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As our state continues to grapple with a housing crisis of epic proportions, every community must do their part to solve the problem. At California DOJ, we are doing ours.
➡ This week, we announced charges filed against a Southern California real estate agent for price gouging two families who were evacuated in the wake of the Pacific Palisades Fire.
➡ Our Housing Justice Team helped secure a court decision this week that allows Newport Beach to comply with state housing law and say yes to more housing.
➡ And, we recently sued Southern California housing tycoon Mike Nijjar and PAMA Management for subjecting tenants to unsafe conditions and violations of our housing laws.
Be it ensuring cities build their fair share of housing or holding accountable bad actors who take advantage of vulnerable Californians, I will always be here to enforce our housing laws and defend our people. Everyone deserves a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home.
In your service,
Rob
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Tackling California's Housing Crisis
 As California continues to deal with a housing crisis of epic proportions, Newport Beach has said yes to more homes and is endeavoring to build its fair share of housing under California law. I celebrated a court decision this week that ruled the City's actions to implement its housing element without voter approval are valid, a position I supported in an amicus brief last month. Cities statewide are obligated to plan for their fair share of housing, and my office will continue to hold accountable those who refuse and stick up for localities who are trying to do the right thing.
Also this week, my office filed charges against a Southern California real estate agent for price gouging two families who were evacuated in the wake of the Pacific Palisades Fire. A California DOJ investigation revealed that after the Emergency Order was in place, the defendant increased the rental price by over 30% – three times the rental increase limit laid out in Penal Code section 396. Profiting off Californians' pain through price gouging is illegal and I will not stand for it. I urge current or prospective tenants to share their stories directly with local authorities like the LA City Attorney or LA District Attorney, or with our office by visiting oag.ca.gov/LAfires or calling our hotline at (800) 952-5225.
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Blocking the Unlawful Conditioning of Transportation Grant Funding
 Earlier this week, we secured a preliminary injunction in our lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Transportation’s attempt to impose unlawful immigration enforcement conditions on unrelated grant funding. By threatening to withhold critical transportation funds unless states agree to carry out President Trump's inhumane and illogical immigration agenda, the Trump Administration is treating funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air as a bargaining chip. It’s immoral – and more importantly, illegal. I was glad to see the District Court agree this week, blocking the President’s latest attempt to circumvent the Constitution and coerce state and local governments into doing his bidding while we continue to make our case in court.
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Providing Guidance on Environmental Justice Initiatives
 My office, along with a coalition of 12 attorneys general, issued guidance this week affirming the necessity and legality of environmental justice initiatives. The guidance clarifies that despite the Trump Administration’s recent efforts to mislabel and undermine these critical efforts, public and private entities can still lawfully engage in environmental justice work to ensure a healthy environment for all people to live, play, work, learn, and worship in. At California DOJ, we will continue to work with advocates, local leaders, and partners across the country to ensure that no community is left behind in our fight for a healthier, more just future.
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Making Your Life Affordable
 From groceries to gas, costs seem to be rising and rising ... and rising. California DOJ has your back and is committed to protecting California families grappling with the high cost of living. In this segment, find some of the ways California DOJ is protecting Californians — and their wallets.
Hold Up — What is Antitrust? Antitrust refers to laws and regulations designed to protect fair competition in the marketplace by preventing unlawful mergers, price-fixing, and other anticompetitive practices. Antitrust laws encourage competition by limiting the market power of firms, ensuring that mergers and acquisitions don’t overly concentrate market power, and by preventing multiple firms from conspiring to limit competition through practices like price fixing.
What We Are Doing: A lot. California DOJ has made robust antitrust enforcement a top priority: expanding the size of our Antitrust Section and leading the charge within the state and across the country.
What This Means to You: Antitrust laws and their enforcement help protect consumers by ensuring businesses compete fairly, which often results in lower prices, higher quality goods, and more innovative products. Whether in the grocery, airline, tech, gasoline, or rental housing industry, we are committed to protecting Californians and standing up for consumers nationwide. Protecting a competitive market is good for Californians and the vibrant economy we depend on.
As part of California DOJ’s commitment to enforce antitrust laws, we have launched our new Antitrust Complaint Form! Learn more about antitrust and report anticompetitive conduct that potentially violates antitrust laws at the link below.
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Keeping You Safe
 Fentanyl is destroying lives and devastating families in every corner of the country, and at California DOJ, we are acting with urgency and resolve to confront this crisis head-on. This month, we secured a 10-year sentence against Jose Hector Ruiz for felony transportation for sale of a controlled substance weighing more than four kilograms. The arrest of Mr. Ruiz occurred after a joint operation in San Diego County, with federal, state, and local partners, and resulted in the seizure of approximately 720,000 fentanyl pills. Whether by the seizure of illicit fentanyl through our ongoing enforcement efforts or by bringing California billions of dollars through our legal efforts to hold the opioid industry accountable, we remain unwavering in our commitment to ending the fentanyl crisis and protecting the health and safety of our communities.
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Make a Difference at California DOJ
 Apply today to help the California DOJ protect the health, well-being, and public safety of Californians. Check out our featured jobs below and visit oag.ca.gov/careers for a full listing of available positions:
Deputy Attorney General, Employment Law Section
Deputy Attorney General IV, Charitable Trusts Section
Deputy Attorney General IV, Special Litigation Section
Deputy Attorney General IV, Consumer Protection
Deputy Attorney General Supervisor, DMFEA Criminal Prosecutions
Deputy Press Secretary, Office of Communications
Paralegal, Government Law
Java Developer, Application Development Bureau
Executive Fiscal Analyst, Public Rights Division
Crime Analyst, DMFEA Investigations Section
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Post of the Week
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Photo of the Week
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 Honored to join Governor Newsom in presenting the Medal of Valor to California State Lifeguard Ben Sweet and San Bernardino Police Officer Gabriel Rodriguez.
When faced with grave danger, these brave individuals chose to go beyond the call of duty to save innocent lives.
California owes you a debt of gratitude.
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Resource Corner
 Know Your Immigration Rights and Protections Under the Law:
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You have the right to apply for and secure housing without sharing your immigration status. California law prohibits housing providers from asking about your immigration status unless you are applying for affordable housing funded by the federal government. Additionally, housing providers cannot harass or intimidate you by threatening or sharing information about your immigration status to ICE, law enforcement, or other government agencies.
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You have the right to access emergency medical care. Federal laws and regulations ensure the rights of all people to access emergency medical care, including undocumented immigrants.
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You have the right to an attorney. If you are arrested by police, you have the right to a government-appointed attorney. If you are detained by ICE and/or are facing immigration proceedings, you have the right to seek legal assistance through an attorney.
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State and local law enforcement cannot ask for your immigration status. California law expressly prohibits law enforcement from inquiring about a person's immigration status for immigration enforcement purposes.
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State and local law enforcement cannot share your personal information. This includes sharing your home or work address for immigration purposes, unless that information is available to the public or unless that information involves previous criminal arrest, convictions or similar criminal history.
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State and local law enforcement cannot assist ICE with immigration enforcement, with very limited exceptions. This means they cannot investigate, cannot interrogate, cannot arrest, and cannot detain you unless it is as part of joint federal task force where the primary purpose is not immigration enforcement.
The full "Know Your Immigration Rights" consumer alert is available in English, Spanish, Arabic,Armenian, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese at oag.ca.gov/immigrant/resources.
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