Assembly Member Santiago’s Child Tax Credit Bill to be Voted on by the State Assembly this Week

(Sacramento, CA) – Following the bipartisan passage of AB 2589 (Santiago) through the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday, author Assembly Member Santiago released the following statement:

“AB 2589 can prevent 1.7 million of California’s children from falling back into poverty. California has the opportunity to invest a fraction of our $97.5 billion surplus to put kids first and provide critical support to our lowest income families,” said Assembly Member Miguel Santiago, lead author of this bill.

“I am thankful to Assembly Member Holden for his leadership in passing this bill through his committee. With the federal Child Tax Credit expiring, California must make this investment in our most vulnerable families so they may afford food and housing as we recover from the pandemic and experience inflation. We must seize this opportunity to provide urgent relief.”

AB 2589 will expand the Young Child Tax Credit to all CalEITC eligible dependents to provide a $2,000 tax credit per child to families earning $30,000 or less per year. This bill will also raise the minimum amount for the California Earned Income Tax Credit from $1 to $255 to help ensure that low-income workers and families do not fall deeper into poverty. With California’s current $97.5 billion budget surplus, California can prevent 1.7 million children from falling back into poverty after the American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit expired.

This bill will be heard on the Assembly Floor by May 27th.

Assembly Member Miguel Santiago is the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Los Angeles County Homelessness. He also sits on the Assembly Committees on Public Safety, Health, Higher Education and Utilities and Energy. He represents the 53rd District composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Vernon.
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