Proposition 26: Also known as the ‘Polluter Protection Act’
by Bill Magavern, Sierra Club, Capitol Weekly
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 ›
State investigation fingers vendor for missing San Mateo County voter guides
by Bonnie Eslinger, San Jose Mercury News
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 ›
I-Team Exposes Expired Baby Food, Formula Sold In Stores
by Channel 10 News San Diego, Channel 10 News San Diego
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 ›
Colleges Weigh In on Rules
by Jennifer Epstein and Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed
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 ›
California leads radiation dose regulation efforts
by Rebekah Moan, Diagnostic Imaging North America
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 ›
CFC’s Zack Kaldveer Provides Comments to the PUC on Privacy and the Smart Grid
by Zack Kaldveer, Consumer Federation of California, California Progress Report
Personal privacy issues routinely arise when data collected is harmless in isolation, but becomes a threat when combined with other data, or examined by a third party for patterns. In other words, what are the potential “unintended consequences” of such an electrical system? And more importantly, what must we do to ensure that those unintended consequences are never realized? Read More ›
Green Chemistry Draft Regs: Toothless, Limited, Biased Toward Industry
by Renee Sharp, Environmental Working Group, California Progress Report
…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 ›
Jones Bill to Rein in Skyrocketing Health Insurance Costs Passes Key Hurdle
by California Political Desk, California Chronicle
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 ›
CFC Supports SB 933 – Debit Card Surcharges
SB 933 would prohibit retailers from imposing a surcharge on consumers who use their debit cards to make a purchase. Read More ›
Protecting California consumers from unfair ‘checkout’ fees
by State Senator Jenny Oropeza, Capitol Weekly
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 ›
Privacy protection bill passes state senate
by Los Altos Town Crier, Los Altos Town Crier
“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 ›
CFC’s June 2010 Election Recap: Endorsed Candidates Win Big, Ballot Measures Mixed
Consumers Beat Back Big Business on Props 16 and 17′ The taste of victory is sweet, especially when it overcomes $62 million of the worst kind of deceitful campaigning. Two arrogant corporations received the humiliations they richly deserved when voters turned down Proposition 16 and 17 yesterday. … Read More ›
CFC Message to Voters on Defeat of Prop 16 and 17: You Won This!
by Richard Holober, Consumer Federation of California
PG&E and Mercury Insurance were in a contest to see which would stoop the lowest to buy a law through the ballot box. Voters saw through PG&E’s $46 million spending spree on Prop 16 and Mercury Insurance’s $16 million contribution to Prop 17. Read More ›