加利福尼亚州的立法者正在努力完成一项立法，该立法将为在新冠肺炎疫情中遭受经济损失的合格租户支付100%的逾期租金。

这项耗资52亿美元的努力正值疾病控制和预防中心的联邦驱逐令和州驱逐保护措施将于本月底到期之际，这给了立法者一个临近的最后期限来敲定由加文·纽瑟姆政府支持的新的租金减免计划。

监督该倡议的该州商业、消费者服务和住房局发言人拉斯·海梅里奇(Russ Heimerich)表示，该州支付100%逾期租金的提议是对现有大流行时代租金减免计划的修订，该计划承诺为合格租户支付80%逾期租金。

海梅里奇告诉美国广播公司新闻，“根据目前的计划，房东将获得他们所欠租金的80%，以换取免除20%的租金并清偿租户的租金债务。”“州长在5月份提出的方案，以及他们目前正在进行的工作，是将报销率提高到100%。”

海梅里奇说，他预计州立法机构“随时”会同意修订后的法案。

马里奥·安祖尼/路透社

加州州长加文·纽瑟姆在好莱坞环球影城的新闻发布会上发言

据Heimerich说，租金将由大流行救济计划和援助留下的联邦资金支付，他说，这笔指定用于租金援助的联邦盈余总额为52亿美元。

收入低于所在地区平均收入(AMI)80%且面临与流行病相关的财务困难的租户有资格申请州计划的援助。住房和城市发展部每年制定最低收入指标。

纽森在推特上表达了他对该项目的支持，分享了一篇关于它的新闻文章，并标题为“加州正在计划以美国前所未有的规模免除租金。”

海梅里奇证实这是全国最大的租金减免计划，但补充说，“只是因为我们是全国人口最多的州。”

甚至在大流行冲击经济之前，加利福尼亚的大片地区就已经是了已经在应对经济适用房危机这场流行病造成的经济衰退加剧了这种情况。

上周，a哈佛住房研究联合中心的研究团队警告称，随着联邦禁令和其他州及地方保护措施在本月底到期，今年夏天将出现“迫在眉睫的驱逐潮”。哈佛报告称，迫在眉睫的住房危机将对有色人种和低收入租户造成不成比例的影响，进一步分化富人和穷人，因为富人同时助长了房地产市场的火爆，并推高了房价。

哈佛大学的研究人员说:“即使美国经济继续复苏，被新冠肺炎大流行放大的不平等仍然是首要问题。”。

与此同时，根据人口普查，全国约有420万美国人报告称，他们“非常有可能或有点可能”在未来两个月面临被驱逐或止赎调查于5月26日至6月7日进行，上周发布。

California proposal aims to pay all overdue rent for low-income tenants impacted by the pandemic

Lawmakers in California are working on finalizing legislation that would pay 100% of overdue rent for eligible tenants who have taken a financial hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $5.2 billion effort comes as the federal eviction moratorium from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state eviction protections are set to expire at the end of the month, giving lawmakers a looming deadline to hammer out the new rent relief program that has been backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The proposal for the state to pay off 100% of overdue rent is part of revisions to an existing pandemic-era rent relief program which promises to pay off 80% of past-due rent for eligible tenants, according to Russ Heimerich, a spokesperson for the state's Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, which is overseeing the initiative.

"Under the current program, landlords would get 80% of the rent that they are owed in exchange for forgiving 20% of the rent and clearing the rental debt from the tenant," Heimerich told ABC News. "What the governor proposed in May, and what they're working on right now, is raising the reimbursement rate to 100%."

Heimerich said he expects the revised bill to be agreed upon by the state legislature "any minute now."

The back rent will be paid for with federal funds left over from pandemic relief packages and aid, according to Heimerich, who said this surplus federal money earmarked for rental assistance totals $5.2 billion.

Tenants who earn less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) in their area and have faced pandemic-related financial hardship are eligible to apply for assistance from the state program. The Department of Housing and Urban Development sets the AMI each year.

Newsom signaled his support for the program on Twitter, sharing a news article about it and captioning, "California is planning rent forgiveness on a scale never seen before in the United States."

Heimerich confirmed it was the largest rent-relief program in the nation, but added, "Only because we're the largest state in the nation population-wise."

Even before the pandemic walloped the economy, swaths of California werealready dealing with an affordable housing crisisthat was only exacerbated by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

Last week, ateam of researchers at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studieswarned of an "impending wave of evictions" this summer as the federal moratorium and other state and local protections expire at the end of the month. The Harvard report said a looming housing crisis would disproportionately impact people of color and low-income tenants, further dividing the haves from the have-nots as the wealthy are simultaneously fueling a hot housing market and driving home prices up.

"Even as the U.S. economy continues to recover, the inequalities amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic remain front and center," the Harvard researchers stated.

Meanwhile, some 4.2 million Americans across the nation report that it is "very likely or somewhat likely" that they will face an eviction or foreclosure in the next two months, according to a Censussurveyconducted between May 26 and June 7 that was released last week.