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News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Agency votes to begin rulemaking process to protect American children, firefighters from hazardous flame retardant chemicals

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took three critical steps toward protecting consumers and firefighters from the hazards posed by a class of flame retardant chemicals (known as “organohalogens”). The CPSC directed the Commission’s staff to begin the rulemaking process to ban the sale of four categories of consumer products if they contain these chemicals. Once again, the CPSC has made an important action for consumers.

News Release | CALPIRG | Democracy

California Legislature sends “The California Disclose Act” to the Governor’s desk

Political advertisements will more clearly share their top funders under AB 249, the California Disclose Act authored by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, which passed out of the Assembly on Friday and heads to the Governor’s desk.

News Release | CALPIRG | Public Health

CALPIRG Statement on San Diego Unified Lead Policy

Our Public Health Advocate, Jason Pfeifle, joined San Diego school officials to announce the district's new policy for protecting kids from lead in drinking water. The new plan requires the district to test all drinking water outlets for lead and to do physical repairs anytime a water tap tests positive for lead at 5 parts per billion of higher. This new standard is one third of the level of lead currently allowed in school drinking water by California policy. This new policy was adopted in response to CALPIRG calling on the school district to adopt more stringent standards for ensuring safe drinking water for kids.

News Release | CALPIRG | Health Care

CALPIRG-backed bill for prescription drug price transparency heads to the Governor’s desk

We applaud the legislature for passing SB 17, authored by State Senator Ed Hernandez, to require the prescription drug companies to give 60-day advance notice before they increase prices, and require an explanation for the increase.

News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Statement on Unilever Starting to Disclose Fragrances via SmartLabel

Statement from CALPIRG Toxics Advocate Dev Gowda on Unilever Starting to Disclose Fragrances via SmartLabel

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News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Agency votes to begin rulemaking process to protect American children, firefighters from hazardous flame retardant chemicals

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took three critical steps toward protecting consumers and firefighters from the hazards posed by a class of flame retardant chemicals (known as “organohalogens”). The CPSC directed the Commission’s staff to begin the rulemaking process to ban the sale of four categories of consumer products if they contain these chemicals. Once again, the CPSC has made an important action for consumers.

News Release | CALPIRG | Democracy

California Legislature sends “The California Disclose Act” to the Governor’s desk

Political advertisements will more clearly share their top funders under AB 249, the California Disclose Act authored by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, which passed out of the Assembly on Friday and heads to the Governor’s desk.

News Release | CALPIRG | Public Health

CALPIRG Statement on San Diego Unified Lead Policy

Our Public Health Advocate, Jason Pfeifle, joined San Diego school officials to announce the district's new policy for protecting kids from lead in drinking water. The new plan requires the district to test all drinking water outlets for lead and to do physical repairs anytime a water tap tests positive for lead at 5 parts per billion of higher. This new standard is one third of the level of lead currently allowed in school drinking water by California policy. This new policy was adopted in response to CALPIRG calling on the school district to adopt more stringent standards for ensuring safe drinking water for kids.

News Release | CALPIRG | Health Care

CALPIRG-backed bill for prescription drug price transparency heads to the Governor’s desk

We applaud the legislature for passing SB 17, authored by State Senator Ed Hernandez, to require the prescription drug companies to give 60-day advance notice before they increase prices, and require an explanation for the increase.

News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Statement on Unilever Starting to Disclose Fragrances via SmartLabel

Statement from CALPIRG Toxics Advocate Dev Gowda on Unilever Starting to Disclose Fragrances via SmartLabel

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Result | Democracy

Delivering one million petitions to President Obama on dark money

U.S. PIRG joined a broad coalition to deliver one million petitions from Americans, including U.S. PIRG members and supporters, calling on President Obama to shine a light on dark money, or secret political spending.

Result | Health Care

Consumer-Friendly Health Care

In the fall of 2015, the state Legislature passed a series of CALPIRG-backed bills designed to help promote a more consumer-friendly and affordable health care system in California. State Bill (SB) 137 will give consumers accurate, up-to-date information about their health plan’s network; Assembly Bill (AB) 339 will ensure people with chronic health conditions are not discriminated against by insurers; AB 1305 will limit deductibles and annual out-of-pocket maximums for individual members of families; and SB 546 will require health insurance companies to justify rate increases for large employers’ health insurance plans.

Result | Consumer Protection

30 years of toy safety

For the past thirty years, our sister organization U.S. PIRG Education Fund has taken a close look at the safety of toys sold in stores. Their reports have led to more than 150 regulatory actions. In November 2015, they released our 30th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

Result | Consumer Protection

Keeping Children Safe From Dangerous Toys

Every year, as consumers begin purchasing toys for the holiday season, CALPIRG Education Fund visits numerous toy stores, malls and dollar stores to find potentially dangerous toys sitting on store shelves. In November 2015, we released our 30th annual report, "Trouble in Toyland 2015." Over the years, our reports have led to more than 150 recalls and other regulatory actions, helping to remove dangerous products from store shelves and keep children safe.

Result | Democracy

Giving more Americans a greater voice in our elections

In our democracy, the size of your wallet shouldn’t determine the volume of your voice. In 2015, we helped win reforms in Maine and Seattle to ensure that more Americans have a greater say in our elections. Seattle’s Initiative-122 empowers small donors with “democracy vouchers” that can be donated to local candidates and lowers the cap on contributions. In Maine, the state’s Clean Elections Act was improved by strengthening campaign finance disclosure laws and offering qualifying candidates increased public funding.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Protecting Those Who Serve

The men and women who serve in America’s military are also active consumers in America’s financial marketplace, where tricks and traps can cause harm to their finances and their lives. An analysis of more than 44,000 complaints submitted by active duty servicemembers and military veterans to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and contained in its Consumer Complaint Database finds that mistreatment of servicemembers by financial companies is widespread.

Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Budget

Governing in the Shadows

A review of 79 special districts’ online financial transparency shows that while a few districts are meeting the goals of “Transparency 2.0” – a standard of comprehensive, one-stop, oneclick budget accountability and accessibility – the vast majority do little to inform citizens about how they spend money.

Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Medical Debt Malpractice

Millions of Americans are contacted by debt collectors every year over debt related to medical expenses. This review of complaints submitted to the CFPB suggest that many consumers contacted about medical debt should not have been contacted in the first place, and that many contacts involve aggressive or inappropriate tactics.

Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Get the Lead Out

Our children need safe drinking water – especially at school where they go to learn and play each day. Unfortunately, lead is contaminating drinking water at schools and pre-schools across the country. As our report shows, states including California are so far failing to make the grade when it comes to keeping lead out of drinking water at school.

Report | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

Student, Education, and Consumer Groups Defend CFPB To Congress

On February 13, nearly 60 local, state and national student advocacy, professional, consumer, educational, faith and other organizations sent a letter to Congressional leaders expressing "strong support for the crucial work the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) does on behalf of student loan borrowers." The "borrower-focused" letter also urged Congress "to ensure the agency remains well-positioned to solve borrowers’ problems, which includes protecting the Bureau’s single-Director structure and its independent funding, and maintaining Director Richard Cordray until his term ends.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumer Tips and FAQ about the Equifax Breach | Mike Litt

Hackers gained access to the personal data of as many as 143 million Americans in the Equifax breach. Here are some recommended actions consumers can take to protect themselves and answers to frequently asked questions.

Blog Post | Public Health

During This Intense Hurricane Season: Some Reports and Information On Storms, Chemicals and Public Safety | Kara Cook-Schultz

Hurricane Harvey was a natural disaster, and a devastating one at that. During and after the hurricane, we learned anew that it’s not only the initial storm that threatens life and limb, but also chemical facilities that are hit. As Irma bears down on Florida, we hope for the best outcome for the people of Florida. We also want the state to prepare for the worst. In that spirit, here are some resources and information on storms, chemicals and public safety.

Blog Post | Financial Reform

U.S. House Considers Trojan Horse Bill To Weaken Credit Bureau Laws | Ed Mierzwinski

What would you do if you knew that the Big 3 credit bureaus were in the Top 5 of complaint leaders to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and that their mistake-ridden reports caused consumers to either be denied jobs or pay more for or be denied credit due to those mistakes? Well, if you were the leadership of the House Financial Services Committee, you'd consider not one, but two bills to make this worse by eliminating strong consumer protections and eliminating some and limiting other damages payable to consumers when credit bureaus wreck their lives. You'd hide a massive weakening of consumer protections inside a Trojan Horse bill that claims to be about letting the credit bureaus help people.

Blog Post | Financial Reform

States, DC Stepping Up To Protect Student Loan Borrowers | Chris Lindstrom

With the U.S. Department of Education failing to protect students from unfair practices, the states and the District of Columbia have begun to enact student loan servicing protections. Here's an overview of what's happening in the "laboratories of democracy."

Blog Post | Financial Reform

Federal Reserve Questions Administration, Congressional Rollbacks of Wall Street Reform That Threaten CFPB | Ed Mierzwinski

Recently released minutes of the July meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, comprised of Fed governors and regional Fed Bank presidents, show its concern that Wall Street reform rollbacks proposed by Congress, Treasury Department and the White House could allow "a reemergence of the types of risky practices that contributed to the crisis." Meanwhile, Fed vice-chair Stanley Fisher repeated his warnings that risks from the proposed rollbacks were "mind-boggling."

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What You Need To Know About The Equifax Breach

Hackers gained access to the personal data of as many as 143 million Americans in the Equifax breach. Learn how to protect yourself.

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CONSUMER PROTECTIONS AT RISK

Congress is one step closer to rolling back consumer protections established after the 2008 financial crisis. Help keep the financial cop on the beat.

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CALL ON L’ORÉAL TO GO TOXIC-FREE

We should know whether the products we use on our bodies are safe. Tell L'Oreal to be a leader and Pledge to be Toxic-Free.

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VICTORY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

KFC just announced that they’re going to stop serving chicken raised on our life-saving medicines. This is a major step forward in our efforts to stop the overuse of antibiotics.

TELL KFC: THANK YOU

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