Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo Secures Immediate Action Agreement for Relief for Workers and Businesses Experiencing Pandemic-Related Hardships

(Sacramento, CA) – Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (AD-51, Los Angeles) lauded Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon for agreeing to advance many of the proposals she fought for, including cash relief for low-income Californians, increased aid to small businesses, license renewal fee waivers for individuals and businesses, tax relief for businesses, additional resources for critical child care services, support for students, housing for workers recovering from COVID-19, and other forms of emergency relief.

“This immediate budget action provides the kind of immediate emergency relief that families and small businesses desperately need. There’s no getting around the fact that nearly a year into the COVID-19 global pandemic, workers are still hurting, businesses are still struggling, and families are still having a hard time making ends meet,” said Assemblywoman Carrillo. “Urgent action was needed to help households and businesses, and urgent action was taken. From support for business bottom lines, to support for family pocketbooks, this immediate budget action proves that our state is committed to both building the foundation for a robust and equitable recovery, and enriching individual livelihoods and everyday lives,” she added.

Below are several key provisions from the immediate budget action:

Equitable Recovery for California’s Businesses and Jobs

• Immediate Relief for Small Businesses Quadrupled from $500 million to more than $2 billion.
  • Partially conforms California tax law to new federal tax treatment for loans provided through the Paycheck Protection Plan, allowing companies to deduct up to $150,000 in expenses covered by the PPP loan.
  • All businesses that took out loans of $150,000 or less would be able to maximize their deduction for state purposes. Larger firms that took out higher loans would still be subject to the same ceiling of $150,000 in deductibility.
  • More than 750,000 PPP loans were taken out by California small businesses.
  • This tax treatment also extends to Economic Injury Disaster Loans as well.
• $1.075 billion for the State’s Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program.
  • Prior to the pandemic, small businesses created two-thirds of new jobs and employed nearly half of all private-sector employees.
  • California is home to 4.1 million small businesses that employ nearly half of the state’s total workforce.
  • To help keep these businesses afloat, this immediate budget action will issue $575 million in additional grants, to build on the initial $500 million allocation announced in November 2020.
  • The grants range up to $25,000 for micro and small businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic, and are distributed across the state, with priority given to disadvantaged communities and underserved small business groups.
  • The $575 million immediate budget action includes $25 million for small cultural institutions, such as museums and art galleries, that have been constrained by the pandemic in their ability to educate the community and remain financially viable.
• $777.5 million California Jobs Initiative proposal, focused on job creation and retention, regional development, and small businesses and climate innovation.
  • $430 million toward the California Competes Tax Credit to incentivize businesses to locate in California to stay, grow and create quality full-time jobs in the state, as well as the creation of a new CalCompetes grant program to support job creation and investments in infrastructure.
  • $100 million to expand the Main Street Small Business Tax Credit to encourage hiring new employees and rehiring former employees – nearly doubling the $54 million existing credit that approximately 9,000 taxpayers reserved by January.
  • $35 million to the California Dream Fund to seed entrepreneurship and small business creation in underserved communities.
  • $50 million in additional funds for the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank’s (IBank) Small Business Finance Center to provide small business loan and disaster loan guarantees – this $50 million will be leveraged to provide a total of $250 million in loans for the California Rebuilding Fund.
  • $100 million in expanded sales tax exclusions through the Treasurer’s Office to reduce the cost of manufacturing equipment in order to promote innovation and meet the state’s climate goals.
  • Includes $12.5 million allocated in late 2020 to fully capitalize the California Rebuilding Fund to support $125 million in low-interest loans to underserved businesses.
  • Includes mitigating the SALT deduction limitation for S-corporation shareholders.
• $353 million in one-time and ongoing investments to support California’s workers as they adapt to changes in the economy brought about by COVID-19.
  • These investments lift up proven workforce development strategies like apprenticeship and High-Road Training Partnerships and encourage greater collaboration and coordination among California’s institutions of higher learning and local workforce partners.
  • Demand-driven workforce programs can help California train the workforce of the future in key sectors including health care and technology.
• $70.6 million toward two years of fee waivers to severely COVID-19 impacted individuals and businesses – including barbers, cosmetologists, manicurists, bars and restaurants.
  • These waivers will assist those who have not been able to operate or are operating at reduced capacity during the pandemic.
  • California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will provide waivers of licenses with expiration dates between March 1, 2021, and February 28, 2023 to approximately 59,000 businesses heavily impacted by health and safety restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  • Restaurants, bars, and other specified on-sale licenses can range annually from $455 to $1,235.
  • Fee relief includes more than 600,000 barbering and cosmetology individuals and businesses licensed through the Department of Consumer Affairs.
• $300 million in one-time General Fund expenditure for the most critical statewide deferred maintenance.
  • In recognition of the job-creating potential of infrastructure projects on state-owned properties, including greening of state infrastructure.
  • This proposal will help create jobs in California while achieving our state’s climate goals. Projects include the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at state-owned facilities.
• $500 million to create jobs and long-term housing development to unlock more than 7,500 new permanently affordable homes for Californians.
  • Grants to local governments and developers, through the Infill Infrastructure Grant (IIG) Program, to bring the cost down for new housing by defraying costs for things like sewers, roads and site preparation, all while putting thousands of people to work in good jobs building this housing-related infrastructure.
  • $250 million of these funds are included in the immediate budget action.
• $1.5 billion investment to accelerate our state’s progress toward Zero-Emission Vehicles and Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure goals while creating jobs.
  • Building on California’s historic commitment to requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035, this immediate budget action will support jobs and economic growth and provide air quality benefits and support for low-income Californians to purchase cleaner vehicles.
  • Funds will support purchases of clean trucks, buses and off-road freight equipment and Clean Cars 4 All programs.
  • They will also support job-creating construction of electric charging and hydrogen fueling stations necessary to accelerate zero-emission vehicle adoption.
  • This immediate budget action leverages additional private sector capital to build the necessary infrastructure and create jobs to support California’s recovery.
• Billions in immediate, temporary tax relief, and ongoing funding for programs that support California’s businesses and workers.
  • The $800 minimum franchise tax – often a costly barrier for start-up businesses – has been waived for the first year of operation.
  • Deadlines for paying sales taxes for smaller businesses and expanding interest-free payment options for larger businesses particularly affected by significant restrictions on operations due to COVID-19 have been extended.
  • Among other COVID-19 emergency response initiatives, California’s Great Plates Delivered program – a first-in-the-nation program that partners with local businesses to deliver nutritious meals to older Californians and other adults at high risk from COVID-19 – has and will continue to support more than 9,000 jobs per week on average.

Direct Relief to Individuals and Families  

• Golden State Stimulus
  • 7 million payments to California households that have borne the disproportionate economic burden of the COVID-19 Recession – those with incomes below $30,000, as well as those unfairly excluded from previous federal stimulus payments.
  • $600 in one-time relief to households receiving the California EITC for 2020. $600 one-time payment to taxpayers with Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) who were precluded from receiving the $1,200 per person federal payments issues last spring and the more recent $600 federal payments – providing the $600 payments to households with ITINs and income below $75,000.
  • ITIN taxpayers who also qualify for the California EITC would receive a total of $1,200.
  • Golden State Stimulus payments provided to all eligible tax filing households shortly after they file their 2020 tax returns.
  • Direct relief to additional low-income Californians through a $600 one-time grant to households enrolled in the CalWORKS program and recipients of SSI/SSP and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI).
  • Grant payments for CalWORKS households are expected by mid-April; delivery of SSI/SSP and CAPI grants is still being negotiated with federal officials.
• More Resources for Critical Child Care
  • Adds over $400 million in new federal funds that will provide stipends of $525 per enrolled child for all state-subsidized child care and preschool providers serving approximately 400,000 children in subsidized care statewide.
  • The new federal resources will extend care for children of essential workers through June of 2022, and funds increased access to subsidized child care for more than 8,000 children of essential workers and at-risk children – who are not currently served in the system – through June of 2022.
• Additional Aid for Individuals and Families
  • $24 million for financial assistance and services through Housing for the Harvest – a program providing support for agricultural workers who have to quarantine due to COVID-19.
  • $35 million for food banks and diapers.
• Emergency Financial Relief to Support Community College Students
  • $100 million in emergency financial aid for qualifying low-income students carrying six or more units, with award amounts to be determined locally and made available by early April.
  • $20 million to re-engage students who have either left their community college studies because of the pandemic or to engage students at risk of leaving.
• CalFresh Student Outreach and Application Assistance
  • Nearly $6 million to support outreach and application assistance to University of California, California State University and California Community College students made newly eligible for CalFresh – the state-administered federal program for supplemental food assistance.
  • $12 million in state funds to support associated county administrative workload.
• Restoration of Reductions
  • Restores previously enacted reductions, effective July 1^st, for the University of California, California State University, the Judicial Branch, Child Support Services and for moderate-income housing.

Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo was elected as the representative of the 51^st Assembly District in December of 2017. She is the Chair of Budget SubCommittee #4 on State Administration, and a member of the Appropriations, Budget, Health, Privacy and Consumer Protection, and Utilities and Energy Committees, as well as Chair of the Uplifting Girls and Women of Color in California Select Committee. Assemblywoman Carrillo represents the people of East Los Angeles, Northeast Los Angeles, and the neighborhoods of El Sereno, Echo Park, Lincoln Heights, Chinatown and parts of Silver Lake.