California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and state legislators announced a roughly $9.6 billion coronavirus relief bill earlier this year that included $600 one-time payments to 5.7 million eligible residents, but many Golden State residents have yet to receive the additional stimulus payment.

Newsom’s stimulus plan sends $600 or $1,200 to eligible Californians, but recipients must have filed a 2020 tax return to see the stimulus. Payments are reportedly being pumped out bimonthly, and those who still haven’t filed taxes may have to wait up to two months after filing to get the direct payment. 

California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) told residents that if a person thinks a stimulus payment was stolen, he or she must report it by using the online Fraud Referral Report. 

But the FTB warned that if a resident filed a tax return before April 23 and hasn’t received a payment yet, it may still be processing. And people who filed taxes between March 2 and April 23 may have to wait up to fourteen days for a direct deposit to hit their bank accounts, while paper checks could take up to six weeks, the FTB said.

If a resident filed taxes online between January 1, 2021, and March 1, 2021, then he or she will receive a stimulus payment after April 15, 2021, according to the FTB. Paper checks, however, could take between four to six weeks for mailing and processing.

Newsom approved of the package to provide a stronger financial ledge for low-income families in the state and as Congress was still negotiating President Joe Biden’s relief bill, which was approved last month. The first-term governor has also found himself under seething pressure amid state-level relief negotiations, largely due to his handling of the coronavirus and the impact the pandemic had on small businesses.

“The backbone of our economy is small business. We recognize the stress, the strain that so many small business[es] have been under,” Newsom said in February. “And we recognize as well our responsibility to do more and to do better to help support these small businesses through this very difficult and trying time.”

The people eligible for the stimulus check are families that earned less than $30,000 last year and received California’s earned income tax credit for 2020. Also seeing the direct payments are households with individual tax identification numbers and an income below $75,000, households in the CalWORKs program—a program that provides cash aid and services to eligible families with children—recipients of Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) and recipients of aid through the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants. 

And undocumented immigrant families who did not qualify for federal aid from the previous rescue packages can receive checks of up to $1,200 if they meet the earned income tax credit qualifications. 

Rachel Bucchino is a reporter at the National Interest. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill. 

Image: Reuters