Gov. Code, § 16429.8

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom proclaimed that a state of emergency exists in California as a result of the rise of COVID-19.

(b) A nationwide emergency in response to COVID-19 was declared on March 13, 2020, pursuant to the federal Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 5121 et seq.). A federal major disaster declaration for California was approved on March 20, 2020, and is still in effect.

(c) Under Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code, certain payments made by the state to individuals in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic qualify as disaster relief payments that are excluded from the recipient’s gross income.

(d) As a federal declared disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic is considered a qualified disaster for purposes of Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code. Those payments made in the 2021–22 state fiscal year towards utility bills under the California Arrearage Payment Program (Article 12 (commencing with Section 16429.5)), which was established in the 2021 State Budget, were considered qualified disaster relief payments by the Internal Revenue Service and excluded from an individual’s gross income.

(e) Californians continue to struggle to afford the cost of energy due to the economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

(f) Benefits issued under this chapter are for past due energy utility bills accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Legislature intends for them to be treated as qualified disaster relief payments that are to be excluded from individual taxable gross income pursuant to Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code.