California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in the face of a recall effort against him, announced Monday that the state is projected to have a $75.7 billion surplus and wants to use it to provide stimulus checks to about two-thirds of its residents. His budget proposal, if passed by the California legislature, would send $600 tax rebate checks to households making up to $75,000 as well as an additional $500 to families with children, according to a news release. The plan would also give $500 to illegal immigrant families. “California’s recovery is well under way, but we can’t be satisfied with simply going back to the way things were,” Newsom said in a statement (pdf). The plan will “triple the state’s investment—for a total of nearly $12 billion—in the Golden State Stimulus by expanding the stimulus to middle-class families,” the statement continued to say, adding that two out of three Californians will …