The coronavirus emergency has disrupted the daily lives of individuals, families, and communities, many of whom are now struggling to make ends meet.  With few customers, small businesses have shut down or have limited services due to necessary physical distancing efforts to limit the spread of this pandemic. 

Even after the crisis, how do we help families and small businesses move on and thrive?  Please join me at my next virtual town hall on Thursday, April 16, at 2:00 pm for this important conversation on our economic recovery.  You can submit questions in advance through my website here, then join us live on my Facebook page to listen and participate.

Clearly, the economy can't be turned back on like a light switch when this is all over. The numbers are staggering - over 2.8 million Californians have filed for unemployment benefits since March 12 and some economists predict that unemployment rates will top those experienced during the Great Recession.  At the same time, state and local revenues will be hard hit when government assistance will be most needed.  As Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, I am committed to understanding the financial implications of this crisis and exploring short- and long-term solutions to assist people and small businesses struggling because of COVID-19.

My guests for the town hall will be Jerry Nickelsburg, Professor and Director at the UCLA Anderson Forecast and Tracy Gordon, Senior Fellow with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.  They will provide an update based on data and market trends they're seeing, but we need to hear from you about what you're experiencing on the ground so we can best identify how to recover from this economic disaster together.

I hope you can be part of this critical discussion. 

Sincerely,