The United States has long been the only industrialized country not to offer paid leave to new parents. Instead of waiting for the federal government, the incoming governor of California intends to change that in a significant way for families in his state. He is expected to introduce a proposal to give families six months of paid leave after the birth of a child.
What is unclear is how California would pay for it.
The proposal, which Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom is expected to include with his budget after he is sworn in Monday, would be the most generous state policy in the nation, at a time when federal paid leave proposals have stalled. Yet it does not include a plan to finance it, and there is no guarantee that the Legislature would approve raising the money.
Around 80 percent of Americans consistently say they support paid parental leave, and some Republican lawmakers have joined Democrats in embracing the idea. Yet federal lawmakers have declined to pass tax increases or corporate mandates to make it a reality.
The California proposal, shared by a Newsom adviser on condition of anonymity, is set apart by the length of the proposed leave. The state currently offers six weeks of partly paid leave (with an additional six weeks of disability for birth mothers). The five other states offering it, along with the District of Columbia, give between four and 12 weeks.
Only 16 percent of American workers get paid leave from their employers.
Economists have found that about six months of parental leave is ideal. A shorter period offers fewer benefits for babies’ health and development, and a longer one can hurt women’s careers and earnings.
Reaching six months of leave could take several years, said the Newsom adviser. First, the administration plans to extend leaves by an unspecified shorter period. It would free up money to do so with a policy change: A trust fund that administers paid leave would be required to hold three months of reserve funds instead of six.
Then the administration would start a task force to address questions like how to reach six months of leave.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.