Consumerism

Consumerism

Consumerism Legislation

Consumerism Legislation

SB 97 (Murray-D) Commercial electronic mail: penalties

Provides that a person who sends unsolicited commercial e-mail advertising shall be subject to misdemeanor criminal penalties (a six month county jail sentence and/or a fine of up to $1,000) where the message or "header" contains false or misleading information.

Chapter 247, Statutes of 2005

SB 202 (Simitian-D) Privacy: telephone calling pattern record or list

Allows any county to establish a long-term kinship care program without submitting a plan to the state.

(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

SB 263 (Speier-D) Sellers of travel: regulation

Requires anyone who sells land-based or water-based transportation to comply with the sellers of travel law, limits "travel club memberships" to a maximum value of $100 and duration of one year, and makes other changes related to enforcement and administration of the sellers of travel.

(Held at Assembly Desk)

SB 369 (Simitian-D) Ecological labeling

Requires the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) in order to contract with a vendor that would in turn award the Green Bear Eco-Label. Prior to issuing the RFP, CalEPA will need to develop criteria for the vendor's implementation of the contract. Authorizes the vendor to adopt criteria for awarding a label to a product or service and authorizes the vendor to revise any criteria, as specified, and authorizes the vendor to charge a fee, in the amount specified by CalEPA, to a producer or distributor who presents a proposal or application to the vendor for an award of a label to a product or service.

(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 440 (Speier-D) Personal information

Requires any state agency, or person contracting with a state agency, to encrypt personal information that is transported via a laptop or other electronic storage device, and prohibits a business from discriminating against a customer who does not permit the business to share the customer's personal information.

(Failed passage in Assembly Business and Professions Committee; reconsideration granted)

SB 488 (Soto-D) Contractors

Enhances penalties for third and subsequent convictions for contracting without a license and provides that it is a misdemeanor for the qualifying person of a contractor's license to violate workers' compensation insurance requirements.

Chapter 205, Statutes of 2005

SB 581 (Figueroa-D) Health studio contracts: maximum fees: cancellation rights

Provides specified conditions, circumstances and time frames under which a person may cancel a contract for health studio services when facilities or services are not offered, eliminated, or substantially reduced.

Chapter 439, Statutes of 2005

SB 603 (Ortiz-D) Insurance: credit ratings

Prohibits an insurer from using credit ratings, credit reports, credit scoring models, or credit information to underwrite, classify, or rate certain automobile and property insurance policies, prohibits an insurer from refusing to issue those policies, and from nonrenewing or canceling those policies, based upon credit grounds, and provides that a violation of these provisions shall result in a penalty not to exceed $50,000, but if willful then not to exceed $250,000.

(Failed passage in Assembly Insurance Committee; reconsideration granted)

SB 611 (Speier-D) Meat and poultry recalls

Requires a meat or poultry supplier, distributor, broker or processor to immediately notify the Department of Health Services, as specified, when meat or poultry products they sell are subject to a voluntary recall by the United States Department of Agriculture.

(On Senate Unfinished Business File)

SB 636 (Figueroa-D) Credit cards: photo identification

Prohibits retailers, as defined, from accepting credit card payments, in person-to-person transactions, without checking photo identification, requires retailers to implement related procedures, and authorizes the Attorney General or a district attorney to seek a civil penalty of $250 or more for a violation of this section.

(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 682 (Simitian-D) Identity Information Protection Act of 2005

Requires that certain security measures be implemented into state and local government-issued identification documents that incorporate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, with certain specified exceptions, and for three years prohibits the use of RFID in four classes of government documents.

(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

SB 730 (Speier-D) Organic products: aquaculture products

Prohibits any aquaculture, fish, or seafood product (including farmed and wild species) from being labeled or represented as "organic," until such time that the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program, or the California Department of Food and Agriculture implements formal certification standards, and makes legislative findings and declarations stating that because there are currently no standards in place, either at the federal or state level, "any seafood can be claimed as organic."

Chapter 685, Statutes of 2005

SB 768 (Simitian-D) Identity Information Protection Act of 2005

Requires certain security measures be implemented into government-issued identification that incorporate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, with certain specified exceptions, and prohibits the use of RFID in four classes of widely-issued government documents.

(On Assembly Inactive File)

SB 774 (Cox-R) Vended water

Requires the telephone number displayed on the machines of vended water be a toll-free telephone number.

(In Senate Health Committee)

SB 802 (Simitian-D) Debit cards

Prohibits any person who transacts business using debit cards from electronically printing more than the last five digits of the debit card on the receipt.

Chapter 445, Statutes of 2005

SB 833 (Bowen-D) Unsolicited advertising faxes

Establishes in California the federal opt-in requirement for junk faxes (unsolicited advertising via facsimile machines, computers, or other electronic devices), rather than rely on the application of federal law to regulate these unsolicited fax ads.

Chapter 667, Statutes of 2005

SB 860 (Bowen-D) Credit card processing fees: state agents

Prohibits the University of California, the California State University or the community colleges or any agent thereof from imposing any processing fee or charge for the use of a credit or debit card as payment for any state service or obligation.

(In Assembly Banking and Finance Committee)

SB 878 (Dunn-D) Charitable solicitation disclosures

Deletes, from a statute that regulates solicitations for charitable purposes, provisions that render the statute unenforceable under the United States Supreme Court decision in Riley v. National Federation of Blind, and also adds firefighters, fire marshalls, and firefighting personnel to the list of the types of non-governmental organizations that a charity solicitor must give specified information about in the course of solicitation campaigns.

Chapter 212, Statutes of 2005

SB 934 (Vincent-D) Dogs and cats: spay or neuter agreement: penalties

Provides that the entity selling or giving away an unspayed or unneutered dog or cat shall require the adopter or purchaser to execute a written agreement acknowledging that the dog or cat is not spayed or neutered and agreeing that the adopter or purchaser shall be responsible for ensuring that the dog or cat will be spayed or neutered, as specified.

(In Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development)

SB 986 (Escutia-D) Consumer credit reports: employment purposes

Revises the definition of "employment purposes" to require that, when the consumer credit report or the investigative consumer report is used for employment purposes, as described above, the information be directly related to the skills necessary to perform the job.

(In Senate Judiciary Committee)

SB 1068 (Escutia-D) Telecommunications: consumer protection

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to develop and enforce specified telephone consumer protection rules for landline telecommunications and mobile telephone services by July 1, 2006.

(Failed passage in Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee; reconsideration granted)

SB 1104 (Senate Banking, Finance And Insurance Committee) Financial privacy

Excludes specified entities from the California Financial Information Privacy Act (Act), including a provider of health care, a health care service plan, and a state agency. Provides that the Act supplements and does not limit the application of various other provisions, including the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act.

(In Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 68 (Montanez-D) Motor vehicle sale contracts: Car Buyer's Bill of Rights

Requires a car dealer selling a used vehicle for a purchase price under $40,000 to offer the buyer a two-day contract cancellation option agreement, priced as specified, and under which the buyer may return the vehicle without cause so long as certain conditions are met, including that the vehicle has not been driven more than 250 miles and is in the same condition, except as specified, as when it was purchased. Prohibits a car dealer from advertising a used vehicle as "certified" or any similar descriptive term that implies the vehicle has been certified to meet the terms of a used vehicle certification program, if, among other things, the odometer has been rolled back, the vehicle was reacquired under a warranty law, or the vehicle has sustained damage that after repair prior to sale substantially impairs its use or safety.

Chapter 128, Statutes of 2005

AB 175 (Calderon-D) Gift cards: multiple sellers

Requires a seller or issuer of a gift card usable with multiple sellers of goods or services to clearly disclose to the consumer the card's purchase price and any service, maintenance, dormancy or other fees associated with the card.

(In Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 303 (Calderon-D) Automotive repair dealers: insurers

Modifies the provision excepting insurers from the definition of "customer," by allowing an individual to authorize his/her insurer to act on the customer's behalf after being advised of the individual rights the original customer has under California law.

(In Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee)

AB 319 (Chan-D) Phthalates and bisphenol-A in children's products

Prohibits the use of Bisphenol-A and phthalates in toys and childcare products designed for babies and children under three years of age.

(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 535 (Calderon-D) Licensure of credit counselors

Enacts the Credit Counselors Law, to establish that a nonprofit community service organization must be licensed by the Department of Corporations (DOC) if its primary functions are to offer credit education and counseling, and to administer debt settlement and debt management plans. DOC will be given civil and administrative powers to enforce the licensing requirements, and its costs in administering the program will be paid out of annual fees and pro rata cost reimbursement from licensees.

Vetoed by the Governor

AB 695 (Mullin-D) Retail sales

Requires a retail seller to conspicuously display information about its return policy on signs posted at each public entrance or sales counter and requires retail sellers to provide purchasers with a legible receipt.

(In Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 801 (Jones-D) Outdoor advertising

Exempts, from the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, an advertising structure (billboard or sign) used to advertise development projects or business centers in the County of Sacramento. The exemption will be subject to several conditions.

(In Senate Transportation and Housing Committee)

AB 987 (Frommer-D) Vehicle rental agreements: disclosures

Allows rental car companies to continue to provide only written notice about collision damage waivers to customers who are enrolled in a membership program.

Chapter 82, Statutes of 2005

AB 1001 (Nunez-D) Vehicles: dealer's licenses: document charges

Increases from $45 to $55 the limit on how much a vehicle dealer may charge for document preparation associated with the sale of a motor vehicle.

Vetoed by the Governor

AB 1041 (Umberg-D) Advertising disclosures

Requires a professional sports franchise that includes a geographic location in its name but does not play a plurality of its games in the location used in its name, to include on all tickets, advertisements, and promotional materials a notice indicating that the franchise does not regularly participate in sporting events in the location indicated by its name, and specifies placement and size of the notice on print media, billboards, transportation vehicles, and television.

(In Senate Business and Professions Committee)

AB 1058 (Koretz-D) Retail food: beef labeling and information

Requires, beginning January 1, 2007, retailers to label meat products offered for sale with the country or countries of origin to the extent permitted under federal law.

Vetoed by the Governor

AB 1082 (Ruskin-D) Telecommunications: consumer protection

Prescribes the circumstances under which telephone and telegraph corporations, including mobile telephony service providers, as defined, or an affiliate, as defined, may release certain information regarding residential subscribers without their express consent, as defined, and adds a residential subscriber's electronic mail or other contact information as an item of prescribed information. Requires that any telephone or telegraph company that maintains an Internet web site that enables a subscriber to provide express consent pursuant to a certain law pertaining to electronic transactions, contain a readily viewable page that a subscriber can use to cancel the express consent, and requires that, upon a subscriber rescinding the subscriber's express consent, the corporation cease making the prescribed information available within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 30 days, following receipt of notice of rescission.

(In Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee)

AB 1103 (Karnette-D) Bicycle sales: notice

Requires a bicycle retailer and bicycle dealer who sells, furnishes, or gives a bicycle to any person to provide a disclosure to the purchaser or recipient that states that a bicycle may be recycled and that state law permits a tax deduction for qualified charitable contributions of bicycles, as specified.

(In Assembly Natural Resources Committee)

AB 1104 (Levine-D) Video provider billing practices

Requires that a provider shall cease charging a customer for services within seven business days of receiving a request to terminate service, and provides that if the customer provides seven or more business days notice before the date for termination of service, the provider shall cease charging for additional services as of midnight of the last day of service. A video provider could continue to provide the service after seven days but could not charge for such service. States, however, that it does not prohibit a provider from billing for charges incurred by the customer prior to the date for termination of service.

Chapter 429, Statutes of 2005

AB 1118 (Umberg-D) Nonhighway vehicles: disclosure

Defines a nonhighway vehicle, including pocket bikes, as a vehicle that is not manufactured or designed for highway use and does not meet all Federal Motor Safety Act standards, requires a manufacturer of a nonhighway vehicle to affix each vehicle with a clearly legible sticker disclosing that the vehicle is prohibited from being operated on public highways, and requires that a manufacturer, retailer, or individual may not sell, furnish, or otherwise supply a nonhighway vehicle if it does not contain a clearly legible sticker disclosing that the nonhighway vehicle is prohibited from being operated on the public highways.

(In Senate Transportation and Housing Committee)

AB 1163 (Yee-D) Motor vehicle replacement parts

Provides that a "certified aftermarket crash part," not manufactured by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the vehicle for which the aftermarket crash part is being used to repair, is of like kind and quality to an OEM aftermarket crash part, and requires manufacturers or distributors of the non-OEM part, and insurers, to warrant non-OEM certified aftermarket crash parts.

(In Assembly Business and Professions Committee)

AB 1291 (Pavley-D) Consumer products: state-certified logo

Requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to, by January 1, 2007, design a state-certified logo that could be affixed to consumer products that do not contain, produce, or emit, certain substances, as specified, or that for which the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment issues a certificate of compliance that the substance, if present in the product, will not harm the health or development of a developing fetus, infant, or child, and requires a manufacturer that wishes to affix the logo to a product to submit a certificate of compliance to the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and requires DTSC, upon determining the certificate of compliance meets the bill's requirements, to authorize the manufacturer of that product to affix the label.

(In Assembly Health Committee)

AB 1375* (Nation-D) Corporation Tax Law: tax surcharge: credit issuer

Imposes an additional 2.5 percent tax on the net income of every bank or financial corporation measured by net income for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2006, and defines a "bank of a financial corporation" to include a bank or financial corporation that satisfies specified requirements.

(In Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 1382 (Nakanishi-R) Prescription lenses

Provides that it is a deceptive marketing practice for any person to advertise that contact lenses may be obtained without confirmation of a valid prescription.

(In Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development)

AB 1641 (Harman-R) Consumer warranties

Requires the seller of a service contract covering any motor vehicle, home appliance, or home electronic product to honor its obligations under the contract for whichever is longer: (1) the full number of months or years stated in the contract, or (2) for some other period as disclosed to the buyer in writing at the time of purchase. Provides that, if the contract provides that the seller's obligation under the contract may be satisfied by replacement of the product with a similar product, or if the seller replaces the product in response to a claim under the contract, the seller's obligation under the contract will continue to apply for the remaining term of the contract to all replacement products provided to the buyer.

(Failed passage in Assembly Business and Professions Committee, reconsideration granted)

AB 1694 (Leno-D) Consumer credit reporting

Requires a consumer credit reporting agency, upon the request of a consumer whose personal information was breached by a computerized data system, to place a security freeze on the consumer's credit report without charge to the consumer for this service, and authorizes the consumer credit reporting agency to charge the agency responsible for the breach, and requires the consumer to submit a copy of notification of the breach to the consumer credit reporting agency, as a condition of receiving the security freeze.

(In Assembly Banking and Finance Committee)

ACR 64 (Chavez-D) Entertainment Ratings and Labeling Awareness Month

Proclaims the month of June 2005, as Entertainment Ratings and Labeling Awareness Month.

(In Senate Rules Committee)

Index (in Bill Order)