California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed $ 7.6 billion coronavirus on Tuesday, an assistance package that will give at least $ 600 a single payment to 5.7 million people, while allocating more than $ 2 billion in grants to troubled small businesses.
Newsom signed the law as Congress debated a much larger stimulus package for the nation, a proposal that could also put money in the pockets of most Americans. And it occurs when the first-term governor faces a withdrawal effort driven in part by widespread rage over his coronavirus manipulation, particularly its impact on businesses.
“The backbone of our economy is small business. We recognize the stress, the stress that so many small businesses have suffered,” Newsom said at a bill signing ceremony at Solomon’s Deli in Sacramento. “And we also recognize our responsibility to do more and do better to help support these small businesses at this very difficult and difficult time.”
The Newsom administration still bans covered food in most of the state, while limiting the number of people who can enter stores at the same time. Newsom said Tuesday that the state will ease those restrictions in five counties, and more will come in the coming weeks as the number of new infections has dropped in recent weeks along with coronavirus-related hospitalizations.
Newsom used its emergency powers in November to allocate $ 500 million in grants to small businesses. In the first round of funding, the program received more than 334,000 applications for a total of more than $ 4.4 billion in applications.
The law Newsom signed Thursday puts another $ 2 billion into that program. Companies with annual revenues of between $ 1,000 and $ 2.5 million are eligible for the money, with priority given to women-owned and minority-owned businesses and companies in areas with high unemployment rates.
The legislature is likely to approve more aid for businesses next week. Lawmakers had planned to pass a bill Monday that would allow companies to deduct up to $ 150,000 in expenses covered by federal loans from their state taxes, a $ 2 billion profit in six years. But they decided to amend the bill so that companies would deduct more than $ 150,000 from their taxes, raising the state price to about $ 2.3 billion, Newsom said.
Once this law is passed, it will bring the total state stimulus package to just under $ 10 billion.
“That’s great even by California standards,” Newsom said.
The package includes $ 3.7 billion to pay at least $ 600 in one-time payments to about 5.7 million people. Most of these people will get the money by claiming California income tax credit on their returns. In general, they are people who earn $ 30,000 a year or less.
The money will also go to people who earn less than $ 75,000 a year and use an individual taxpayer identification number to file their income taxes. These are people who do not have Social Security numbers, including immigrants who were not eligible for federal stimulus payments approved by Congress last year.