Local workers will get some relief from taxes, traffic, droughts and high energy bills, and will find it easier to put their children through college as a result of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill approved Friday.

But local economists disagree on whether the package will speed the nation's tottering economy toward a quick recovery from the most painful recession since the Great Depression.

Tax incentives comprise one-third of the package, which is detailed here.

REGION: Local residents react to stimulus package

Individuals who earn less than $75,000 annually will get a $400 credit to apply directly against their total income tax for 2009 and for 2010, and couples who earn less than $150,000 will get a tax credit of $800.

Reduced credits will be given to couples who make more than that, and no breaks will be given to those who make at least $200,000.

And no one will be able to take advantage of the breaks until they file their 2009 returns one year from now.

The bill also provides an $8,000 income tax credit to people who buy homes between January and November and lets people write off, as a deduction, the sales taxes they pay on new cars, trucks and motorcycles they buy any month this year.

In addition, the bill provides tax breaks for people who send their children to college and install energy-efficient air conditioners in their homes.

The legislation also helps people who have lost their jobs, by letting them draw unemployment for more than a year. The current limit is 26 weeks and the bill extends benefits up to 59 weeks.

State, military aid

In addition to helping people, the federal legislation allocates tens of billions to shore up K-12 schools and state health care, stimulate interest in green energy, spur construction on military bases, expand health benefits for the unemployed, increase food stamp allowances, invest in public transit, modernize hospitals, fund scientific research, and build roads, bridges and dams.

"San Diego County will be one of the prime benefactors of the stimulus bill because of the spending on military facilities," Nevin said, noting the region has a large concentration of bases.

Local troops, military bases, medical facilities and service member cemeteries will see benefits as the bill includes $7.4 billion in defense-related spending.

The money includes $1.3 billion for military hospitals nationwide and nearly $3 billion in construction funds to repair and modernize military facilities in general. From that $3 billion, $280 million is allocated to the Navy and Marine Corps for $100 million worth of new troop housing, $100 million for energy projects and $80 million for child day-care centers.

To help members of the military caught in the real estate market collapse, the bill gives the Department of Defense $555 million to acquire title to a service member's home or reimburse the individual for losses after a private sale or foreclosure.

There's also money that will help Wounded Warrior Centers such as the one at Camp Pendleton. The bill provides $481 million for new or expanded facilities. Military cemeteries are getting $50 million to repair monuments and memorials.

Although no immediate list of local military projects that will benefit from the military spending was available, Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a spokesman for the office that oversees Marine Corps bases throughout the West, said the hope is that a variety of "shovel-ready" projects will get the green light.

And Nevin said the bill is likely to stimulate a lot more.

Some of the biggest chunks of the stimulus package will go to states. They will get $86.6 billion to maintain their health-care programs for the poor, such as California's Medi-Cal, and $44.5 billion to prevent teacher layoffs and keep classes at manageable sizes.

"It has the potential to be very helpful," said Carol Rouse, director of fiscal services for the Escondido Union School District.

Lora Duzyk, assistant superintendent for business at the San Diego County Office of Education, said the federal infusion of cash may plug holes created by California's record $42 billion budget shortfall over the next 17 months.

But Kenneth Young, superintendent for the Riverside County Office of Education, said it is unclear at this point how much local districts will qualify for and what the money can be used for.

"You have to read the fine print," Young said.

Universities and colleges, on the other hand, are confident the bill will help.

"It's going to be a big boost for our students," said Margaret Lutz, a spokeswoman for Cal State San Marcos.

The bill provides a $2,500 tax credit for college tuition, books and computers. And it increases the maximum allowable Pell Grant for college students from low- and moderate-income families by $500 to $5,350.

Cars, trains and buses

In one of its biggest, most celebrated pieces, the bill will distribute about $70 billion to states for infrastructure projects that aim to put close to 1 million construction employees to work nationwide.

The biggest chunk, $27.5 billion, will build roads and bridges. California expects to receive about $3 billion, according to Will Kempton, director of the state Department of Transportation.

Of that, San Diego County expects to receive $200 million to $300 million, said Jack Boda, director of mobility for the San Diego Association of Governments. And John Standiford, spokesman for the Riverside County Transportation Commission, said Riverside County expects to receive around $80 million.

Boda said his agency hopes to spend the largest chunk of its stimulus dollars on the 5.5-mile widening of Highway 76 between Melrose Drive in Oceanside and Mission Road in Bonsall. That $158 million project is scheduled to start construction by December.

Boda said some money also could pay for the $40 million replacement of the North County Transit District railroad bridge over the Santa Margarita River north of Oceanside.

Meanwhile, Riverside County officials aim to build a new interchange at Interstate 215 and Clinton Keith Road in Murrieta, where traffic from housing tracts, shopping centers and a high school has overwhelmed a two-lane bridge.

Jim Holston, Murrieta's assistant city manager, said the $35 million project is crucial, particularly with a hospital under construction nearby.

"It's a total bottleneck," Holston said.

Nearby, Temecula officials hope to land $7.5 million to replace an aging bridge at Main Street over Murrieta Creek. The structure is more than 60 years old and city officials say it wasn't designed to withstand a major flood.

"It desperately needs to be replaced," said Bill Hughes, the city's public works director.

Also on the region's wish list is $40 million for a rebuilt interchange at Highway 78 and Woodland Parkway in San Marcos, $8.8 million for widening El Camino Real in Carlsbad, and $12 million to spruce up and add parking along Highway 101 in Solana Beach, among many other projects. Given the long list of public works projects cities would like to tackle during the next year and the limited amount of money expected to trickle down from Sacramento, only a handful of projects are likely to receive funding.

While it is unclear what will be built with the money, in Riverside County it is clear what won't: The widening of Interstate 215 in Murrieta. Standiford said that's because the project won't be ready to begin construction for 20 months, and stimulus projects must be ready to go within a year.

Investing in green

Besides roads, the infrastructure piece of the bill includes $10.6 billion for water projects, $8.4 billion for public transit, $8 billion for high-speed rail and $1.3 billion for the Amtrak national passenger railroad that serves the North County coast.

Frank Belock, deputy general manger for the San Diego County Water Authority, said his agency hopes to close a $120 million gap for the planned $567 million expansion of San Vicente Dam near Santee.

Belock said the goal of the project is to provide San Diego County with some insulation against a future drought. By raising the 200-foot dam by 117 feet, the reservoir behind it will be able to store enough additional water from wet winters to supply 300,000 families for a year.

Area cities also hope to get money for water and sewer pipes.

When it comes to trains and buses, North County Transit District will receive about $14 million for construction projects, said agency spokesman Tom Kelleher.

As for bullet trains, the high-speed rail money could provide a minor boost to the $50 billion statewide system voters gave the green light to in November. Capable of traveling up to 200 mph, that train is supposed to one day run through Riverside, Murrieta, Escondido and San Diego.

Another big chunk of the bill will shine the spotlight on green, renewable energy.

There is $20 billion in the bill to help homeowners cover 30 percent of their cost of installing solar panels on the roofs and solar water heaters. And they will receive tax breaks of $1,500 to insulate homes and install energy-efficient air conditioners, substantially reducing their electric bills.

Mark Snyder, a solar-panel installer in Poway, said he expects to see a big bump in business from that incentive.

"And it won't be a blip, it will be ongoing," Snyder said.

The impact

Marney Cox, chief economist for the San Diego Association of Governments, a regional planning agency, said the bill's many tax incentives should trigger an ongoing boost in local economic activity.

But Alan Nevin, director of economic research for MarketPointe Realty Advisors, a San Diego consulting firm that tracks real estate trends, said the package won't shore up the housing market.

"It will do absolutely nothing for housing," Nevin said, because the $8,000 first-time-buyer credit isn't nearly enough to make homes affordable to people who cannot qualify for loans now.

Indeed, shoring up the market will require stemming the tide of foreclosures, said John Husing, a Redlands economist who tracks the economy of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, one of the regions slammed hardest by the downturn.

"Demand has come back," Husing said. "The problem is, it is still being overwhelmed by foreclosures, and that's why prices continue to slide."

The overall economy will continue to slide, too, said Robert Campbell, a San Diego economist who accurately predicted the recent 40 percent slide in home prices.

The stimulus package "is not going to help at all," Campbell said.

People are having trouble getting credit and are worried about their jobs, he said.

"They are going to put the money in their savings accounts or they are going to pay off their debt," said Campbell. "They aren't going to buy a new iPod."

That's precisely what Americans did with their 2008 stimulus checks, according to University of Michigan researchers. And Cox said a similar response can be expected from the rebates in the big bill.

But Cox said breaks still will help.

"If you're paying down your debt (on a particular credit card or purchase), then your monthly payment is lower and it frees up some discretionary spending money," he said.

Similarly, extending unemployment benefits up to 33 weeks will enable people to continue spending money on rent, utilities and food, and stave off foreclosures, he said.

Cox said the bill will in fact provide a significant boost.

Here's why: In a typical year, the nation's economy grows 2 percent to 3 percent. For a $14 trillion economy, that means a boost of $280 billion to $420 billion.

And the stimulus package is about twice that.

"So it is big," Cox said. "A lot of economic activity will be created out of this spending."

Staff writer Mark Walker contributed to this report.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.