents become eligible for a $600 direct payment, commonly known as the Golden State stimulus check. Eligible Californians who claim at least one child dependent will also be able to receive another $500, although these payments are limited to one-per-filer.
In March the Golden State Stimulus bill provided a round of stimulus checks for low-income households, typically only those who qualified for the state’s CalEITC benefits programme. However the recent legislation broadens that out to all individuals with an annual income of $75,000 per year or less.
To receive the payment a 2020 tax return must be filed with the California Franchise Tax Board, who are in charge of administrating and distributing the checks. Residents have until 15 October to file a tax return for last year, if they have not already done so, to become eligible for the payment.
Stimulus checks are the result of record-breaking budget surplus
The $100 billion package will be funded in part by an enormous budgetary surplus which exceeded all expectations. Little over a year ago the state was estimating a shortfall of over $50 billion, but a surge in state tax revenue and additional recovery funds from the federal government resulted in a $75.7 billion surplus.
Eager to put this money towards the ongoing economic recovery, Newsom has ploughed it into a package specifically designed to boost struggling businesses and provide a support for struggling families.
Newsom said, when announcing the package: “Through this comprehensive plan, the state is taking on the inequities laid bare by the pandemic, expanding our support for Californians facing the greatest hardships, increasing opportunity for every child, confronting homelessness head-on and doubling down on our work to build resilience against the climate change impacts that threaten California’s future."