A California legislature bill to regulate credit repair organizations worries advocates because it triggers a federal loophole allowing debt collectors to ignore correspondence on behalf of consumers.
Under Assembly Bill 2424state credit repair organizations would be required to identify themselves in their correspondence with debt collectors when trying to help people with credit report errors or other problems.
Eric Kamerath, legal counsel for the Lexington Law Firm, which helps people with their credit reports, said that because federal law overrides California regulations when they conflict, debt collectors can ignore letters they receive lawyers.
“Under existing federal law, if Assembly Bill 2424 were passed, consumer correspondence identifying any third-party assistance, even from a non-profit organization, could be disregarded,” Kamerath explained. .
the loophole under the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows debt collectors, vendors and credit reporting agencies to disregard, without explanation, any letter sent on behalf of a consumer by a third party.
At the federal level, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, called for an overhaul of the U.S. credit reporting system.
Andre Chapple, CEO of the African American Empowerment Coalition in Los Angeles, which helps communities correct mistakes on credit reports, as well as free financial workshops twice a week for 150 to 200 people, said the Federal loophole can have long term effects if people are unable to get help to repair their credit.
“We don’t tell people they can’t hire a plumber,” Chapple remarked. “We allow people from all sectors to use an expert if they wish, because it does not take away the right to do it themselves, but it does give them the opportunity to do it with someone who does. actually does it every day and has the expertise to do it.”
The bill will be the subject of a hearing before the Banking and Finance Committee of the Assembly next Monday.
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A new law in Washington state prohibits employers from silencing employees about illegal acts in the workplace.
The act of no longer being silent – which was passed in the 2022 session – allows workers to sue for discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage and hour violations.
It prohibits and nullifies nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, on these matters — which the state has already prohibited in sexual harassment cases.
Kelli Carson, deputy director of government affairs for the Washington State Association for Justice, said nondisclosure clauses covering workplace violations are on the rise in contracts people sign at the start of a job.
“The original use of nondisclosure agreements was to protect trade secrets, and that’s still in place,” Carson said. “Nothing in this bill affects that. So it’s still allowed. But in recent years they’ve increased incredibly as a condition of employment.”
California has passed a similar law. In Congress earlier this year, a bipartisan effort pushed legislation across the finish line to make it easier for workers to sue employers for sexual harassment.
State Rep. Liz Berry — D-Seattle — was one of the bill’s sponsors. She said these types of layouts are mostly used by big tech companies.
“Despite the progress we’ve made in recent years, too many workers are still forced to sign NDAs and settlement agreements that silence them,” Berry said. “This bill will allow all survivors of inappropriate or unlawful workplace misconduct to share their experiences, if they choose to do so.”
Carson says this law strengthens workers’ rights.
“For a long time, people were always afraid of retaliation,” Carson said. “People didn’t want to talk and they just wanted to keep their heads down and keep their jobs. And with the Me Too movement, people, I think, are starting to feel a little more able to say I don’t. .have to put up with illegal behavior at work.”
The bill is currently awaiting the governor’s signature.
Disclosure: The Washington State Justice Association contributes to our Consumer Issues Reporting Fund. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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The future of the Sunshine State’s solar industry now hinges on Governor Ron DeSantis’ veto.
Solar proponents want Governor to veto a bill the legislature was passed at the behest of the state’s largest utility, Florida Power & Light, because they fear it will destroy the rooftop solar industry.
If this became law, utilities would pay solar users less money for the excess power they produce. They now get a full retail tariff for the electricity they feed back into the grid.
Heaven Campbell, is Florida program director for the Solar United Neighbors group, which was one of 76 groups and businesses to send a letter at DeSantis on Thursday.
“We think it’s a bad bill,” Campbell said. “This is a bill that will cost Florida families their jobs, their economic livelihood; and it will also take away customer choice, at the behest of a monopolistic utility.”
Utility companies view current credits for customers who use solar power as a “tax” on customers with no net metering. Duke Energy said the bill strikes a balance between consumers and the solar industry.
Critics said passing the bill would cut off cheaper domestic energy sources and even help Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Campbell called the bill a “job killer” in what is a growing industry. She added that this should have the greatest impact on middle-income and low-income Floridians.
“When a customer has their own solar, they are able to control their own electric bill and that’s extremely important for families in Florida,” Campbell said. “Solar is actually not just for the wealthy, and a lot of solar customers themselves, the majority, aren’t wealthy. We know that from utility demographics.”
In statements, FPL said it is “leading the country in the expansion of large-scale, cost-effective solar power” and also supports customers who choose to purchase private rooftop solar systems. Proponents of the bill call solar incentives a regressive tax and say the bill would make solar power fairer for everyone.
Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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A recent report found that Tennessee households pay more than $6,000 a year in prescriptions, well above the national average of about $4,000.
Yesterday US Senate lawmakers held a hearing on prescription drug prices, as inflation continues to push prices up.
Steffany Stern, vice president for advocacy at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, testified that astronomical drug prices for conditions such as MS force most individuals to rely on charity to cover the costs of their drugs.
“It’s very common for people with MS like my mother to have to rely on some kind of financial assistance to pay for their costs,” Stern explained. “Our studies show that about 70% of people depend on financial aid just to be able to afford their money.”
According to a report by financial resource company ValuePenguin, since 2010, consumer spending on prescription and over-the-counter drugs has increased every year. Last December, the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform published a report which showed that the list prices of several prescription drugs, including insulin, continue to climb.
Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis Advisors and CEO of 46 Brooklyn Research, said intermediary entities called Pharmacy Benefit Managers, who work to negotiate drug prices between insurance companies and pharmacies, are partly responsible for the rising drug costs for consumers.
“Relatively speaking, given their outsized role in impacting drug pricing, they have really been overlooked and left out of many federal drug pricing legislative efforts,” Ciaccia argued.
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) blocked a vote on whether to review the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers, but some lawmakers are urging the agency to act. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, recently wrote to the FTCcalling for a study on competition within the Pharmacy Benefit Manager industry.
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