Corporate Accountability

Most Americans assume when they see a Made in USA label that the product is made domestically. But the meaning of Made in USA is currently up for debate in our state.

CFC opposes AB 890 (Jones), which is attempting to overturn a 2011 ruling of the California Supreme Court upholding an important truth in advertising law.

CFC opposes SB 661 (Hill), which would undercut businesses that are committed to American manufacturing and mislead consumers who care about truthful labels.

When workers have access to personal information, a consumer should have the right to know if the worker is a city employee, a known company employee, a temporary or contracted employee, or an independent contractor.

CFC supports SB 448, which is aimed at protecting California consumers who have, for too long, been at the mercy of a few major oil companies that control nearly all of the transportation fuel market.

Funded by Mercury Insurance's billionaire Chairman George Joseph, Prop 33 is nearly an identical replay of Mercury's unsuccessful 2010 initiative aimed at raising auto insurance costs on millions of drivers.

As the clock at the state Capitol winds down to adjournment at midnight on Friday August 31, the Consumer Federation of California is on alert for last minute amendments that might be snuck into a bill that would stop Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones from adopting vital consumer protections for motorists.

The Consumer Federation of California is calling on state lawmakers to crack down on for-profit, private colleges that hoodwink students into programs that promise career advancement, yet deliver worthless diplomas and pile on debt that can lead to financial ruin.

The Corporate Executive Retirement Sunshine Act, SB 1208 (Leno), was approved by the Senate on May 30. Sponsored by the Consumer Federation of California, this bill requires publicly traded corporations to report the amount of money their top five highest paid retired executives receive in retirement compensation.

...the bill is stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee due to opposition from the Consumer Federation of California, which says it would create "a vague standard that invites mislabeling," and Consumer Attorneys of California, which contends that California is best served by having its own, higher standard.

AB 1537 provides greater legislative oversight of the California Code of Regulations; however, in reality the bill accomplishes very little other than to establish a problematic, broad restriction on new regulations.

The measure has the same goal as Proposition 17, which voters rejected in 2010. It would impose insurance surcharges on California drivers simply because they had been car-free for a time.

AB 318 (Skinner) would create a database of publicly traded corporations and the amount they claim in tax expenditures on the existing Reporting Transparency in Government website.

But like a zombie that is killed, only to walk the earth again, Mercury Insurance Chairman George Joseph just donated $8.2 million to bring Prop 17 back from the grave for the 2012 ballot.

SB 881 (Corbett) requires the Office and Planning and Research to compile information relevant to the siting and permitting of renewable energy projects and to post that information on the internet.

AB 999 (Yamada) modifies the long-term care insurance premium rate development process to protect consumers from excessive premium rate volatility and allows consumers to review policy language prior to the policy being purchased, thus allowing the consumer to make a more informed decision.

In issuing this emergency regulation, I declared my intention to implement federal health care reform here in California despite the efforts of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to repeal or defund health care reform.

SB 657 requires major retail sellers and manufacturers to describe on company websites their voluntary efforts to eliminate slavery and trafficking from their own direct suppliers.

A white paper on the NUMMI plant closing was recently prepared by Professor Harley Shaiken from the University of California, Berkeley entitled "Commitment Is a Two-Way Street: Toyota, California, and NUMMI".

Consumers deserve to know the terms and conditions of any product advertisement, and should have the information they need to terminate an automatically renewing subscription. SB 340 (Lee) would help restrict the deceptive marketing of product subscriptions.

AB 48 has been presented as a student protection bill, when in fact it is designed to protect the profits of private post-secondary for-profit proprietary schools against their students.

AB 48 is being presented as a student protection bill, when in fact it is designed to protect the profits of private post-secondary for-profit proprietary schools against their students.

In the hectic final month of the 2009 regular session, hundreds of bills will move swiftly through both chambers of the legislature. A number of these bills – good and bad – are of utmost importance to California’s consumers.

Check out our brief legislative report on key consumer rights bills.

...this proposed initiative repeals the three new corporate loopholes which were the secretly included in the failed budget deals of September 2008 and February 2009. None have yet taken effect, so the initiative would prevent over $2 billion yearly in future revenue losses.

Fairness dictates that everyone shares in the pain. And that includes some of the world’s wealthiest corporations. Before considering additional cuts to programs Californians care so deeply about, we ask that you shut down these corporate tax giveaways.

400,000 Californians attend over 1500 private post secondary vocational educational institutions. Despite recurring instances of fraud committed upon students, the state currently provides no oversight of these for-profit schools.

Prop 1A does affect state budgets beginning in July 2010, if lawmakers do nothing else in the next year to address longstanding structural funding problems. At its core, Proposition 1A is a political tradeoff. We believe it is a bad one.

The extraordinary greed of AIG and the other financial giants that brought our economy to the brink underscore the necessity of protecting our rights as Americans to hold big business accountable. The last thing we should contemplate is erecting barriers that stop consumers from banding together in class-action suits against corporate fraud and abuse.

This year, without the benefit of public hearings and public scrutiny, a massive big business tax cut was jammed through as part of a budget deal. This is not tax fairness. It is redistribution of income away from workers and consumers and into the pockets of big corporations.

Lawmakers face painful choices in closing the budget gap. In light of the severe cuts that will disproportionately affect the lives of the least fortunate among us, we believe an oil severance fee is a painless and overdue measure of tax fairness.

Every year the Consumer Federation of California monitors, supports, and opposes dozens of bills related to consumer rights. Every year many of these bills are “killed” in the legislature while many others reach the Governor’s desk to either be signed into law or vetoed.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum combined reported record profits of $36 billion for the third quarter of 2008. That’s $400 million in profits every day, seven days a week. Those four oil giants extract over 70% of the oil pumped from California’s ground. And they pay no state fees for that privilege.

Despite spending $22 million to buy an election, they can’t even rely on the support of the people who appear in their ads! The child actor who appears with a pinwheel in front of wind turbines in Prop 10 TV and print ads is asking voters to reject Prop 10.

CFC’s Policy Board has taken a position on six of the propositions on the November ballot. Of the 11 Propositions, CFC supports four, opposes two, and has taken a "no position" on five.

A fossil fuel corporation owned by Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens spent three million dollars to put Proposition 10 on the ballot. That corporation will reap a bonanza if Prop 10 passes. California taxpayers will be stuck subsidizing big trucking companies at a cost of $335 million per year.

Prop 10 is the worst kind of corporate raid on the public coffers. We simply cannot afford to cut our schools, our health services and our public safety programs further to enrich a Texas billionaire. Vote No on Prop 10.

California already has several effective programs to reduce greenhouse gases and promote clean alternative energy. Unlike Prop 10, most of these programs are paid by user fees, not by tapping the state’s General Fund. Prop 10 – it’s about greed, not green.

In reviewing SB 1224, we are concerned that it is ambiguous as to whether the bill limits the right of policy holders who wish to finance their premiums and may wish to engage in a life settlement at some later date.

Two common sense consumer protection laws are on Governor Schwarzenegger's desk. One would give us the right to cash in a gift card when the balance drops below ten dollars. The other would require retailers to sell us a product at the after-rebate price that it advertises.

California consumers are under assault every day from big business interests with an endless amount of money, lobbyists and political connections. Read more about CFC's 2007 legislative priorities.

In Louisiana, Alaska, and Texas oil companies pay a state oil drilling fee but in California they get a free ride at the taxpayers expense. Proposition 87 would establish a wellhead tax on oil that would fund research and production incentives for alternative energy, alternative energy vehicles, energy efficient technologies, and for education and training.

Last week Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi scored a decisive victory for California consumers, winning the 18 yearlong battle to fully implement Proposition 103. Garamendi has forced the insurance industry to base their rates on how you drive, not where you live.

Find out which California November 2006 ballot measures CFC has chosen to endorse, and which to oppose!

Every year the Consumer Federation of California (CFC) takes positions on a host of consumer rights related legislation. Find out which bills CFC has chosen to support, and which bills we've chosen to oppose this year.

The Consumer Federation of California is collaborating with the California Department of Insurance to publicize the Low Cost Auto Insurance Program (LCA), which is designed to provide low-income, good drivers with an affordable insurance option.

Three days after pledging to hold college fee increase to no more than ten percent a year, Governor Schwarzenegger unveiled a whopping forty four percent fee increase for community college students.

On his second day in office, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed a whopping $15 billion bond. The estimated tax cost for our children and grandchildren: $22 billion. Stop the massive tax hike!

"Arnold Schwarzenegger betrayed his campaign promise to serve the people. His vetoes on consumer legislation show that he an obedient servant for the business interests that bankroll him,"