California lawmakers approved giving $600 stimulus payments to 5.7 million people in the state

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $7.6 billion stimulus bill into law on Tuesday afternoon.
• The bill includes $600 stimulus checks for specific economic groups.
• The state stimulus bill also includes more than $2 million in grants for small businesses.

Lawmakers in California have approved a bill that will give 5.7 million people in the state $600 stimulus payments.

The checks are part of a $7.6 billion coronavirus relief package that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Tuesday.

Fewer people will receive the state-ordered checks than those who received federal stimulus checks last year, but the payments will target two specific economic groups, the governor detailed on his website.

The first group is people who are eligible for the California earned income tax credit on their tax returns, which in general covers people who earn $30,000 a year or less.

The second group is people who earn $75,000 or less after deductions and use an individual taxpayer identification number to file their taxes, which includes people who don't have Social Security numbers and some undocumented immigrants.

If a person fits into both groups, they would receive $1,200 checks from the state.

The payments will be provided to eligible California residents 45 and 60 days after receiving their state tax refunds, the Franchise Tax Board told the Associated Press.

The state stimulus bill also includes more than $2 million in grants for small businesses, provides $30 million in aid for food banks and $5 million for diaper banks, and waives more than $25 million in business fees for restaurants and other businesses, NBC Bay Area reported.

The US Congress, meanwhile, is still in the process of considering President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

Stimulus checks worth $1,400 have been at the center of debate among Congress members, and it's unclear when or if the proposed package will pass.