WHEREAS, California enacted its first ever state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), based on the federal EITC, last summer as part of the 2015–16 budget package; and

WHEREAS, The state EITC will allow California’s lowest income workers to better provide for their families by boosting their 2015 incomes by as much as $2,653; and

WHEREAS, The state EITC provides a match of up to 85 percent of the federal EITC for California’s lowest income workers, a match that far exceeds any other state in the nation; and

WHEREAS, The state EITC, together with the federal EITC, could raise the incomes of families living in deep poverty, defined as below one-half of the federal poverty line, by as much as 83 percent in 2015; and

WHEREAS, The state EITC will build on the decades-long track record of success of the federal EITC; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that the federal EITC reduces poverty, encourages employment, and boosts local economies; and

WHEREAS, Research has linked the EITC to improved health for mothers and infants as well as better educational outcomes for children; and

WHEREAS, The success of California’s EITC depends on policymakers, public agencies, and community leaders ensuring that all households that are eligible for the new credit know about it, learn about it, and claim it; and

WHEREAS, Over $1.8 billion of federal EITC dollars have gone unclaimed in California each year and promoting the new state EITC will boost awareness and claims of the federal EITC, thereby returning federal dollars to California families and local economies; now, therefore, be it