And they thought they had insurance …
by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, Anmol S. Mahal, San Francisco Chronicle
AB1324 strengthens the law’s protections and makes clear that insurance companies cannot cancel health care policies and leave patients stranded when they need coverage the most. The bill passed out of the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses and now awaits Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signature. Read More ›
California Restaurants Await Governor’s Decision on Menu Labeling Bill
by Jamie Hartford, QSR Magazine
…a controversial bill…would require chain restaurants in the state, including quick-serves, to post nutritional information on menu boards and printed menus…”There’s a health epidemic in this country, and people deserve to know what they are putting in their bodies.” says Zack Kaldveer, a spokesman for CFC. Read More ›
Extended computer warranties may be a waste
KPIX TV’s “Consumer Watch” interviews the Consumer Federation of California about extended warranties for computers. Read More ›
Cell phone lobby thwarts reform efforts
by Edwin Garcia, San Jose Mercury News
Consumer advocates fought more than four years for state regulators to adopt protections favorable to California’s 28 million cell phone users. It took only eight months and a nudge from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to make the rules disappear. Read More ›
Source of water would be clear under new law
by Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times
Is the bottled water you drink any better than what comes out of the tap? Is it from the tap? Most companies that sell H2O hate the idea, but the California Legislature wants to make it easier for people to find out what minerals, chemicals or bacteria are in the water they buy… Read More ›
Rebate ads’ small type stirs big fight
Richard Holober, president of the Consumer Federation of California, said the current process allows manufacturers to make discount promises they won’t have to keep because many shoppers simply dump the rebate applications. Read More ›
Consumers groups say California response to foreclosure crisis is weak
California is projected to see nearly half a million foreclosures among subprime loans originated between 1998-2006 yet the state’s lawmakers have taken no action to address the mortgage collapse… Read More ›
California response to foreclosure crisis weak
A coalition of California consumer organizations, including California ACORN, the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC), the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), Consumer Federation of California (CFC) and Consumers Union demanded stronger, swifter action on the part of the California legislature in response to the subprime mortgage crisis at a press conference in Sacramento today. Read More ›
China product safety concerns have high stakes, far-reaching effects
by David Armstrong, Sabine Muscat, San Francisco Chronicle
“Rather than focus too much on China we should think about what kind of rules we should set up in our country,” said Zack Kaldveer, spokesman of the Consumer Federation of California. Read More ›
State proposition backers never lose hope Initiative fans never give up hope
The staff for Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, noted this week in a press release that the lawmaker scored 100 percent on his 2006 voting record on consumer protection legislation, as defined by the Consumer Federation of California. It was also noted that the average score in the Senate was – tsk, tsk – 68 percent and the average score in the Assembly was 62 percent. Read More ›
CFC’s RFID FACT SHEET
RFID chips allow businesses and government agencies to track our whereabouts, are susceptible to a hacker with an RFID scanner, and expose us to the threat of privacy violations, identity theft, property theft, and stalking. Read More ›
KPFA Show on Single Payer
Listen to an outstanding, in depth discussion on KPFA Radio about single payer health care, especially Sheila Kuehl’s SB 840. Read More ›
Consumer Coalition’s Letter to Federal Reserve Board
The undersigned nonprofit groups, private firms and public agencies write in response to the FRB’s request for comments on the Home Equity Lending Market…California registered the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in June of 2007, one foreclosure filing for every 315 households 2.2 times the national average, according to Realtytrac. Read More ›