Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

1 hour ago

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

2 hours ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

4 hours ago

Trump’s EPA to Repeal Core of Greenhouse Gas Rules in Major Deregulatory Move

5 hours ago

US Approval of Israel’s Gaza Offensive Drops to 32%, Poll Shows

6 hours ago

Shooter in New York Skyscraper Left Note Blaming NFL for Brain Injury, Mayor Says

7 hours ago

Trump Eyes Aug 1 Trade Deals as EU, China Talks Continue, US Commerce Chief Says

7 hours ago

Trump Says Many Are Starving in Gaza, Vows to Set up Food Centers

1 day ago
Watchdog Criticizes Newsom for Favoring Big Cities with COVID Relief Funds
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 19, 2021

Share

California should have spent more money helping its smaller counties battle the coronavirus, state Auditor Elaine Howle said Tuesday, criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration for favoring places with big populations despite data showing the needs of rural areas “were at least the same if not greater.”

And while the Newsom administration pledged to withhold some of that money from cities that didn’t follow public health orders, Howle said the state did not consistently monitor that issue, raising questions about how many cities got funding when they shouldn’t have.

The dual findings were part of Howle’s first look at how California is spending more than $71 billion in coronavirus aid the state is slated to receive from the federal government — a figure that has already increased after Congress approved additional spending in December.

It’s so much money that, last year, Howle declared the state was at “high risk” for waste, fraud and abuse — a designation that gives her authority to investigate. A second audit is due next week examining the billions of dollars in federal unemployment benefits that have flowed to the state during the pandemic — benefits the state has already acknowledged has been abused by prison inmates and others who were not eligible.

The audit released Tuesday examined the $15.3 billion Congress sent California in May from the Coronavirus Relief Fund. Of that money, $5.8 billion went directly to counties and cities with populations greater than 500,000 people. State officials had to decide how to spend the other $9.5 billion.

The Newsom administration, together with the Legislature, decided to give $1.3 billion to county governments, with more than half of it going to the 16 biggest counties that had already gotten money directly from the federal government.

Those counties got about $190 per person while the 42 smaller counties got $102 per person, the audit says.

“It’s a pretty common frustration in California,” said Assemblyman James Gallagher, a Republican who represents six smaller counties. “The way that funds are distributed tends to favor the Bay Area and Los Angeles, where the majority of legislature are from, right? Whereas, the rural areas really feel like they get kind of short shrift.”

The Department of Finance, the state agency in charge of distributing the money, said it gave most of it to the bigger counties because it believed their denser populations would lead to greater spread of the virus. But the audit, citing data from the Department of Public Health, says the virus spread evenly through counties despite their population — and in some cases it was much worse in smaller places.

Newsom and the Legislature Agreed to Withhold Money From Cities That Did Not Follow Public Health Orders

Imperial County, with a population of just over 188,000 people, averaged 3,215 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people while Los Angeles County, with more than 10.1 million people, averaged 989 cases per 100,000 people.

The state’s strategy, Howle said, contradicted guidance from the U.S. Treasury that urged states to “treat local governments equitably, regardless of their population size.”

“By not equitably providing counties with funds, there is greater risk that more small counties’ COVID-19 related funding needs were unmet,” Howle wrote.

In a response letter to Howle, Department of Finance Director Keely Martin Bosler said the department and the Legislature agreed to give the money to counties “generally based on their relative share of the state’s population.” Howle disputed that, saying the department’s strategy was based on a belief the virus would spread more in densely populated areas.

Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer deferred to the Legislature, which approved the funding strategy as part of the state’s operating budget.

“If the auditor’s office has concerns over this process, they should take their policy recommendations directly to the Legislature,” Palmer said.

Newsom and the Legislature agreed to withhold money from cities that did not follow public health orders, including enforcing the state’s stay-at-home order that required some businesses to close and others to limit capacity.

The state withheld money from two cities — Coalinga and Atwater — because they passed resolutions defying public health orders. But Howle said the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, which was in charge of monitoring local governments, “could not demonstrate that it had evaluated all cities.”

Bosler, director of the Department of Finance, said cities had to certify they were following the rules before they could get the money, adding that the Office of Emergency Services did a legal analysis of any local laws that might defy the rules.

Howle said that “overstates” the work the office did, noting they used “an informal process” to evaluate cities’ compliance.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s Vacant Property Ordinance Punishes the Wrong People: Rassamni

DON'T MISS

Trump Approval Rating Sinks to 40%, the Lowest of His Term, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Authorities Find Body in Sequoia National Park

DON'T MISS

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

DON'T MISS

Scottie Scheffler vs. Everybody: Open Champion Makes His Case Among the Greats

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Wall Street Journal, Murdoch Want to Settle Defamation Lawsuit

DON'T MISS

New York Officer Killed in Manhattan Shooting Remembered as Hero in Bangladesh, US

DON'T MISS

More Than 100 NFL Players and Club Employees Face Fines for Selling Super Bowl Tickets

DON'T MISS

US States Sue Over Trump Demands for Data on Food Stamp Recipients

UP NEXT

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

UP NEXT

New Gallup Poll Reveals Most Immoral Behaviors In America

UP NEXT

What Does Trump Crackdown on Homelessness Mean for California?

UP NEXT

California Governor Candidate Stirs Outrage With Auschwitz ‘Unemployment Plan’ Post

UP NEXT

California May Soon Ban Selling New Glocks Like Kamala Harris Owns

UP NEXT

Trump Asks for Swift Deposition of Murdoch in Epstein Defamation Case

UP NEXT

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

UP NEXT

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

UP NEXT

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

UP NEXT

Key Player in California’s Water Wars Embraces Controversial Newsom Plan

Tulare County Authorities Find Body in Sequoia National Park

2 hours ago

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

2 hours ago

Scottie Scheffler vs. Everybody: Open Champion Makes His Case Among the Greats

3 hours ago

Trump Says Wall Street Journal, Murdoch Want to Settle Defamation Lawsuit

3 hours ago

New York Officer Killed in Manhattan Shooting Remembered as Hero in Bangladesh, US

3 hours ago

More Than 100 NFL Players and Club Employees Face Fines for Selling Super Bowl Tickets

3 hours ago

US States Sue Over Trump Demands for Data on Food Stamp Recipients

3 hours ago

Fresno Unified Will Pay Nikki Henry $162K Without Board’s Public Vote

4 hours ago

FAA Failed to Act Before Helicopter Crash, Transport Chief Says

4 hours ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

4 hours ago

Fresno’s Vacant Property Ordinance Punishes the Wrong People: Rassamni

In June, Fresno City Councilmembers enacted an ordinance to clean up blighted buildings in Tower District, with an aim — if successful — to ...

23 minutes ago

23 minutes ago

Fresno’s Vacant Property Ordinance Punishes the Wrong People: Rassamni

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Republican Senators, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
49 minutes ago

Trump Approval Rating Sinks to 40%, the Lowest of His Term, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

Home in Fresno, California's Tower District
1 hour ago

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

The body of a woman swept into the Kaweah River in May was recovered last week by Tulare County authorities and the National Park Service. (Tulare County SO)
2 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Find Body in Sequoia National Park

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. (REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File Photo)
2 hours ago

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

Scottie Scheffler Celebrates Winning the 2024 Masters
3 hours ago

Scottie Scheffler vs. Everybody: Open Champion Makes His Case Among the Greats

Rupert Murdoch looks on, at the White House, in Washington, U.S. February 3, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Trump Says Wall Street Journal, Murdoch Want to Settle Defamation Lawsuit

A post on X issued by NYPD shows a photo of police officer Didarul Islam, killed in a mass shooting, following a reported shooter situation in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., in this picture obtained from social media released July 28, 2025. NYPD News via X/via REUTERS
3 hours ago

New York Officer Killed in Manhattan Shooting Remembered as Hero in Bangladesh, US

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend