SACRAMENTO /California Newswire/ — The California Recovery Task Force today announced that quarter two reports on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) have been submitted as required by the federal government on spending and jobs funded. State departments uploaded information before the federal deadline of 11:59 p.m. on January 29, 2010, as part of an ongoing commitment to provide Californians the highest level of transparency ever associated with government spending.

“My Administration continues to work around the clock to pump Recovery Act funding into the economy to spur job growth and help those impacted by the economic downturn,” said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “California continues to report and track all of the dollars coming into the state to ensure that Californians see how quickly and effectively those dollars are being spent.”

After uncertainty about jobs reported in the prior quarter, the Governor instructed the Recovery Task Force to work with the Inspector General to take a close look at the number of jobs funded by state entities. After the Recovery Task Force’s request, on December 18, 2009 the federal government changed the job calculation. Almost all state departments have complied with the new jobs formula with the exception of California Department of Education who used the old formula to calculate jobs. The first number represents the total number of jobs funded through the state entities. The second number below represents how many jobs California Department of Education reported; however, the California Department of Education used the older formula from the first reporting period. Therefore, consistent with the Governor’s request to be more accurate and transparent when reporting Recovery Act dollars, the third number below subtracts the number of jobs reported by the California Department of Education since it used the wrong formula. We believe this number is the most accurate calculation of jobs funded by state entities in California.

JOBS FUNDING ACCORDING TO NEW GUIDANCE IN QUARTER TWO

(1) CALIFORNIA STATE ENTITIES 56,089
(2) CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (34,620)
(3) TOTAL STATE ENTITY JOBS FUNDED ACCORDING TO NEW CALCULATION 21,469

More than half of the money spent in California supports Californians by providing a much-needed safety net for programs like Medi-Cal, Unemployment Insurance and food stamps. The remaining Recovery Act spending is being put to work for infrastructure projects, funding new jobs, and training Californians for new jobs. Local governments and other entities who received Recovery Act funds directly will report their spending separately.

CALIFORNIA STATE GOVERNMENT REPORTING FUND TOTALS

Awarded Spent
Q1 (Feb-Sept.) $12,597,272,176 $5,261,114,170
Q2 (Oct-Dec.) $208,499,166 $1,033,492,554
Cumulative $12,805,771,342 $6,294,606,723

“We are continuing to work with all state government departments to deploy funds and provide Californians jobs and a safety net to jumpstart our economy,” said Herb K. Schultz, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of the Governor’s California Recovery Task Force. “We’re very pleased to see the positive effects of our actions and will continue our hard work to disperse the money that flows from the Obama Administration efficiently and effectively to every corner of California.”

For a full report on Recovery Act spending by state entities through September 30th, please visit recovery.ca.gov/Content/Documents/RecoveryActOversightPlan.2010.01.25.pdf .

Governor Schwarzenegger created the California Recovery Task Force to track the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding coming into the state; work with President Barack Obama’s administration; help cities, counties, non-profits, and others access the available funding; ensure that the funding funneled through the state is spent efficiently and effectively; and maintain a Web site that is frequently and thoroughly updated for Californians to be able to track the stimulus dollars.