SACRAMENTO–Governor Gavin Newsom Wednesday signed an executive order that allows for the immediate use of funds to support the state’s continuing efforts to protect public health and respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
The executive order facilitates expenditures from the state’s Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account, a subaccount of the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties in the General Fund – the state’s traditional budget reserve – as well as from any other legally available fund to help with the COVID-19 response.
At the Governor’s direction, on March 25, the Department of Finance transferred $1.3 billion from the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties, the state’s traditional budget reserve, into the DREOA subaccount in preparation to pay for costs associated with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With this transfer and the $99 million available balance, a total of $1.4 billion is now available in DREOA.
In addition, the Legislature enacted SB 89 prior to adjourning last month. This legislation signed by the Governor created an additional mechanism to provide up to a $1 billion General Fund for expenditures related to the COVID-19 emergency.
Most of the state’s expenditures associated with the COVID-19 response are expected to be largely reimbursed by the federal government.
