One group of supporters asks for another stimulus-like payout for the state’s poorest citizens as Gov. Gavin Newsom and California lawmakers consider ways to return the state’s excess cash to Californians experiencing high gas prices and other rising costs of living.
A group of anti-poverty organizations urges the state to provide a $2,000 one-time payment to families earning $30,000 per year.
Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, a Democrat from Los Angeles, is the bill’s sponsor. Its purpose is to compensate for the expiration of the enhanced federal Child Tax Credit payments from the previous year. Families with low and intermediate incomes received up to $3,000 per child and $3,600 per child under six due to the expansion.
According to Columbia University researchers, the enhanced child tax credit reduced child poverty by more than 26%, with bigger reductions among Black and Latino youngsters. According to the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, nearly 90% of households used the money on necessities like food, clothing, and rent (CBPP).
Now that the program’s extension expired in December, advocates have voiced concerns, citing CBPP numbers suggesting that 1.7 million California children are at risk of falling into poverty.
Last year, key pandemic relief measures ended, including the Newsom administration’s Golden State Stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits.
Legislators are considering proposals such as a stimulus cheque and a gas tax rebate.
Santiago’s suggestion is a follow-up to “the largest anti-poverty initiative we’ve ever had,” according to him.
“When a family’s income is $30,000 or less, they require emergency assistance,” he stated.
His bill was heard by the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on Monday, and it now awaits a vote. The cost of the measure would be $3.8 billion.
According to the Legislative Analyst Office, it’s the most recent of several suggestions for how the state could spend down a projected $31 billion budget surplus.
Officials are already studying several rebate proposals that might affect a larger group of Californians to assist them in coping with inflation and rising gas prices.
Newsom proposes distributing $400 debit cards to owners of every registered car in the state, with a ceiling of $800 per person and $750 million to public transit organizations for three months of free trips.
A coalition of Democratic legislators wants to give all state taxpayers $400 rebates, regardless of whether or not they own a car. Both designs are estimated to cost $9 billion.
Democratic leaders, on the other hand, have refused to give tax relief to wealthy Californians in addition to people with lower incomes.
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Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins support a $7 billion plan to provide at least $200 rebates to families earning up to $250,000 per year. Atkins started in March that she was focusing on “ensuring that public money is directed to people who truly want assistance.”
Child tax credit supporters argue that the primary priority for the surplus should be even more targeted. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the poorest people are the hardest hurt by inflation and spend most of their money on gas.
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Teri Olle, California campaign director for Economic Security Project Action, an organization that advocates for cash assistance programs, stated, “We’re really fighting for a focus on doing the most and as much as you can for the lowest-income people.” “We know those families are the most in need.”
Newsom’s spokeswoman declined to comment on the proposal. Still, she said his rebate idea is “particularly geared to benefit Californians suffering rising gas prices” and targets automobile owners regardless of income.
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