Winning Concrete Results

Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable
Thanks to a landmark 2006 CALPIRG-backed law, California can now use its bargaining power to negotiate for the best possible price on prescription drugs for residents.

Stopping Predatory Lending
In 2005, CALPIRG helped pass a new law that protects consumers from predatory "instant tax refunds," which are actually loans with triple-digit interest rates. The new law, by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, requires tax preparers to provide consumers with clear information on the terms of these loans.

Protecting Hospital Patients
In 2006, uninsured patients gained a key protection. A CALPIRG-supported law put an end to the practice of hospitals charging uninsured Californians more than they charge the most expensive government programs for the same services.

Keeping Energy Bills Down
California ratepayers will save more than $3 billion worth of energy over the next 15 years, thanks to new energy efficiency standards put in place by the California Energy Commission in 2004 at the urging of CALPIRG. The new standards will also reduce the strain on California’s overworked energy grid.

Pioneering Prescription Drug Reform
The CALPIRG-drafted bill, passed in 2004, outlaws inappropriate gifts given by pharmaceutical companies to doctors as a ploy to solicit their endorsement of the latest, most expensive prescription drugs over cheaper but equally effective drugs.

Stopping Car Dealer Scams
The Car Buyers’ Bill of Rights would provide protection for consumers against car dealerships that jack up auto interest rates, slip additional items into loans without consent, and use the label “certified used car” deceptively. CALPIRG ushered the bill closer to passage by sending it through the Legislature and to the governor’s desk in 2004.

Promoting Patients’ Rights
The CALPIRG-backed Patient Care Protection Act, which gives patients more time to find new doctors if their HMOs drop their doctors from coverage, became law in 2003.

Holding Corporations Accountable
In the wake of Enron and other corporate scandals, CALPIRG helped pass unprecedented state and federal reform laws in 2002. The laws establish a federal accounting review board, set tough penalties for cheating, require paper trails, and bar accountants from accepting employment with their clients.

Championing Election Reform
Californians approved a CALPIRG-backed ballot proposal to upgrade old, outdated voting machines. The proposal will halt the use of proven inaccurate machines like the kind used in Florida during the 2000 presidential elections.

Preventing Identity Theft
To curb the growing problem of identity theft in the state of California, CALPIRG helped pass a law in 2003 requiring creditors to match a credit application with a credit report in order to ensure that the application is not the work of an identity thief.

Defending Consumer Privacy
In 2003, CALPIRG helped win the nation’s toughest consumer privacy measure, requiring banks to ask customers’ permission before sharing their information. A second CALPIRG law brings the information-sharing practices of businesses into public view.