Latest news with #PilarSchiavo
Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
California's new consumer protection laws go into effect July 1
New California state laws going into effect on Tuesday will protect tech customers from shady auto-renewal subscriptions, the sale of stolen goods via online marketplaces and self-cleaning requirements for guests at short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo. Lawmakers also tweaked one of Gov. Gavin Newsom's most prized mental health projects, to keep loved ones notified when their mentally-ill kin are traveling through the court system. And some cities in the Bay Area will see minimum wage increases. Auto-renew protections Consumer advocates have long argued that companies take advantage of consumers with subscriptions that automatically renew - a $1.5 trillion industry, according to state lawmakers. In 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission accused Amazon of automatically enrolling millions of customers in Amazon Prime - a paid subscription - and then making it hard to cancel. Then, this spring, the agency took rideshare giant Uber to court over what it said were "unfair and deceptive practices" about its auto-renew subscription service. AB 2863, sponsored by Los Angeles area Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, a Democrat, requires companies to get explicit approval from customers to auto-renew their subscription. Companies must send customers an annual reminder of their subscription and instructions on how to cancel, and they'll have to make it easier for customers to cancel. "As it stands currently, many subscriptions are almost impossible to cancel without undertaking a Kafkaesque process that frustrates consumers to no end, and does so to the direct financial benefit of corporations," the Consumer Federation of California wrote in a bill analysis last fall. The federation and district attorneys supported the bill. It was opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Retailers Association.. Vacation rental cleaning fees Guests at short-term rentals hosted by Airbnb, Vrbo and the like will also enjoy added protections on July 1. Existing law, as of July 2024, required those companies to alert customers about all fees and tacked-on charges before they book their stay, or face a fine of up to $10,000. On July 1, it'll also be illegal for hosts to charge guests for failing to perform cleaning duties without advance notice. Hosts must disclose all fees up-front in advertisements - not just on their profiles. Those additions are part of AB 2202, sponsored by former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Democrat from Los Angeles. Airbnb, Expedia and the Travel Technology Association opposed the bill, while consumer groups supported it. Hot items in online marketplaces Also related to online marketplaces, SB 1144 is another attempt to crack down on the sale of stolen goods online. The law forces online sites like Facebook Marketplace to write policies banning the sale of stolen goods on that platform and to notify law enforcement when that happens. The law already required high-volume online sellers to submit their names, bank account information, phone numbers and email addresses to online marketplace platforms. This new law was spearheaded by former East Bay state Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat. Cities and district attorneys supported the bill, while the Chamber of Progress, a tech trade group, opposed it. Tracking state mental health treatment Lawmakers also made tweaks to one of Newsom's prized mental health initiatives. The CARE Act, passed in 2022, set up new mental health courts aimed at getting those with serious psychiatric disorders into treatment and housing - not incarceration, or a life on the street. CARE courts work by empowering family members, close friends, first responders, behavioral health providers and others to refer people with severe, untreated psychiatric issues to the program. If someone is eligible, a judge helps to facilitate a treatment plan, which may include medication, drug counseling and a bed in supportive housing or a residential care facility. In Silicon Valley and the East Bay started their CARE Court programs last year. SB 42, which goes into effect Tuesday, gives a mentally ill person's friends and family the right to be updated about the court's work, as well as others who referred them to the court. It is also intended to streamline the legal process by reducing the court's obligation to inform the patient of their rights. Families Advocating for the Seriously Mentally Ill and California Professional Firefighters advocated for the bill. The ACLU's action wing opposed it, as did Disability Rights California and Mental Health America of California. Those groups contended the law violates patients' privacy. New wage rates kick in In the Bay Area, workers will also get a pay boost when laws already approved in past years in these cities raise their minimum wage on July 1: -City of Alameda, from $17/hour to $17.46/hour -Berkeley, from $18.67/hour to $19.18/hour -Emeryville, from $19.36/hour to $19.90/hour -Fremont, from $17.30/hour to $17.75/hour -Milpitas, from $17.70/hour to $18.20/hour Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California lawmakers join state workers in rejecting proposed salary freezes
In California's behind-the-scenes budget process, it's hard to know what legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom will agree to — until the dust settles. But with just over a week to finalize the budget, or go without pay, lawmakers are weighing the options about which of the governor's proposed cuts they're willing to stomach. One option to help patch the $12 billion deficit would be to delay salary increases for public employees in the upcoming fiscal year. By negotiating pauses in pay raises with bargaining units, the administration hopes to save $767 million. While some lawmakers have opted to remain quiet on the question, legislators on both sides of the aisle have said they are not willing to balance the budget on the backs of state employees' salaries. 'I'm here in solidarity to support you and to help fight for you in the Capitol,' Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, told a crowd of hundreds of state employees gathered on the Capitol grounds on Thursday morning. A coalition of labor groups, including Service Employees International Union Local 1000 and smaller unions representing doctors, scientists and other public workers, descended on the Capitol to urge lawmakers to reject the governor's budget-savings measure. The stakes are high for public sector unions, many of which have spent the last few months pushing back against Newsom's March directive to bring public employees back to offices four days a week. Now, labor groups are hoping that lawmakers will say no to the governor's proposals. While the governor has offered to negotiate with the state's 21 bargaining units over the salary freezes, the budget proposal before the Legislature now would grant the administration authority to impose savings anyway, if lawmakers agree. California is required to follow labor contracts that cover its workforce, but only if the Legislature approves the spending for it. 'Take care of state workers, so they can take care of Californians,' Kristen Silliman, a Department of Developmental Services employee, said outside the Capitol Swing Space Thursday waiting in line to lobby lawmakers. The issue of supporting public employees is close to home for Schiavo, whose constituents have been suffering the health consequences and misery of a perpetually burning landfill in Southern California. Those who live near the Chiquita Canyon landfill have come to depend on the guidance of state scientists monitoring the noxious fumes coming off the literal dumpster fire. 'I want to be here to stand with you, to fight with you, and to make sure that this budget changes before we see it on our desk next week,' Schiavo said to rallying state employees. While she does not sit on the Assembly budget committee, Schiavo said there is a general consensus among lawmakers that they don't want to balance the budget with the help of public workers who protect California's communities. The vice chair of the Senate Budget Committee, state Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, similarly opposed the governor's proposal to freeze salaries. 'State workers' pay is a contractual obligation,' the Sacramento-area Republican said in a statement. 'It would be wrong for the Governor to unilaterally break that contract.' Additionally, Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, previously expressed opposition to the cuts while presiding over a budget subcommittee hearing on the issue. Other lawmakers, including those on budget committees, were not as eager to come out against the proposal. State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-West Sacramento, and Assemblymember Liz Ortega, D-San Leandro, both declined to comment when asked if they supported freezing public employees' salaries as part of the budget solution. Meanwhile, state workers and their unions have not been quiet on the subject. On Thursday, hundreds of public employees from across the civil service spectrum marched from the Capitol to the Swing Space in Sacramento to decry and lobby against the proposed payroll freeze. Equipped with pithy signs and a mariachi band, labor groups also hoped to call attention to various other employment issues at the state. Dr. Kafia Abbasi, a psychiatrist who treats incarcerated patients at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, said it's already difficult to recruit doctors to work in state prisons. 'It's taxing to work in a toxic, stressful environment,' Abbasi said, standing with her fellow white-coated members of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which represents medical professionals working for the state. Not awarding these raises will make it more difficult to hire doctors, Abbasi said, which could exacerbate another issue the union has been fighting: the replacement of state-employed physicians with contractors. Representatives for the doctors union said contracted physicians can earn more than double than what state-worker counterparts make. But because these private employees often work temporary assignments, patients don't receive the same continuity of care that state doctors said they provide, Abbasi said. The impact of salary freezes on recruitment and retention issues are also a major concern for state veterinarians. Dr. Everardo Mendes, a veterinarian with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said the state will struggle to hire new veterinary graduates if the government withholds raises that were agreed to the previous year. 'I didn't expect to be here,' Mendes said. 'I thought we had a contract.' Mendes noted that his bargaining unit, which represents state scientists, went years without raises due to stalled negotiations between the state and California Association Professional Scientists, UAW Local 1115. Now, Mendes is concerned he won't see raises another year. Additionally, Newsom's return-to-office order was a major concern cited by protesting workers Thursday. As an office technician, Carlyn Pipkins is on the lower end of the salary scale for state employees. With the expectation that she will return to office four days a week, Pipkins is expecting her day-to-day cost will increase. The Department of Water Resources employee hopes lawmakers will reject the proposed salary freezes. She said she was banking on a raise this year 'just to be able to live.'
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Val Verde residents say nearby toxic Chiquita Canyon landfill is making them sick
The Brief The Chiquita Canyon Landfill has been closed since January. Acres of garbage are burning deep inside the landfill. Nearby residents say their health has been negatively impacted by the toxic fumes and liquids coming from the facility. LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - After FOX 11 got a look inside the now-closed Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the Castaic area, residents in Val Verde invited us to visit and see first-hand the health troubles the community is facing because, they say, of the landfill. What we know Assemblymembers Pilar Schiavo, Juan Carrillo and Anamarie Avila Farias, and Congressman George Whitesides visited with Val Verde residents on Friday. The community is right next to the landfill, which stopped taking in garbage in January. What they're saying Residents are grappling with health problems they blame on the toxic fumes released by the landfill. PREVIOUS: FOX 11 tours Chiquita Canyon landfill The other side Chiquita Canyon officials deny that emissions are causing the problems they're describing: things like rashes, nosebleeds, nausea, respiratory ailments and cancer. Chiquita offered a community relief program when the reaction was first acknowledged, but has since stopped the program. Residents say they need relocation funds, because their homes are unsellable. What's next Schiavo is working on multiple pieces of legislation she hopes will solve the issue. AB28, the Landfill Safety Act, would strengthen oversight and impose large penalties to fund relief and relocation for the communities impacted by the landfill. AB27, the Chiquita Canyon Tax Relief Act, would ensure that families who received relief funds would not face tax penalties. Val Verde residents, though, say legislation takes time, and they don't have that luxury. The Source Information in this story is from interviews with Val Verde residents and Chiquita Canyon officials, and previous FOX 11 reports.
