California bill would use $97 billion surplus to expand child tax credit for the state's lowest-income families

A California assemblyman thinks the state's massive state budget surplus could be put to work helping the state's low-income families.

AB 2589, from Los Angeles-area Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, would expand the Young Child Tax Credit to provide a one-time $2,000 tax credit per child to families earning $30,000 or less per year. The bill would also raise the minimum amount for California Earned Income Tax Credit from $1 to $255 to keep more low-income workers and families from falling deeper into poverty.