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COVID, housing issues await returning California lawmakers

California lawmakers are returning to the state Capitol on Monday. They already have many bills to go over from renter protections to the pandemic.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this May 4, 2020 photo the Assembly Transportation Committee meets in the Assembly Chambers where they can practice social distancing, during a committee hearing in Sacramento, Calif. A person who works at the California Capitol has tested positive for the coronavirus, delaying the Legislature in the critical final week of session as hundreds of bills face a Monday, Aug. 31 deadline. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Families and a small-business economy ravaged by the coronavirus and a state agency torn by a related fraud that could exceed $2 billion are at the top of California lawmakers’ fixit list as they return to the state Capitol.

They have already introduced numerous bills responding to the pandemic before they convene Monday in Sacramento. Those range from extending protections for renters to attempting to regain some decision-making authority that they had delegated to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

They pushed back their usual start by one week because of the coronavirus surge. Among their most urgent priorities, lawmakers are racing to extend eviction protections that otherwise will soon expire.

For the full AP story, click HERE.

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