The final batch of the Golden State stimulus checks of $1,100 has headed out to eligible Californians, but there’s already talk of more stimulus checks being approved in the coming months.

The chief reason why Californians are holding out hope is due to projections that the state’s budget will boast a massive surplus.

In a recent exchange with reporters, Governor Gavin Newsom said that “we expect in the May revise language when I update the budget that we are likely to have an additional rebate to the taxpayers.”

He went on to mention that there will be “no new taxes in our budget.”

Senator Jones Shows Support

Meanwhile, according to KTXL in Sacramento, California, state Senator Brian Jones tried to break down the state’s projected budget surplus with a food item in a video released Wednesday.

“If each grain of rice is $100,000, that means California’s $45 billion surplus is taxes over-collected by this much,” he said, while motioning to a pile of rice.

He later added that is enough money to give $1,125 back to each Californian resident and more than $4,000 for a family of four.

“If it’s $2,500, if it’s $1,500, any amount that we can convince the state, the governor, the Democrats in the Legislature to send back, I think is a benefit to every Californian and every California family,” Jones contended.

California’s first round of payments, known as Golden State Stimulus I, were issued to tax filers who either received the California Earned Income Tax Credit or had an Individual Tax Identification Number and a total adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less.

As for the latest Golden State Stimulus II, eligibility for the checks was expanded to all residents with a Social Security number who reported earning $75,000 or less on their 2020 federal tax return. Most Californians who qualify for the payments didn’t have to do anything to receive the cash as long as they filed their tax return. Estimates indicate that roughly two out of every three residents in the state were eligible for a share of the $12 billion in stimulus payments.

Other States Step Up

Meantime, several other states have followed in California’s footsteps to issue their own version of stimulus checks. Some of those states include Maine, Maryland, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Tennessee.

Maine workers will get $285 disaster relief checks, and Maryland families will receive $500 and individuals $300 if they filed for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Florida is disbursing $1,000 to first responders and educators who work with students, while Georgia has passed similar legislation.

In Michigan, lawmakers are doling out $1,000 bonuses to all full-time child care professionals, and Tennessee is handing out $1,000 of hazard pay bonuses to full-time teachers and $500 to part-time educators. Indiana is giving back a chunk of the state’s current budget surplus to residents as a tax refund worth about $125.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.