California lawmakers propose extending eviction protections

(KYMA, KECY/ AP NEWS) - Under a new bill endorsed by top California legislative leaders, hundreds of thousands of California renters facing eviction next week could get another three months of protection.

The federal government sent billions of dollars to the states to help people who fell behind on their rent payments during the pandemic, but that law is set to expire on March 31.

So at the last moment, state lawmakers decided to intervene, introducing a bill that would extend eviction protections for people with pending applications through the end of June.

So far, California paid out nearly $2.5 billion in rental assistance to just over 214,000 households. State officials say most of the money has gone to very low or extremely low income households.

But the program could soon run out of money, so state officials have asked the federal government for more money.