https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/m7ga4q/every-american-should-get-inflation-relief-money

On Sunday, California lawmakers inched closer to a budget deal that would issue direct payments to California residents making less than $250,000—a plan being pitched as inflation relief. For the past few months, inflation driven by the pandemic, supply chain crises, and the war in Ukraine has pushed food and gas prices to new heights, and the payments aim to mitigate some of that pain. 

Gas prices, in particular, have reached a national high in California: on average, it runs $6.299 for a gallon of regular but has gone as high as $9.60 a gallon in one city. Initially, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed an $11 billion relief package to combat the inflationary gas prices that hinged on $9 billion worth of direct payments to registered vehicle owners ($400 per vehicle, capped at two). The plan faced immediate backlash, however, and was changed into a more general form: direct payments for everyone.