Putting money in families’ pockets

California has its own California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), which last year provided nearly 3.5 million California filers additional resources to make ends meet and provide for their families. California also added the Young Child Tax Credit and Foster Youth Tax Credit. These tax credits are inclusive of all Californians who file their taxes including immigrant families who pay their taxes with an IRS-provided Taxpayer Identification Number but are ineligible for most federal tax benefits. 

Governor Newsom also launched the country’s largest college savings program, known as the CalKIDS program, which invests $1.9 billion into accounts for low-income school-age children in grades 1-12 and for newborn children born on or after July 1, 2022. All families of low-income public school students – 3.4 million across the state – can access college savings accounts created in their children’s names, with seed investments of between $500 and $1,500.

The administration has also boosted paid leave benefits for lower- and middle-income employees to cover more of their regular income while they take much-needed time off to care for loved ones, including by increasing wage replacement rates for State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave beginning in 2025, and enabling workers to take paid sick leave or family leave in order to care for a person designated by the employee.

Administration efforts to support healthy kids

California standards already exceed federal rules for food safety in schools, ensuring children are consuming fewer amounts of added sugars, sodium, and more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Governor Newsom established first-in-the-nation state funding for universal school meals for all public school children in California and from that program, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom championed efforts to develop the innovative California Farm to School initiative. California also participates in the federal SUN Bucks food program, unlike 13 Republican-led states, which ensures that children in families with low incomes have adequate nutrition while school is out for the summer.

California’s leadership on reproductive rights

In the over two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Governor Newsom, in partnership with the California Legislature, has built California into a national leader for reproductive freedom. Governor Newsom is a founding member of the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a nonpartisan coalition of 23 Governors committed to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom. The Newsom administration has invested more than $240 million to protect and expand access to reproductive health care in California since the reversal of Roe. Last month, he signed SB 729 by Senator Caroline Menjivar (D-Van Nuys) to require large group health care service plan contracts and disability insurance policies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and fertility service, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). California also has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the country and the Surgeon General recently unveiled a new initiative – Strong Start & Beyond – to bring that number down further.