Tag Archives: CFC
New Consumer Laws Passed
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Consumer Federation of California played a key role in enacting new laws protecting our online privacy, restricting unfair lending practices, enabling consumers to buy toxic-free household products, and cracking down on elder abuse. CFC also helped to defeat attacks on our medical … Read More ›
CFC: $148 Million In Insurance Savings For Ratepayers
Last year, CFC began intervening before the Department of Insurance in Prop 103 auto and homeowner insurance rate reviews. Our actuaries scrutinized data submitted by insurers, pointed out errors in calculations or loss projections, and persuaded regulators and insurers to cut their proposed rate increases. As a … Read More ›
The Sharing Economy: 21st Century Technology, 19th Century Worker Protections
by Amanda Armstrong, In These Times
Uber’s intensive lobbying over the summer reduced AB 2293 to a shadow of its original self. As noted by the Consumer Federation of California, in its final form the bill establishes insurance minimums far below those required of taxi, limo, and other companies that provide similar services. But the bill was flawed even at its inception, as it never sought to protect workers. AB 2293 makes drivers legally responsible for carrying liability insurance for passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists, while withholding from drivers and their family members guarantees of compensation or support in the event that they are injured or killed on the job. Read More ›
2014 Legislative Summary
Aug. 15 was the deadline for fiscal committees to meet and report bills to the floor, according to legislative rules. Beginning Aug. 18, only floor sessions were allowed – no committees other than conference and rules committees may meet for any purpose. Aug. 22 was the last day … Read More ›
SB 1019: Governor Signs Toxic Furniture Right-to-know Bill
Californians can breathe easier since a new, non-toxic flammability test for upholstered furniture took effect January 1, 2014. However, the new regulation does not ban the use of dangerous halogenated chemicals as fire retardants, and the chemical industry is trying to persuade manufacturers to continue loading them into furniture sold in California. Senate Bill 1019 (Leno) would give consumers the right to know whether the furniture they buy is loaded with harmful chemicals. Read More ›
California Enacts Strict Student Privacy Law
by the Associated Press, in the San Francisco Chronicle
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the nation’s toughest student privacy rights protections into law. SB 1177 (Steinberg) makes companies responsible for protecting any personal information that they gather from K-12 students through websites, online applications and other services. The data can be used only for school purposes, and students’ personal information cannot be sold. Consumer Federation of California Executive Director Richard Holober called the law “the vanguard for consumer rights in the digital era. Until this point, protecting students’ online information has been a Wild West.” Read More ›
Gov. Brown Toughens Rules on Senior Residential Care Facilities
by Patrick McGreevey, Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday approved sweeping new rules for residential care facilities aimed at protecting senior citizens from substandard conditions. The governor approved nine bills that his office said in a statement are meant to “protect the health and safety of seniors residing in assisted living facilities across the state.” Read More ›
Some Assisted-Care Safeguards For Seniors Advance
An ambitious drive to protect seniors living in residential care facilities for the elderly continues to progress through the committee process as the Legislature works toward its summer recess, scheduled to begin July 4. The action is in Sacramento, but the impetus comes from families around the state. Read More ›
CFC-Sponsored Ban Against Computer Spyware Signed Into Law
SEPT. 18 – Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill sponsored by the Consumer Federation of California to protect consumer privacy by restricting the use of spyware on rented computers. Thanks to Assembly Bill 2667 (Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica), consumers who rent a computer or similar electronic device in … Read More ›
Uber-rich transportation firms should be liable for death or injury
Update 8/27: The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) today removed its support for Assembly Bill 2293 (Bonilla) due to changes in the insurance coverage proposed for transportation network companies (TNCs). “An earlier version of AB 2293 which CFC supported mandated TNC coverage of one million dollars per [incident]. … Read More ›
Public Safety, Worker Protection Bills Advance to Governor’s Desk
In a victory for public safety over private profitability, Senate Bill 1019 passed the state Assembly and Senate with strong bipartisan consent on August 27 and 28. Known as the Consumers’ Right to Know: Flame Retardants in Furniture bill, the measure – introduced by Senator Mark Leno, (D-San Francisco) — requires upholstered furniture manufacturers to disclose to consumers the use or absence of flame retardant chemicals on furniture labels. … The tide turned against the political power of the chemical industry’s continued use of toxic fire retardants in furniture over the past couple of years, said Richard Holober, executive director of the nonprofit Consumer Federation of California. Read More ›
SB 962: Governor Signs Smartphone Kill Switch Legislation
An Assembly floor vote is expected Aug. 7. “The companies that make 97 percent of smartphones sold in the U.S. have removed their opposition to the bill, yet [CTIA-The Wireless Association] remains opposed,” Max Szabo of the District Attorney’s Office told The San Francisco Examiner. “It raises the question of whether these insurance giants are hiding behind this lobbying group in an attempt to protect the profits they’re reaping at the expense of public safety.” Read More ›
SB 1256: Brown Signs Curb On Medical Credit Scams
Health care patients would no longer be subject to exorbitant third-party credit charges arranged without their full knowledge and informed consent under a Consumer Federation of California-sponsored bill that passed a unanimous state Senate floor vote on Thursday, May 15, 2014. Read More ›