Exhibit 1: Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot Programs
Stockton. Stockton’s Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) program, the nation’s first mayor-led guaranteed income pilot program, provided 125 randomly selected residents $500 per month for 24 months. The cash was completely unconditional, with no strings attached and no work requirements. Key findings of Stockton’s pilot program include:
GBI reduced income volatility, o r the month to month fluctuations that households face.
Unconditional cash enabled recipi ents to find full time employment. Recipients were healthier, show ing less depression and anxiety and enhanced wellbeing.
The SEED program allowed participants the financial stability to take time off of work to pursue full time employment, as well as the financial confidence to complete internships, training, or other coursework. At the start of the SEED program, 28 percent of program recipients had full time employment. After the first year of program participants receiving monthly payments, 40 percent of recipients were employed full time, a 12 percent year-over-increase. In contrast, a control group established to evaluate SEED recipients’ progress saw only a 5 percent increase in full time employment over the same one-year period.
Other Jurisdictions. Based largely on the success of the SEED program, the number of GBI programs nationwide continues to grow. Nationally, both large and small cities have established pilot programs in the last two years with many more in development and expected to launch in the next 12 months. Accounting for city-led, county-led, state- led, and nonprofit-led programs, there are currently approximately 100 pilots in the United States.
Following in the footsteps of Stockton, numerous cities and counties in California have launched GBI pilot programs since 2020. California pilots tend to focus on targeted vulnerable populations such as foster youth aging out of benefits, pregnant mothers, low-income families with children, artists, as well as combinations of target groups.
For instance, in Oakland, the Oakland Resilient Families program focuses on low- income families; Santa Clara County’s program focuses on youth transitioning out of the foster care system; and one of San Francisco’s GBI pilot programs focuses on Black and Pacific Islander women during pregnancy and postpartum. A summary of existing pilot programs in California is shown in Table 1 below. Note that this list is not be exhaustive.
Table 1: California Pilots Summary
City /
Region
Year Recipients Distribution
Amount
Frequency Pilot
Length
Target
Population
Stockton 2018 150 $500 Monthly 24
months
Residents of
neighborhoods
with
< $46k median
income
Compton 2020 800 $300-600 Monthly 24
months
Low-income,
formerly
incarcerated, and
undocumented
residents
Los
Angeles
2020 12 $1,000 Monthly 12
months
Female-
identifying care
professionals
Santa Clara
County
2020 72 $1000 Monthly 12
months
24-year-olds
transitioning out
of
foster care
support
Long Beach 2021 150 $500 Mont hly 6 months Artists
San
Francisco
2021 150 $1000 Monthly 24
months
Black and Pacific
Islander women
during pregnancy
&
postpartum
San
Francisco
2021 130 $1000 Monthly 18
months
Artists
Oakland 2021 600 $500 Monthly 18
months
Families
earning below 50
percent of area
median income;
families earning
below
138 percent of
the federal
poverty line
Marin
County
2021 125 $1000 Monthly 24
months
Low-income
mothers
of color with
children
under 18 years of
age
San
Francisco
2021 50 $330 Monthly 6 months Young parenting
mothers of Hilltop
School
Los
Angeles
2021 3200 $1000 Monthly 12
months
Residents at or
below the federal
poverty level with
at least one
dependent child
or pregnant
Sacramento 2021 100
families
$300 Monthly 24
months
Families with
income up to 150
percent of the
California Poverty
Measure
South San
Francisco
2021 135
families
$500 Monthly 12months Prioritizes foster
youth, families
with young
children and low-
income
households
San Diego
County
2022 150 $500 Monthly 24
months
Residents of
Diego and
National Citywho
were
disproportionately
affected from
COVID-19 and
poverty
Mountain
View
Est.
March
2022
166 $500 Monthly 12
months
Low-income (30
percent AMI)
residents