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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to damage the California economy, state lawmakers are weighing whether to provide a supplemental unemployment benefit with the extra $600 per week provided by the federal government expiring this month.

Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), the leader of a legislative working group, said there is support among Democratic lawmakers for providing up to $600 weekly to jobless Californians if Congress fails to act on extending the federal pandemic benefit.

“There are so many people who are relying on that money to pay rent, to buy food. I think the state has to do everything possible to help them pay their bills,” said Ting, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.

With the end of the federal supplement on July 25, state unemployment checks will go back to the weekly average of $340 unless the state or federal government restore supplemental benefits.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.