Current California law prohibits merchants from applying checkout fees to credit card purchases. But the law is silent on debit cards, allowing merchants to bill debit-card users an additional fee set by the retailers. To halt these debit-card surcharges, I authored Senate Bill 933. Read More ›

“The state’s interest is in collecting tolls. Period,” said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. “That’s all the data should be used for. I’m pleased to see the legislation provide this protection.” Read More ›

Ignoring a deceptive $16 million campaign by Mercury Insurance Company, California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have amended 1988 insurance reform Proposition 103 to allow insurance companies to impose surcharges on motorists who were not previously insured or had a break in coverage for virtually any reason. Read More ›

“When you’re being outspent $46 million to $80,000, the fact that it’s this close, I think people smelled a rat. I think they overspent until people got suspicious,” said Richard Holober of the Consumer Federation of California, opponents of the initiative. Read More ›

PG&E spent $46 million of its ratepayer dollars on Prop 16 to make sure our electric rates remain high, without asking the consent of its ratepayers. Read More ›

So voters beware. Certain companies (and individuals) stand to benefit mightily if Props 16 and 17 pass. You ought to know that before casting your vote. Read More ›

According to state and election finance reports, PG&E has put up a fortune for this and all the other advertising – $44 million. Opponents have raised $60,000. That’s almost 1,000-to-1 in favor of PG&E.
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Proposition 15 is endorsed by myriad organizations, including the League of Women Voters of California, the California Nurses Association, Consumer Federation of California, California Common Cause, AARP, AFSCME, California Church Impact, the California Labor Federation, Sierra Club and nearly 400 other leaders and organizations. Read More ›

…all but one of the donors to the ballot committee opposing Prop 15 comes from either a lobby firm, individual lobbyist, or a lobby employer ‘ including BP’s lobby firm, Political Solutions. Read More ›

Opponents believe Proposition 17 will allow insurance companies to raise premiums on drivers who, for virtually any reason, did not have insurance coverage at some point in the past five years and will make insurance more expensive overall. Read More ›

The Consumer Federation of California calls it (Prop 16) an anti-democratic power grab, but the utility has already spend $35 million and appears poised to spend at least another $30 million to lock in its monopoly and force Californians to pay more for dirtier power if the utility wants them to. Read More ›

Politics makes strange bedfellows’and in the case of Proposition 16, almost nobody is being swayed by Pacific Gas & Electric’s efforts to woo voters. Read More ›

…it is the big oil, drug and insurance groups who have the most to gain by smearing someone backed by environmentalists, medical attorneys and consumer protection groups and defeating Betsy Butler. Read More ›