California could get $150B from federal virus relief bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The massive COVID-19 relief bill Congress approved Wednesday will pump more than $150 billion into California's economy, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration said Wednesday, including a $26 billion windfall for the state's already burgeoning budget surplus.

Nearly half of the money will go to Californians directly in the form of $1,400 checks and expanded unemployment benefits.

Another $15.9 billion will go to public and private schools while $3.6 billion will boost the state's vaccination, testing and contact tracing efforts. There's also money for public transit agencies, airports and child care.

About $16 billion will go to local governments and will be split between cities and counties. And $26 billion will go directly to state government for services impacted by the pandemic.

Toni Atkins, Democratic president pro tempore of the California Senate, called it the state's “fair share."

“California has been a ‘donor state’ for decades, paying more to the federal government than we receive in federal services and investments,” Atkins said. “We’re fortunate that our budget is healthy and balanced, but it’s because we prioritized responsible fiscal planning.”

Like most states, California budget forecasters predicted a steep drop-off in revenue during the pandemic as businesses were forced to close and millions of people lost their jobs.

Newsom and the Legislature reacted quickly by raising taxes, cutting spending and pulling from the state's savings accounts to cover what they expected to be a $54.3 billion shortfall.

Instead, California's revenues went up, buoyed by taxes paid by a wealthy population that made a lot of money from the surging stock market.

In January, Newsom announced the state had a $15 billion one-time...