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A California resident was sentenced to 54 months in prison today for conspiring to file false claims for tax refunds, submitting false claims for tax refunds, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch for the Northern District of California

A coalition of conservation groups today sued the California Department of Water Resources over its approval of the controversial Delta tunnels project. The lawsuit was filed in Sacramento Superior Court by AquAlliance, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, California Water Impact Network, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Friends of the River, Friends of Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Planning and Conservation League, Restore the Delta, Save Our Sandhill Cranes and Sierra Club California.

Congressman Brad Sherman, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, joined Congressman Mark Sanford (R-SC) in introducing legislation that would permanently prohibit the use of guarantee fees (g-fees) as a budget offset

Rep. Jim Costa (CA-16) released the following statement after the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act was signed by the President and enacted into law.  The WIIN Act includes language to assist in reducing the impacts of California’s drought crisis and to build additional long-term drought resiliency

President-elect Trump has many difficult fiscal tasks ahead – one of which is to promote long-overdue infrastructure construction at a time when the national debt exceeds our entire economy and interest costs alone are eating us alive.

As our electrical grid is modernized and more renewable energy sources come on-line, the next wave of modernization is energy storage, which will allow residential and commercial consumers to stabilize utility costs, while providing consistent power, even during outages or brownouts.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed a civil lawsuit to remove Carson Mayor Albert Robles from serving as a director on a regional water board. The lawsuit alleges that holding both offices simultaneously is a conflict of interest and violates state law

"The more you tax something, the less of it you get. That's why lowering taxes on economic productivity and Americans' take-home pay is so critical. California's businesses and families should be able to keep more of what they earn, it's as simple as that," said Rep. Royce. "Today's legislation makes certain temporary tax breaks permanent, encourages more investments in research and development, and lays the groundwork for comprehensive tax reform.”

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) today led a letter signed by 32 other Members of Congress to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury, urging they act to clarify that homeowners who receive rebates for water conservation and stormwater management improvements to their home should not be required to pay federal taxes on those rebates.

Appealing from a ruling of the California Supreme Court, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) announced today that it has just asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a constitutional challenge to San Jose’s “Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.” The ordinance penalizes homebuilders — and raises overall home prices — by forcing homebuilders to dedicate a percentage of units as below-market residences, or pay into a city housing fund

A woman is scheduled to be arraigned today for shooting and killing her boyfriend outside their mobile home in Garden Grove. Arlene Kathyrn Bautista, 20, Garden Grove, is charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter by lawful act in an unlawful manner with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in state prison.

Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) issued the following statement in response to Senator Diane Feinstein’s (D-CA) introduction the California Emergency Drought Relief Act

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® is opposing a provision in the highway bill now being considered by the U.S. Senate that taxes home buyers by increasing the fees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge on their loans. This provision would extend a tax on homeowners that Congress implemented in 2011, which C.A.R. opposed at the time.

Rep. Paul Cook (R- Apple Valley) voted for HR 3009, the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act. This bill cuts off specific federal grants for sanctuary cities, states, and localities that defy federal immigration law. Under current law, states and localities must not “prohibit or in any way restrict” their local government officials or employees from sending to or receiving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) information regarding citizenship or immigration status of any individual.

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®(C.A.R.) applauds Governor Brown for signing into law AB 345, a C.A.R.-sponsored bill that earmarks three hours of a real estate broker's existing mandated continuing education (CE) for a course on the management and supervision of real estate licensed activity. Governor Brown signed the bill into law on Monday, July 13, and the bill becomes effective Jan. 1, 2016.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that two programs affiliated with the California Department of Justice’s efforts to reduce recidivism have been awarded grants totaling over $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Judicial Council of California. Both initiatives work in partnership with the California DOJ’s Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-entry.

This Program Bulletin supersedes Program Bulletin #2015-02, dated March 9, 2015. It provides updated CalHFA Income Limits for the MCC program. The attached income limits apply to all MCC Tax Credit Program applications. The attachment shows the maximum income limits by household size for non-targeted and targeted areas.

Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a former Deputy Secretary of the Interior Department, released the following statement on the introduction of H.R. 2898, the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015, a bill from House Republicans that would significantly impact western water law