Newsom Directs $45 Million in CARES Money to Santa Barbara County

At least $45 million in federal funding is likely headed for Santa Barbara County, part of $1.3 billion from the CARES Act that Governor Newsom has redirected to counties. Like 42 other of California’s counties, Santa Barbara fell below the population of 500,000 threshold to receive the federal stimulus. Statewide, county officials had banded together to petition the governor for relief.

In announcing the new influx on Wednesday afternoon, Supervisor Gregg Hart noted it would help offset the county’s lost revenues and increased costs from COVID-19’s effect on sales tax and health-care demands, but only partially. “It won’t fill the entire hole,” he said, “but it will go a long way toward filling that deficit up.” He noted the funds still had to be passed by the state Legislature.

With the issue settled of holding Lompoc penitentiary cases separate from the county’s — an approval granted by the state Department of Public Health — the county’s attestation of compliance with the state’s reopening rules was expected to be approved in the next day or two. The county has already set up a link to the county’s RISE Guide, at readysbc.org, to allow businesses to reopen while complying with all health orders.