Auto safety activist Rosemary Shahan turns lemons into legislation
by Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times
Shahan is the founder and president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), a driver of some of the most important advances in auto-related safety and financial protection regulation. Read More ›
SB 1330 Reins in the Use of License Plate Recognition Software
CFC Supports SB 1330 to safeguard our right to privacy by reining in the use of license-plate recognition software.
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AB 1648 Increases Transparency in Campaigns and Elections
The Consumer Federation of California supports AB 1648, which makes changes to the Political Reform Act of 1974, to increase transparency in campaigns and elections. Read More ›
Judge upholds PG&E’s $16.8 million gas-safety fine
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
A state Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge has rejected Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s appeal of a $16.8 million fine for failing to check gas pipes for leaks in seven Contra Costa County communities, saying the danger the company created justified the penalty.
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CFC Supports SB 901 (Steinberg) – Vehicle Retirement Program
High-polluting vehicles emit more than 50 percent of the vehicle pollution, being a significant contributor to the smog that exists in our cities. SB 901 (Steinberg) will help reduce smog, stimulate auto sales, and provide critical assistance to consumers. Read More ›
A law that scraps junk insurance
by Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star
In California today, nearly 90 percent of health insurance policies sold on the individual market do not cover prenatal care or labor and delivery costs. That will change on July 1, when a new statewide maternity-care mandate kicks in, and nationwide in 2014, when the federal Affordable Care Act goes into full force. Read More ›
State bill would restrict data from license-plate scanners
by G.W. Schulz, California Watch
A state lawmaker representing Silicon Valley wants to rein in a cutting-edge law enforcement technology that enables police to stockpile digital personal information on motorists and build a portrait of their whereabouts. Read More ›
Mercury News editorial: PUC needs to hold PG&E accountable
by Editorial, San Jose Mercury News
More than a year after the San Bruno tragedy, PG&E still doesn’t have its house in order, the consultants said: “PG&E’s current integrity management program itself presents a safety risk to PG&E’s field and station employees and the public.” Read More ›
California Tells Debt Buyers to “Prove It”
by Bill Bartmann, Huffington Post
Debt buyers will be prohibited from getting a legal judgment against consumers — or sending any written material to consumers — unless they can document that they’ve matched the right person to the debt. Read More ›
Have Toxic Couches Finally Met Their Match?
by Valerie Pacino, Sightline, California Progress Report
Eureka! The California legislature will this spring consider a bill to modernize the 12-second rule, the state’s obscure furniture flammability standard that fails to protect us from fires even while it poisons homes across North America. Read More ›
Ballot initiative’s real aim: consumer pocketbooks
by BRIAN STEDGE-STROUD, Consumer Watchdog, North County Times
A billionaire insurance executive is spending $8 million on a November ballot measure to undermine a key consumer protection that has saved California drivers more than $62 billion since 1988.
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Battle escalates over ballot measure on health premiums
by Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times
California’s doctors, hospitals and insurance companies launched their campaign Monday against a proposed ballot measure seeking tighter regulation of health insurance rates and proponents quickly returned fire.
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Editorial: Prop. 13 must be part of the tax reform debate
by Editorial, Sacramento Bee
The tax reform association notes that under the law, businesses can change hands but avoid paying higher property taxes by keeping property in trusts, partnerships and limited liability corporations to hold the land. Read More ›