President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan on Friday, and some taxpayers had already received direct payments into their bank accounts by the past weekend, the first flow of economic relief to come from the $1.9 trillion (with a T) committed by the new administration to combat the economic and health effects of COVID-19.
States, counties, and cities might not receive their coronavirus recovery funds quite so quickly, but they're getting far more than the $1,400 going to individuals. Nationally, federally recognized tribes will receive $20 billion (with a B). California’s economy will “roar back from the pandemic,” Governor Newsom stated, with the help of roughly $42 billion from the U.S. Treasury. Santa Barbara County will receive $86.6 million (with an M) directly, to be spent by the end of 2024. Its cities will get a total of $88 million to help make up shortfalls in revenue:
Santa Maria — $40.61 million
Santa Barbara — $22.59 million
Lompoc — $13.19 million
Goleta — $5.62 million
Carpinteria — $2.52 million
Guadalupe — $1.46 million
Solvang — $1.10 million
Buellton — $0.96 million
FOR INDIVIDUALS: Santa Barbara County residents’ median income level in 2019 was just under $75,000, the number that qualifies individuals for a direct Rescue Plan payment of $1,400, which is based on 2019 or 2020 income tax records. The same goes for heads of households earning up to $112,500. Married couples filing jointly and earning up to $150,000 will receive up to $2,800. Dependents also receive $1,400, and the Rescue Plan allows families to claim dependents who are over 17 or elderly for the first time. This is the third stimulus payment, and for those who didn’t file, the payment can be claimed through a 2020 tax form.