Consumer Federation of California

A move to ban alcohol sales at market self-checkout counters in California is being fueled by two San Diego studies that suggest they make it easier for underaged buyers. Legislation to enact such a ban could come up on the state Senate floor as early as Wednesday.
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People are tired of gridlock and are hungry for solutions that make sense-that don’t make our state budget problems worse, that invest in our future and that build our economy. That’s why I proposed a way to save our state parks and I support Proposition 21. It’s a central dividing issue in this election. Read More ›

The core question raised by Prop 26 is: who pays? Who pays to clean up air pollution, oil spills and toxic waste? Who pays for the health consequences of tobacco and alcohol addiction, of lead poisoning and diesel exhaust? Exxon, Phillip Morris and the other special interests behind Prop 26 want you, the taxpayers, to pay. Read More ›

The case of San Mateo County’s missing voter guides has been solved — sort of. Some were apparently never sent, according to Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who heads the California agency that oversees elections. Read More ›

Last year, a bill that would’ve outlawed selling expired baby food and formula in California passed the state Legislature, but it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who argued that current laws were sufficient. Holober said the amount of expired food and formula that the I-Team found for sale shows that the current law is not sufficient. Read More ›

In their shared comment submission, Consumer Federation of California, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Margaret Reiter…voiced support for the proposed rules but offered up amendments aimed at tightening consumer protections. Read More ›

The bill, SB 1237, would require hospitals and clinics to record radiation dose of CT scans. The bill would also require CT services to be accredited by an organization approved by CMS and calls for facilities to report any overdose to the patient, treating physician, and California Department of Public Health. Read More ›

…nearly 50 environmental, public health, consumer and worker safety advocates from every region of California have written to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and to Cal-EPA Secretary Linda Adams, saying the draft regulations issued last month “fall far short of meeting the worthy goals of the Initiative.” Read More ›

Assembly Bill 2578 (Jones and Feuer) requires that prior approval be obtained before health insurance rates are increased. HMOs and health insurers would need to receive approval from the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) or the Department of Insurance for proposed rate increases. Read More ›

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 ›