The state’s budget for fiscal year 2021-2022, which began on July 1, amounts to $262.6 billion. Unprecedented by a $76 billion state surplus and $27 billion in federal aid, the record-busting budget reflects new agreements between state legislators and Governor Newsom.

The No Surprises Act goes into effect January 1, 2022. The new federal law, following much of the blueprint of California’s AB 72 enacted in 2017, holds patients harmless from surprise bills.

On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau announced its 2020 Census results. The results show the country’s population count at 331,449,281 residents as of April 20, 2020. Not surprisingly, California remains the most populous state in the union with 39,538,223 residents, while Wyoming came in as the least populous state with 576,851 residents.

In the coming weeks and months, California Governor Gavin Newsom will continue to toggle his attention between pandemic-related policies, business and school reopenings, expanding vaccination availability, and a likely fall recall election.

A week before the Presidential Inauguration, then President-elect Biden’s team released the incoming administration’s $1.9 trillion emergency relief plan designed to continue to guide the country through the ongoing medical and economic challenges of the global pandemic.