California Government Code 16429.8 – The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) On …
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom proclaimed that a state of emergency exists in California as a result of the rise of COVID-19.
Terms Used In California Government Code 16429.8
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
(b) A nationwide emergency in response to COVID-19 was declared on March 13, 2020, pursuant to the federal Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.). A federal major disaster declaration for California was approved on March 20, 2020, and is still in effect.
(c) Under Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code, certain payments made by the state to individuals in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic qualify as disaster relief payments that are excluded from the recipient’s gross income.
(d) As a federal declared disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic is considered a qualified disaster for purposes of Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code. Those payments made in the 2021-22 state fiscal year towards utility bills under the California Arrearage Payment Program (Article 12 (commencing with Section 16429.5)), which was established in the 2021 State Budget, were considered qualified disaster relief payments by the Internal Revenue Service and excluded from an individual’s gross income.
(e) Californians continue to struggle to afford the cost of energy due to the economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
(f) Benefits issued under this chapter are for past due energy utility bills accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Legislature intends for them to be treated as qualified disaster relief payments that are to be excluded from individual taxable gross income pursuant to Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 61, Sec. 1. (AB 205) Effective June 30, 2022.)