Category Archives: Legislative Updates
SB 215 Sustains Drive For CPUC Reforms Originally Sought In SB 660
1/27/2015 Update: The Senate approved SB 215 (Leno) in a 37-0 vote yesterday (with no votes recorded for Senators Bates, Liu and Wolk). The bill awaits committee action in the Assembly. SB 215 incorporates CPUC reforms CFC had sought in SB 660 (Leno), which had passed unanimously in both the Assembly … Read More ›
Consumer Laws Taking Effect In 2016
The following consumer-related legislation was signed into law in 2015 and will take effect January 1, 2016, except as noted. Read More ›
Consumer Federation Of California Releases 2015 Scorecard For State Lawmakers
The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) has released its 2015 Scorecard for State Legislators, which rates lawmakers on the votes they cast on key issues, including privacy, automobile safety, household toxics, truth in advertising, living wages, reform of the California Public Utilities Commission, and other consumer protection … Read More ›
2015 In Review: Recap Of State Consumer Legislation
In the 2015 legislative session, Consumer Federation of California (CFC) advocated for a range of consumer and privacy rights, including restrictions on unfair lending practices, protections against elder abuse, workers’ rights and the minimum wage, and reform of the California Public Utilities Commission. CFC also helped to … Read More ›
CFC’s 2015 Legislative Agenda: Fate Of 2-Year Bills Now Determined
Consumer Federation of California advocated for or against dozens of bills in the state Legislature this year. Click to read the results for several key pieces of legislation. Read More ›
AB 573: Students Abandoned By Closure Of Corinthian Colleges Turn To Legislature
AB 573 would give all 13,000 former Corinthian students access to legal, financial and academic counseling to help them deal with some of the obstacles they face, such as retrieving their Corinthian files and determining whether the students are eligible to have their federal education loans discharged. The bill would fund outreach efforts to identify eligible students, and it would facilitate and encourage the transfer of academic credits earned at Corinthian Colleges to the California Community Colleges system. Read More ›
AB 925 Dies: Secret Recording Of Business-Customer Cell Phone Calls Remains A Crime
Democrats on the Assembly Committee on Public Safety approved AB 925 on a 5-2 party line vote after strenuous opposition from CFC and other consumer, privacy, senior, student, labor and immigrant advocacy groups weakened the bill. Amendments were not yet in print but reportedly would require notification to customers that a call may be recorded 20 seconds into a cell phone conversation, so it remains a bad bill. Read More ›
AB 886’s Privacy Protections For Uber Passengers Held Up
Update 6/1/2015: The deadline for bills to advance from committees to the Floor passed last week, forestalling any realistic chance of reviving AB 886 this session. The bill was defeated in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee April 20. Committee Chair Anthony Rendon and Assembly Members Roger Hernandez, Miguel Santiago and Das … Read More ›
AB 886 Would Protect The Privacy Of Uber Passengers
Assembly Member Chau has pulled AB 886 from consideration. He and Consumer Federation of California are considering promising alternative strategies to protect the privacy of passengers using Uber and other so-called transportation network companies. The sensitive personal data collected by Uber, for example, includes name, address, bank account information, travel logs, as well as personal address books and online search records that it pulls from passenger smartphones. It’s becoming alarmingly common for corporations to “mine” such data and share – or sell – it to other businesses. Read More ›
SB 763: CFC, Firefighters, Environmentalists Back Disclosure Of Chemical Hazards In Children’s Products
The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) has joined with professional firefighters and environmental advocates to co-sponsor legislation letting parents know whether products they buy for their children contain ineffective and hazardous flame retardants. … These chemicals have been linked to reproductive harm, cancer and other human health hazards. Fire safety experts consider them to be ineffective in preventing household fires. Read More ›
SB 215 Sustains Drive For CPUC Reforms Originally Sought Via SB 660
1/27/15 update: The Senate passed SB 215 (Leno) 37-0 yesterday, sending the CPUC reform bill to the Assembly. The bill includes limits on “ex parte” (private) communications that CFC had sought in SB 660, which had passed both the Senate and Assembly last fall but was vetoed by Governor … Read More ›
CFC Releases Its 2014 Scorecard For State Legislators
Assembly Democrats scored an average of 92 percent, with Senate Democrats averaging nearly 91 percent. Assembly Republicans took the side of consumers 32 percent of the time and Senate Republicans scored slightly better, siding with consumers an average of nearly 33 percent of the time. Thirty-two of the 55 Assembly Democrats, and 14 of the 27 Senate Democrats, earned a perfect score of 100 percent on the CFC scorecard. No Republican in either house exceeded a 67 percent pro-consumer score.
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New Consumer Laws Passed
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Consumer Federation of California played a key role in enacting new laws protecting our online privacy, restricting unfair lending practices, enabling consumers to buy toxic-free household products, and cracking down on elder abuse. CFC also helped to defeat attacks on our medical … Read More ›