The Biden administration and Congress are still mired in negotiations at the moment over the president’s domestic agenda — including infrastructure and social spending bills that have proven too tough for the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass so far. Which is to say, there’s no new stimulus check update for anyone hoping the federal government would approve new stimulus check payments anytime soon. And there very likely won’t be an update along those lines for the rest of this year. But are there new state stimulus check options you need to be updated about?
States all around the country have been stepping up in recent months to offer stimulus checks of their own. In the post below, we’ll walk through some of these efforts. They vary, of course, based on location and in their goals. Regardless, though, they’re a reminder that stimulus checks are continuing to flow at an extraordinary rate around the US.
States giving stimulus checks to teachers
The states on this comprehensive list are earmarking stimulus checks to all kinds of recipients, for all kinds of reasons. Several of them have decided to steer payments directly to teachers. As a reward for, of course, all that teachers have gone through during the coronavirus pandemic. Oklahoma, for example, has allocated $13 million in federal funding to pay student teachers, while Michigan is giving out $500 in hazard pay bonuses to teachers.
In Florida and Georgia, teachers and administrators are getting $1,000 checks. Georgia is likewise giving $500 checks to part-time teachers, while Tennessee is also handing out $1,000 to teachers as hazard pay.
Checks specifically targeting families
Stimulus check efforts in a few additional states, meanwhile, have families as their specific focus. They include:
- Missouri: Here, families with children are eligible for a temporary subsidy meant to offset the cost of child care.
- New Hampshire: Families of three without an income can get $1,086.
Stimulus check update for other states
One of the most high-profile state-level efforts along these lines involves the California stimulus payment program known as the Golden State Stimulus II. That program is sending out a stimulus payment to millions of California residents. Generally for $600, but families with eligible children can get an extra $500 (for $1,100 total).
The rest of the list below includes states sending out checks to everyone from low-income recipients to students to the unemployed who rejoin the workforce.
- Arizona: Through its Back to Work Program, Arizona has been offering one-time $1,000 payments to unemployed people who go back to work part-time, and $2,000 for unemployed people who return to full-time work. Along these same lines, Connecticut likewise has a Back to Work plan offering $1,000 to applicants who rejoin the workforce after eight weeks of unemployment.
- Idaho: Idaho has sent out 645,000 one-time income tax rebates totaling $169 million so far this year. The average rebate has totaled $248.
- Minnesota: Around 116,000 residents are eligible for a $1,200 check.
- New Mexico: Here, low-income households that didn’t get federal pandemic funds are eligible for stimulus checks from the state. This group includes undocumented residents, and they can get a one-time emergency payment of $750.
- Ohio: Ohio State set aside $46 million to support students in the form of grants.
