Regulators’ E-Mails With PG&E Blasted As Culture Of ‘Lawlessness’
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
Stephen Weissman, a UC Berkeley energy law professor who previously worked as a lawyer at the [California Public Utilities Commission], said the current standards reflect a “cultural divide” with similar agencies in other states that ban such lobbying altogether. “California does not even discourage” the contacts, Weissman said. “To the contrary, it welcomes them.” Worse, he said, is that there is no penalty for utilities commissioners who violate the rules. There is not even a requirement that commissioners report such lobbying. “We feel this lack of direct accountability,” Weissman said, is a “major contributing factor to the apparent repeated violations.” 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 ›
CFC, Firefighters, Environmentalists Back Disclosure of Chemical Hazards in Children’s Products
SACRAMENTO – 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. Read More ›
Binding Arbitration Rules Get Consumer Protection Bureau Scrutiny
by Ann Carrns, New York Times
Customers who have disputes with banks or credit card companies often can be forced to go to arbitration before a private lawyer to try to resolve the problem, rather than before a judge in court. That’s because many financial accounts come with built-in contracts containing “pre-dispute” arbitration clauses — so-called because consumers agree to them when they sign up for the account, before they actually have a disagreement. Read More ›
Castro Valley: Two Charged With Felony Elder Abuse In Abandoned Care Home Case
by Katie Nelson and Karina Ioffee, Contra Costa Times
The charges come after the shocking Valley Springs case and other incidents around the state shined a light on the state Department of Social Services’ oversight of such facilities. … The Department of Social Services, which oversees the licensing of senior care facilities like Valley Springs Manor, admitted that they had a “complete breakdown” in communication and that the closure forced them to re-evaluate their closure process as well as update training for state employees who monitor facilities. Read More ›
Lawsuit Contests CPUC Lawyer Hiring
by Jeff McDonald, UT-San Diego
[Plaintiffs attorney:] “They are misusing public funds by hiring lawyers — very expensive lawyers — to hide public records that relate to the misuse of ratepayer funds.” … According to [CPUC President Michael] Picker, the commission is facing at least three separate criminal investigations — two by the California Attorney General’s office and one by the U.S. Department of Justice. … Investigators are looking into alleged favoritism by [ex-CPUC President Michael] Peevey and others after a deadly 2010 pipeline explosion in San Bruno and the 2012 failure of the San Onofre nuclear power plant. Read More ›
Credit-Reporting Companies Agree To Major Changes To Reduce Errors
by Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
The nation’s three largest credit-reporting companies have agreed to make it easier for consumers to correct mistakes, as well as to wait longer to list unpaid medical bills to allow more time for insurance payments, according to a government settlement announced Monday. The changes are designed to … Read More ›
Government DNA Collection Under Microscope In California
by Jeremy B. White, The Sacramento Bee
Assemblymember Mike Gatto has a pair of bills that would allow parents to have their babies’ samples destroyed, and dictate when police officers can glean DNA. With the support of district attorneys, Assemblyman Jim Cooper has a bill allowing DNA collection from people convicted of certain misdemeanors. Read More ›
Lumber Liquidators Sued Over Formaldehyde Allegations
by Chris Morran, Consumerist
The suit alleges … the company “breached their warranties by manufacturing, selling and/or distributing flooring products with levels of formaldehyde that exceed the CARB standards, or by making affirmative representations regarding CARB compliance without knowledge of its truth.” Lumber Liquidators is also accused of the California Business and Professions Code’s prohibitions against “unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice,” false advertising. Additionally, the plaintiffs allege that misrepresenting the [California Air Resources Board] certification of the wood violates the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Read More ›
Legislators Pressure CPUC Officials Over PG&E E-Mails
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
Committee Chairman Sen. Ben Hueso, D-Logan Heights (San Diego County), told [Commission President Michael Picker] that some of the 65,000 e-mails between commission officials and PG&E that were recently released as part of a court case show that the regulatory process appears “extremely skewed” toward the utility. The e-mails have shown utilities commission officials working to name an administrative law judge whom PG&E preferred to a rate-setting case, and a PG&E executive trying to leverage the former commission president’s interest in a coal-gasification project into favorable treatment for the firm. Read More ›
Lumber Liquidators Linked To Health And Safety Violations
by Anderson Cooper, 60 Minutes
[Denny Larson and environmental attorney Richard Drury] bought more than 150 boxes of laminate flooring at stores around California and sent them to three certified labs for a series of tests. The results? While laminate flooring from Home Depot and Lowes had acceptable levels of formaldehyde, as did Lumber Liquidators American-made laminates, every single sample of Chinese-made laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators failed to meet California formaldehyde emissions standards. Many by a large margin. Read More ›
Privacy Legislation Proposed To Balance New Technology
by Katie Orr, Capital Public Radio
Technology is becoming an increasing part of our lives. And Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gatto and Republican Senator Ted Gaines announced today they are putting forward a package of bills designed to protect the privacy of consumers. The bills address body cameras, drones and data collection, among other things. Read More ›
California Consumer Group Seeks Enforcement Action Against Geico
by Staff, The Insurance Journal
“Our extensive analysis of Geico’s online rate quote system found that it is programmed to target unmarried low or moderate-income drivers for inflated rates,” Richard Holober, executive director of the group stated. “Targeted motorists either pay for excessive coverages they are falsely told are the lowest available, or Geico drives them away with these costly quotes. Either way, Geico is breaking California’s insurance regulations and civil rights law.” Read More ›