TOY SAFETY—CALPIRG’s Jennette Gayer speaks at a Los Angeles press conference in November to warn holiday shoppers of the dangers that some toys present. Over the past 19 years, the annual report has led to more than 120 corrective actions by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and manufacturers.

ChoicePoint Scandal Proves Success Of CA Law

Hundreds of thousands of Americans instantly became potential victims of identity theft when a data collector called ChoicePoint turned over their personal information to identity thieves posing as businessmen. ChoicePoint notified Californians whose information was handed to the crooks only because a CALPIRG-backed state law required it.

“We only know about the ChoicePoint data breach because of a tough identity theft law passed here in California,” said CALPIRG’s Jennette Gayer. “It’s another example of how innovative state laws are working effectively.”

After ChoicePoint notified Californians, consumers and attorneys general in other states demanded the same information, and the company eventually complied with their demands. California law also enables Californians to “freeze” their credit accounts, so that a thief cannot open lines of credit in their name.

CALPIRG’s consumer lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Ed Mierzwinski, is working to replicate the success of California laws at the federal level by supporting the Information Protection and Security Act (S 500, HR 1080) by Senator Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Representative Ed Markey (Mass.).

The bills require ChoicePoint and other information brokers to better secure the information they hold, grant consumers the right to obtain access to and correct their files, and protect information from unauthorized users. Importantly, the legislation also preserves the right of the states to enact stronger privacy laws provided that they are not inconsistent.

CALPIRG Sends Warning About Instant Tax Refunds

Consumers are often lured by the promise of instant refunds offered by tax preparers. But if consumers knew more about the fees and interest rates associated with these refunds, which are really loans, more would undoubtedly shy away.

This past tax season, CALPIRG urged consumers to avoid these socalled refunds, also known as refund anticipation loans.

“It’s the old adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” said CALPIRG’s Steve Blackledge. “Refund anticipation loans come with fees and interest rates that would make a loan shark blush.”

Blackledge spoke on Sacramento’s KXTV-10, the ABC affiliate, about the problems of refund anticipation loans, and CALPIRG is working with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to pass legislation that would give consumers fair warning of the risks and high rates of the loans offered by tax preparers.

CALPIRG Works To Protect Social Security

One of the hottest issues in Congress is President Bush’s Social Security privatization plan, a plan CALPIRG is working to defeat. The president’s plan would divert money away from Social Security, resulting in severe benefit cuts for low- and middle-income Americans.

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the plan would add over $4.5 trillion to the debt in its first 20 years—a 40 percent increase over current levels.

“The administration’s plan doesn’t solve the problems it purports to solve,” said CALPIRG’s Navin Nayak. “It would saddle the country with trillions of dollars in debt, leaving younger workers to pay back an ever-growing ‘IOU’ note.”

CALPIRG and other state PIRGs are urging the administration and members of Congress to start with the simplest solutions, such as raising the cap on income that can be taxed under the Social Security program, which is currently set at $90,000.