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NEWSOM SIGNS SLATE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION BILLS
Via Nicole Nixon...
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed over a dozen bills Tuesday aimed at strengthening protections for California consumers.
Under one of the bills, SB 1061 , medical debt cannot be included in credit reports or used as a negative factor in credit decisions.
“No Californian should be unable to secure housing, a loan, or even a job because they accessed necessary medical care,” said state Sen. Monique Limón , D-Santa Barbara, the bill’s author. “With this new law, California is stepping up to protect consumers impacted by the effects of medical debt.”
Two measures crack down on overdraft fees: AB 2017 bans banks and credit unions from charging fees for insufficient funds when a transaction is immediately declined. Another, SB 1075 , limits fees for insufficient funds to $14 (unless the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sets a lower limit).
Another bill, AB 2863 , aims to make it easier for people to cancel subscriptions and requires companies to get consent from customers before charging for a service after a free trial ends.
“Nobody wants to get ripped off, whether it’s a small subscription fee that’s seemingly impossible to cancel or massive medical debts which force families into financial ruin,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re strengthening protections for Californians across the board and helping save consumers money.”
The governor is steadily working through the heap of bills on his desk before the sign-or-veto deadline of September 30.
GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES TO SPEAK AT WEEKEND FORUM
While most of us political insiders are watching the 2024 election like hawks, it’s easy to forget that there’s a statewide election in just two years, where voters will choose a new governor.
So if you just can’t get enough campaign excitement, you’re in luck: This weekend, the National Union of Healthcare Workers is teaming up with reporters from the Associated Press , Los Angeles Times and Politico California to host a 2026 gubernatorial candidate forum featuring former Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins , Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis , Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former State Controller Betty Yee .
This marks the first time these four Democratic gubernatorial heavyweights are meeting in the same place to discuss the race and issues facing Californians.
There’s one notable absence: former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa , who declined to attend.
The event is being held Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., in San Francisco. It will be livestreamed by both the LA Times and the NUHW YouTube page .
“This year’s forum may be in the Bay Area, but our members in attendance will come from San Diego, Eureka and everywhere in between, as has been the case in our earlier candidate forums,” said NUHW President Emeritus Sal Rosselli in a statement.
“Wherever they live or work, NUHW members want to know the candidates’ positions and where they differ on health care, including mental health parity; they want to know their plans for housing, transportation and education and their views on workers’ rights. We hope this year’s forum will provide those answers for our members and other California voters,” he said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Like those who falsely shout ‘fire!’ in a crowded theater, Trump and Vance do not color within the lines of the First Amendment. They commit criminal acts.”
- San Diego-based Haitian Bridge Alliance, in a complaint filed in an Ohio court, demanding that the Republican nominees for president and vice president be criminally charged for their false and inflammatory rhetoric about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Via The Hill .
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