Dear Friend:

I know it’s been a long year, with the pandemic impacting us and our loved ones in so many unprecedented ways. But today, we have some reason to be hopeful with California passing the Golden State Stimulus deal, a landmark $9.6 billion COVID relief deal to help families, small business, and those impacted by the ongoing pandemic where they need it most.

I’m proud to have worked hard to get this important stimulus deal passed, which includes direct relief for those who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, those who were left out of the federal stimulus, and the elderly and food insecure, among others. Some of the key relief measures passed as part of the Golden State Stimulus include:

• $600 one-time payments to nearly 4 million taxpayers who are eligible to receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit.
• An additional $600 one-time grant for over 1 million elderly, blind, and disabled individuals enrolled in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) to help meet individual’s basic needs of food and shelter.
• An additional $600 one-time grant to 405,000 families enrolled in California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) to help pay for housing, food, medical care and other necessary expenses.
• We also tapped into $400 million in available federal funds to provide stipends of $525 per child enrolled in all state-subsidized childcare and preschool providers serving approximately 400,000 children in subsidized care statewide. The new federal resources will extend childcare for children of essential workers through June of 2022 and increase access to subsidized childcare for more than 8,000 at-risk children and of essential workers who are not currently served in the system through June 2022.

We also passed an additional $2.1 billion in grants for small business and non-profits (up to $25,000), totaling $2.6 billion to help them overcome the economic challenges created by the pandemic. The stimulus also provides $35 million in immediate support to Food Banks and Diaper Banks who have seen an unprecedented increase in demand as millions of Americans turn to these services for the first time.

There’s more to the stimulus deal and you can learn about it by visiting this website.

As Chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, it is my mission to uplift families out of poverty and provide opportunities for all Californians. This package provides critical relief to families, workers and business owners who have struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic. Passing this stimulus package will help millions of Californians, and my office will continue to ensure that relief money is spent wisely, and the Valley gets its fair share.

As always, if you or someone you know needs assistance with state programs and resources, please do not hesitate to contact my offices at:

Bakersfield District Office
Phone: (661) 395-2620

Fresno District Office
Phone: (559) 264-3070

Hanford District Office
Phone: (559) 585-7161

Sincerely,

Melissa Hurtado
Senator, 14th District

Paid for by Hurtado for Senate 2022
FPPC ID #1414453