Campbell Assemblyman Proposes $1,000 Monthly for Californians

A Campbell-area lawmaker is again pushing a statewide cash-payment plan that would send $1,000 a month to California adults. (krcrtv.com) The proposal is tied to Assemblymember Evan Low, a Democrat from Campbell, who previously carried Assembly Bill 65 in 2021 to create a California Universal Basic Income program with $1,000 monthly payments for adults 18 and older. That earlier bill advanced through committee but did not become law. (krcrtv.com) (californiaglobe.com) A basic income program sends recurring cash with few or no spending rules. California already runs a narrower Guaranteed Income Pilot Program through the Department of Social Services, which gives grants to local entities rather than mailing checks to every adult statewide. (cdss.ca.gov) That existing state program is limited and temporary. The Department of Social Services says current law authorizes pilot grants and prioritizes groups including former foster youth and pregnant people, with the program set to run until January 1, 2028, subject to appropriations. (cdss.ca.gov) (ahum.assembly.ca.gov) Lawmakers are still debating whether California should expand from targeted pilots to something permanent and statewide. Assembly Bill 661, introduced in February 2025, called for the state to study how to design, fund, and administer a permanent guaranteed income program and report back by January 1, 2028. (ahum.assembly.ca.gov) (calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org) The funding question has followed every version of the idea. A 2021 committee analysis cited estimates that a broad California universal basic income plan could cost between roughly $67 billion and $129 billion a year, depending on eligibility and offsets. (californiaglobe.com) Supporters point to smaller California pilots that already send monthly cash. CalMatters reported in January 2024 that state-funded pilots launched in San Francisco and Ventura County paid 150 former foster youth in each county $1,000 to $1,200 a month. (calmatters.org) Critics have focused on scale, not the mechanics of sending checks. The statewide feasibility bill analysis said the state would need recommendations on sustainable funding, administrative infrastructure, payment amounts, target populations, and ways to avoid cutting people off from other safety-net benefits. (ahum.assembly.ca.gov) The next test is whether lawmakers move beyond pilots and studies to a bill with a financing plan, eligibility rules, and a path through Sacramento’s budget process. Until then, California’s guaranteed-income effort remains a patchwork of local pilots rather than a statewide monthly check. (cdss.ca.gov) (ahum.assembly.ca.gov)