This afternoon, in a ceremony in the Oval Office, President Trump signed the fourth coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress earlier this week. The legislation contained $484 billion of additional funding including funding for the small business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), an additional $75 billion in funding for hospitals, and $25 billion in targeted COVID-19…
Read More »On Monday, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) issued a post summarizing recent legislative and administrative action to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The post details the Legislature’s emergency appropriation of up to $1 billion, $100 million for school facilities, and additional transfers to the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account (DREOA). The LAO explores state…
Read More »This week, Governor Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump both outlined frameworks and guidelines for reopening normal operations of daily life in California and the U.S. Newsom Administration Identifies Six Criteria for Modifying Stay-at-Home Order On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a series of indicators and considerations that will guide California’s actions for when and…
Read More »Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the formation of a state Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery to chart a path forward on recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The task force will be co-chaired by Governor Newsom’s Chief of Staff Ann Leary and philanthropist, environmentalist, and businessman Tom Steyer. Steyer was also…
Read More »Governor Gavin Newsom this week issued a series of executive orders related to COVID-19. Below, these orders are detailed: Juvenile Justice Discharge and Reentry Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-49-20 calling for all Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) discharge and reentry hearings to be held via videoconference to minimize participants’ exposure to COVID-19. The order…
Read More »On Thursday afternoon, the Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Special Subcommittee on COVID-19 Response held its first oversight hearing to review the Newsom Administration’s use of $1 billion in state emergency funds, the use of the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account, and federal funding for COVID-19 response activities. After a lengthy delay due to technical issues…
Read More »On Wednesday, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins announced the creation of the Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response, a bipartisan committee of eleven senators to review the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee will explore what has gone well and what could be improved regarding the state’s planning and response activities,…
Read More »This week, the Newsom Administration announced the expenditure of additional COVID-19 emergency response funds that were approved by the Legislature last month. Below, we highlight these expenditures: $42m Investment for Foster Youth and Families On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced $42 million in new investments to protect and support younger Californians who are at heightened…
Read More »The Department of Finance (DOF) late last week issued a letter to Senate and Assembly Budget and Appropriations committee chairs providing an interim update on the state’s fiscal condition amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In its letter, DOF discusses economic forecasts and revenue projections, expenditures, federal stimulus measures, and cash flow. DOF provides an overview…
Read More »Late last week, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) requested from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) additional Section 1135 Waiver flexibilities amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Recall last month, DHCS requested from CMS and was approved for flexibilities in key areas, including prior authorization eligibility, telehealth, service authorizations, administrative timelines, and…
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