CALPIRG

Citizen Agenda: An Update For Members Of CALPIRG

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	AFFORDABLE HIGHER EDUCATION —CALPIRG Organizing Director Danny Katz holds a news conference with State Sen. Ellen Corbett (San Leandro) to release CALPIRG’s report on the textbook industry’s deceiving marketing practices. Photo: Staff

New CALPIRG Report On High Cost of Textbooks
On March 14, CALPIRG released our new report “Exposing the Textbook Industry: How Publishers’ Pricing Tactics Drive Up the Cost of College Textbooks.” The new report highlights one cause for the artificially high prices—publishers’ failure to provide clear information about their prices to faculty.

Less than half of the 287 professors PIRG researchers surveyed said that the publishers’ Web sites they used to research textbooks typically list price information, and 77 percent said that when they meet with publishers’ sales representatives, they rarely or never volunteer the price. 94 percent of the faculty PIRG surveyed reported that they would take cost into consideration when choosing their textbooks, but many of them do not know how much the books they assign actually cost. In response, State Sen. Ellen Corbett (San Leandro) has introduced the CALPIRG-sponsored College Textbook Affordability Act, which will require publishers to disclose the price of their textbooks.

Drug Safety Bill Reintroduced
State Sen. Jack Scott (Altadena) has reintroduced legislation to force pharmaceutical companies to start telling the public the whole truth about the safety and effectiveness of their products. CALPIRG is sponsoring the bill, S.B. 606, with Sen. Scott.

The new legislation begins a third year of CALPIRG’s work on this issue, which was originally sparked by the Vioxx tragedy, in which drug maker Merck significantly worsened a drug safety problem by withholding crucial safety information and health studies from the general public. While heavy lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry has stopped previous legislation on this issue, we have made significant progress along the way and look forward to a victory on this front during this year’s legislative session.

TJX Data Breach Shows Need for ID Theft Reform
The January disclosure of a data security breach at TJX stores (including TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Marshalls) gave advocates new ammunition for our identity theft campaign.

The breach is just the latest demonstration of why federal identity theft reforms are needed. California’s strong identity theft laws, spearheaded by CALPIRG, require companies to quickly notify customers of any data breaches. More than two dozen other states have since followed California’s lead. However, with no national requirement for the disclosure of breaches and no penalty for companies that fail to disclose, some consumers in other states are left in a lurch by sloppy corporate practices.

House Votes To Repeal Tax Breaks For Oil Industry
CALPIRG applauded the U.S. House of Representatives in January, as lawmakers voted 264 to 163 to pass the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6).

The bill would invest more than $14 billion in renewable energy and energy efficiency, creating the funds by repealing tax breaks and subsidies for the oil industry.

“This legislation is good news for consumers and our environment,” said CALPIRG’s Kate Johnson. “Our dependence on oil can only mean wrenching price hikes in the years to come. We need to develop alternative fuels and we need to start now.”

CALPIRG’s federal staff helped write and promote the legislation, which was included in Speaker Pelosi’s 100 hours agenda.

The fund created by the bill could be used to promote energy efficiency, expand research and development of clean energy technologies, and extend tax credits for clean energy sources.

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