Californians Could Get A $1,000+ Check This Summer: Here's How

CALIFORNIA — Californians may get another stimulus check after all thanks to a massive projected budget surplus for the second year in a row.

The forecast surplus, estimated at $45.7 billion, would exceed the state's constitutional limit, which restricts the amount of tax revenue the state can spend.

Voters approved Proposition 4, commonly known as the Gann Limit, in 1979. That limit required lawmakers to return some of the excess funds to taxpayers as a rebate.

Last year, the state also hit that threshold, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to satisfy the Gann Limit by packaging it as the $600 "Golden State Stimulus." Before 2021, the limit had not been reached since 1986, Bloomberg reported.

This summer, taxpayers could get payments totaling $1,125, or $4,500 for a family of four, Republican state Sen. Brian Jones estimated in an online video.

What's more, California's budget surplus could grow by between $6 billion to $23 billion because of funds collected from filed taxes, according to a February update from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

When Newsom unveiled a gargantuan $286 billion budget proposal for the 2022 fiscal year, he said the level of tax revenue could exceed the constitutional limit by about $2.6 billion. His original budget proposal did not include another round of stimulus checks, but he later said such checks would likely be added into the final revision, KTLA reported.

"We expect in the May revise language when I update the budget that we are likely to have an additional rebate to the taxpayers," Newsom told reporters.

California's budget deadline is June 15, but officials have yet to officially indicate whether Californians will receive another round of checks or whether the excess funds will be used elsewhere.

"The Legislature can choose to address any remaining excess revenues through taxpayer rebates and additional payments to schools and community colleges," according to the state's Legislative Analyst’s Office.

"We are going to look at this in the lens through equity for the hardest-working Californians who have not rebounded, who are continuing to suffer. So stimulus is part of that, but it will be through that lens and trying to make sure that we’re able to cover those bases thoughtfully and to make a difference in real people’s lives," said California Senate's president pro tempore, Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), according to KFBK News Radio.

Lawmakers also pointed out that stimulus payments can further spur inflation, which has driven prices up to their highest point in 40 years in the U.S.

"I’m certainly concerned about inflation, but at the same time I know there are bread and butter everyday issues Californians are … suffering from on a daily basis," said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), KTLA reported.

READ MORE: CA Inflation Again Hits Record: 'No Sign Of Easing'