January 26, 2022 - This 2022-23 budget post provides background on federal COVID-19 business assistance programs and describes the Governor’s proposal to modify state tax laws as they relate to some of these grant programs. This post also provides some comments to the Legislature on the Governor’s proposal.
January 4, 2024 - This report provides an analysis of state assistance given to businesses in response to COVID-19. It includes: (1) background information on the state and federal programs that provided both broad and targeted relief to businesses; (2) a description of the industries that received the most public assistance; and (3) a description of the types of communities, defined using zip codes, that received more state and federal assistance. The report concludes with some findings and comments for the Legislature.
March 29, 2022 - Presented to the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration and the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy.
January 22, 2021 - This handout assesses the Governor's proposal to expand a recently created small business grants program by $575 million.
February 13, 2024 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on State Administration
March 23, 2020 - This post summarizes recent federal relief actions in the unemployment insurance program, discusses how these federal actions interact with current state programs, and highlight options the Legislature may want to pursue in responding to the ongoing crisis.
March 24, 2020 - In this post, we discuss federal assistance available to California and other states as a result of the President’s emergency and major disaster declarations.
January 1, 1989 - This report, submitted pursuant to the Supplemental Report of the 1988 Budget Act, contains our findings and recommendations concerning the State Assistance Fund for Energy, California Business and Industrial Development Corporation (SAFE-BillCO). Specifically, the Supplemental Report directed our office to evaluate SAFE-BillCO's performance in meeting its original statutory goals and to determine the cost-effectiveness of providing financial assistance to small businesses through the use of federal loan guarantees as opposed to other forms of state assistance.
April 5, 2020 - In recent weeks Congress has passed legislation that has directed funding to respond to the coronavirus emergency. This post discusses how some of the major pieces of funding could affect the state budget’s overall condition. In particular, we focus on how funding could help the state address some of the sources of a budget problem that could emerge as a result of the coronavirus emergency.
April 9, 2020 - The COVID-19 outbreak has pushed state unemployment to record highs. Alongside recent federal actions, the state may want to explore options to expand assistance to unemployed workers. Expanding assistance to unemployed workers could mitigate financial hardship for unemployed workers and, in some cases, provide statewide economic stimulus. In this post, we describe four options to expand unemployment benefits: (1) change state formulas to increase underlying benefit levels, (2) add state dollars on top of the federal $600 weekly add-on, (3) build a state-funded UI program for workers who currently are not eligible for benefits, and (4) temporarily allow ineligible workers to access State Disability Insurance benefits.
April 28, 2020 - This post describes the major higher education provisions of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It also highlights some key issues for the Legislature to consider relating to its upcoming budget and oversight decisions.
February 11, 2022 - This post provides some background about the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), describes the Governor’s budget proposal for GO-Biz, and offers comments and issues for the Legislature to consider.
January 14, 2021 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
March 27, 2020 - On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), the second federal relief act aimed at mitigating the economic and public health consequences of COVID-19. In this post, we summarize the two forms of paid leave required under H.R. 6201, discuss how these interact with other state benefit programs, and highlight key issues for the Legislature to consider as it responds to the ongoing crisis.
October 5, 2020 - The federal government has several programs to provide financial assistance to small businesses affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis. The Small Business Finance Center (SBFC) at the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) makes loan guarantees to small businesses that cannot otherwise get financing from conventional sources. CDFIs are lenders that provide loans and other financial services to low-income communities that are underserved by traditional banks and credit unions.
May 12, 2021 - In this analysis we examine what is known about the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on local governments’ fiscal condition.
January 10, 2019 - In the event of a large-scale disaster, state and local governments, individuals and households, and businesses all can face damage to their properties and other possessions. Many of these losses ultimately are borne by these entities or individuals, their insurance, or the parties deemed responsible for the disaster, if applicable. However, both the federal government and the State of California provide various types of financial and in-kind assistance following certain disasters to offset some of the costs associated with recovering from disasters. Notably, the type of federal and state assistance that is available can vary by disaster, with some assistance only available in the aftermath of larger state or federally declared disasters. In this post, we summarize some of the major types of recovery assistance that can be available.