California congressional Democrats, Republican urge IRS to speed up wildfire survivor tax relief
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
A SPECIAL NOTE — There will be no newsletter on Wednesday (Christmas). The AM Alert will resume publication on Thursday.
BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR WILDFIRE SURVIVOR TAX RELIEF
In a rare show of bipartisan support, California Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat, teamed up with Reps. Mike Thompson, also a Democrat, and Doug LaMalfa, a Republican, to call on the Internal Revenue Service to implement recently passed federal legislation aimed at giving wildfire survivors a tax break.
The bill provides relief to an estimated 70,000 Californians who survived three wildfires — in 2015, 2017 and 2018 — who have received settlement payments.
“Californians who have suffered inconceivable losses as a result of utility-caused wildfires have waited too long for tax relief. We appreciate your attention to this matter, and we look forward to working with you to ensure that wildfire survivors have access to their full settlements and federal benefits,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the IRS.
BALLOT MEASURE APPROVAL RATE DROPPED IN 2024
American voters were less likely to approve ballot measures this year than in 2020, according to a new report from the USC Initiative and Referendum Institute.
The report surveyed 146 propositions across 41 states and found that voters approved 65% of them, down from 74% in 2020 and 70% in 2022.
Colorado (14), Arizona (13), California (10) and New Mexico (8) led the nation in the most ballot propositions. Six of California’s measures passed and four failed.
The report found that the hot issues this year included abortion, election systems, voting, marijuana and the minimum wage; the California measure to raise the minimum wage to $18 failed in November.
It was a good year, though, for bond measures. The report found that 13 out of 13 such measures, approving a total of $20.7 billion in bond funding for various projects, passed — including two measures to approve bond funding packages in California, one for public school infrastructure and one for water, wildfire and land protection measures.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Matt Gaetz = Creeper.”
- California GOP consultant Matt Rexroad, responding to the congressional ethics report that found strong evidence that the former Florida congressman — and President-elect Donald Trump’s initial attorney general nominee — regularly paid for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl, via Bluesky.
Best of The Bee:
SMUD’s plan for 500,000 Sacramento County solar panels is taking heat from environmentalists, via Ari Plachta.
Senate passes bill that could give thousands in California bigger Social Security benefits, via David Lightman.
Erosion found on Sacramento levee after storm. Sherman Island residents urged to stay alert, via Jennah Pendleton.