"The candidates we endorsed have solid records of standing up for the interests of California consumers. We look forward to working with them when they take office in the state legislature," said Richard Holober, CFC Executive Director.

"The corrosive influence of corporate money in the state capitol undermines every piece of legislation consumers care about..." said Zack Kaldveer, spokesperson for the Consumer Federation of California.

California Treasurer Bill Lockyer has named Richard Holober, Consumer Federation of California Executive Director, to serve on a Blue Ribbon Commission to study the impact of the planned closing of the Fremont NUMMI plant on the state’s economy.

John Perez is a superb choice for Speaker of the California State Assembly. John is a staunch advocate for justice and opportunity for all Californians, on the job, in the marketplace and in the community.

"These are a few bright spots in a pretty dismal year for consumers. The most far reaching, pro-consumer legislation failed to even pass the legislature," said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the CFC. "Of the 14 bills we identified as most important that did reach the Governor’s desk, he took the side of the consumer in only six instances..."

"We are disappointed that the Governor sided with big business interests and against consumers on the majority of bills that reached his desk. The Governor turned a deaf ear to California consumers on key food safety, automobile insurance and financial privacy proposals."

"California consumers should be entitled to purchase medications that are safe and effective and parents and children deserve assurances that their baby food is nutritional and healthy," said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the CFC. "Shockingly, we found that fully 41% of Rite Aid stores fail the test."

2009 Interim Consumer Scorecard provides a snapshot of state lawmakers’ votes on several key consumer protection bills. The scorecard includes votes cast before the legislature adjourned for the summer recess.

Lawmakers returning from summer recess today will be greeted by a letter from nine consumer rights organizations outlining legislative priorities during the final month of the 2009 session.

A coalition of concerned mothers, firefighters, environmentalists, public health experts and consumer groups are one step closer to winning a landmark victory for children’s health with the State Senate’s approval last evening of SB 772 (Leno).

While lawmakers grapple with the imminent crisis, we must plan for long term solutions to the structural budget shortfall. Tax justice demands that wealthy businesses pay their fair share before we further decimate our schools and hospitals.

A coalition of privacy groups today urged the Obama Administration to defend California’s landmark financial privacy law against the banking industry’s legal efforts to overturn it.

Average scores were 59 percent in the Senate and 62 percent in the Assembly. The scorecard highlighted a deep ideological split between the two parties when it comes to consumer rights protections. Assembly Democrats had an average score of 90 percent, with Senate Democrats averaging 81 percent. Assembly Republicans took the side of consumers only 20 percent of the time, and Senate Republicans scored slightly better with 23 percent.

With the deadline for digital TV conversion nearing, televisions are sure to be at the top on many holiday gift lists. The good news is The Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC) recently released a report card on the TV industry’s recycling programs for discarded televisions.

"We applaud the ALJ’s reasoned decision,” said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California. “The judge rightly found there was no justification for shifting these costs away from a company like Shell Oil and on to a family struggling to make ends meet."

The No on Proposition 10 campaign won a lopsided defeat of T Boone Pickens’ ballot measure. With 56 % of the ballots counted, 61% of voters were voting No and only 39% were voting Yes.

The No on Prop 10 Campaign issued a strongly worded letter today to Yes on 10 Campaign Manager Marty Wilson and Chair Alison Hart demanding an immediate public retraction for an email they sent associating Proposition 10 with Senator Obama and his energy plan.

"While Proposition 10 appears to be a measure to improve our air and protect the global environment, its public subsidies are heavily skewed toward building markets for an energy source that could increase global warming emissions."

Reports filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the California Secretary of State’s office offer further proof that Proposition 10 is nothing more than a shrewd business investment by Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens.

The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) launched www.noonproposition10.org - the No on Prop 10 website - dedicated to defeating an initiative that calls for $5 billion in bonds to subsidize natural gas powered vehicles along with a modest investment in renewable energy development.

This predatory lending is detailed in the report authored by the Consumer Federation of California (CFC), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Over one-third of the businesses surveyed in 2008 received grades in the "A" range. The CFC Education Foundation’s first Financial Privacy Report Card in 2004 found that 14.5% of financial institutions received a grade of "A". Low or failing grades of "D" or "F" decreased from 27.2% in 2004 to 8.2% in 2008.

"The massive response in favor of these reforms shows that Americans are fed up with the many traps and tricks that card companies use to drive up the amount of debt consumers owe," said Travis B. Plunkett, legislative director of CFA.

"This is an outrageous giveaway to companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil," said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the CFC. “Why shouldn’t these companies continue to pay their fair share for programs that assist low-income Californians?"

“California consumers and the right to privacy explicit in our State Constitution lost and big business won today," said Zack Kaldveer, spokesperson for CFC. "Under this bill, an individual’s private medical prescriptions become commodities to be marketed and sold for the purpose of increasing corporate profit, not improving public health."

"This attempt by the utilities to help big businesses avoid paying their fair share for a critical program like CARE is unconscionable at a time when energy costs continue to skyrocket," said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the CFC.

Consumers will get a break this holiday season thanks to a new California law - Senate Bill 250 by Senator Ellen Corbett (D - San Leandro). The new law gives consumers the right to cash in an unused or partially used gift card when the value of the card is less than ten dollars.

Consumers Union, CalPIRG, MOMS, Consumer Action and the Consumer Federation of California will join consumers in San Francisco...calling on manufacturers, retailers, and government agencies to develop effective measures to prevent unsafe products from reaching store shelves.

Unfortunately, ten months after anointing 2007 as the "Year of Health Care", the Governor has offered a plan that still fails to address two fundamental components of any credible health care reform proposal: affordability and cost containment.

The Consumer Federation of California released today its 2007 Scorecard for State Lawmakers. Legislators were rated by their key votes on consumer rights bills.

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.

In the wake of increasing incidences of tainted food products in the U.S., particularly those coming from China, consumer and family farm representatives urged the US Senate to enact country of origin labeling (COOL) laws.

Regulations adopted today by the California Public Utilities Commission fall short of protecting limited English speaking consumers from misleading advertising by telephone companies.

The Consumer Federation of California Education Foundation (CFCEF) released today an in-depth study of the consumer privacy practices of major telecommunications corporations operating in California.

Giant investment banks and insurance companies with a history of scandals shouldn't be allowed to monopolize our public utilities, said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California.

The Consumer Federation of California today applauded Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner's order against Allstate for overcharging Californians for homeowners insurance.

Cell phone users are one step closer to winning critical consumer protections after todayýs vote by the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee to approve Senate Bill 831 (D- Lowenthal).

The Consumer Federation of California opposed Commissioner Chong's confirmation to the Public Utilities Commission, based on her disregard for consumer interests during her first year as a Commissioner. With today's confirmation, we want to set our differences aside.