News Room: Consumer Protection
September 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
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A winning entry in State Senator Joe Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) 2011-12 "There Oughta Be a Law" contest was signed into law Tuesday by Governor Jerry Brown. Senate Bill 1191 will warn prospective tenants when the property they are looking to rent is subject to foreclosure.
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August 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
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A winning entry in State Senator Joe Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) 2011-12 “There Oughta Be a Law” contest passed recently out of the Legislature and is now headed to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk. Senate Bill 1191 would warn prospective tenants when the property they are looking to rent is subject to foreclosure. It requires that a landlord who receives a Notice of Default provide written notice to any prospective tenant before a lease is signed.
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Monday, August 06, 2012
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In an oped article in the Contra Costa Times, breast cancer survivor Amy Colton writes:
In 2009, at age 47, I was shocked to be diagnosed with a later stage breast cancer. I was what you would describe as a “health nut.”. . . I followed my doctor’s instructions for regular checkups and screenings, including annual mammograms, starting when I was 40. Every year I received a form letter telling me that no cancer was found.
Mammography was unable to detect my cancer in an early stage because I have a condition called “dense breast tissue.”
The shock of my diagnosis and the ordeal of treatment I endured have made me determined to give other women a better chance of being diagnosed before their cancer has spread. That is why I am so heartened by the legislative approval of a resolution authored by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, to declare Aug. 8 to be “Are You Dense? Day.”
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Monday, August 06, 2012
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Are you dense? Ask your doctor.
That’s the tagline State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) will be using this week to raise awareness among Californians about dense breast tissue, a common yet little-known condition that increases the risk for developing breast cancer and makes it more difficult to detect cancer on a mammogram. Simitian is the author of Senate Joint Resolution 27 declaring August 8 “Are You Dense? Day” in California.
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May 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
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A bill to protect the rights of drivers by regulating red-light cameras passed unanimously today in the State Senate. The vote was 37-0. Senate Bill 1303, by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), would establish statewide standards for the installation and operation of traffic enforcement cameras, and make it easier to challenge unjustified tickets.
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012
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A winning entry in State Senator Joe Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) 2011-12 “There Oughta Be a Law” contest passed Tuesday off the Senate floor. Senate Bill 1191 would warn prospective tenants when the property they are looking to rent is subject to foreclosure. It requires that a landlord who receives a Notice of Default provide written notice to any prospective tenant before a lease is signed.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
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A bill to improve breast cancer detection in women with dense breast tissue passed unanimously out of the State Senate today. Senate Bill 1538, authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), would require that following a mammogram, women with dense breast tissue be informed that they have dense breast tissue, which can obscure abnormalities (i.e. cancer) on a mammogram; and that they may wish to discuss the potential value of additional screening(s) with their doctors.
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September 2011
Thursday, September 01, 2011
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Persistence paid off for Senator Joe Simitian. Governor Jerry Brown just signed Simitian’s Senate Bill 24, which will arm consumers with information to help prevent identity theft. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, Senator Simitian placed three previous versions of his security breach notification bill on the desk of former Governor Schwarzenegger, only to encounter vetoes.
If you are one of the many Californians who had your confidential information compromised in a security breach, you most likely found out by receiving a letter in the mail. After reading it, you were probably quite upset, but confused about what you should do about it. SB 24 will help consumers make sense of these notices, and help arm us to stop identity theft.
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May 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
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The story of a Sonoma State University freshman who allegedly ran over a toddler while texting on a cell phone is tragic. The toddler, 2-year-old Calli Murray, had just begun what her bereaved parents described as a bright and happy life.
Meanwhile, the life of Kaitlyn Dunaway - the 18-year-old who has been charged with vehicular manslaughter - will never be the same.
The case underscores the fact that texting is one of the worst forms of distracted driving. The California Office of Traffic Safety places it alongside drunken driving as one of the leading causes of crashes that result in fatalities or serious injuries. It’s time for it to be punished accordingly.
“The question is, are people going to understand the seriousness of this behavior?” said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto. Simitian has authored a bill, SB28, that’s passed the Senate and is awaiting votes in the Assembly. It would raise the base ticket fine for texting while driving from $20 to $50. Repeat offenders would have to pay $100 as a base fine and suffer a point on their licenses.
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April 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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The California State Senate voted Thursday to approve Senate Bill 24 by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). Senate Bill 24 strengthens and improves the state’s existing security breach notification requirements.
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December 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
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With the start of the new year, maliciously impersonating someone online – with a phony Facebook page or e-mails apparently sent from their account – isn’t just a cruel prank anymore. It’s a crime. Senate Bill 1411, authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), becomes law January 1, updating California’s 19th century impersonation law to the Internet age.
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Tuesday, December 21, 2010
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The Consumer Federation of California (CFC), a statewide consumer rights organization, has recognized State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) for his 2010 voting record with a 100% score on its annual legislative scorecard.
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September 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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KQED Radio reports on Sen. Joe Simitian’s FasTrak privacy bill, Senate Bill 1268
“Bridge commuters will no longer have a conflict between privacy and convenience beginning in January. The governor has signed a bill written by state Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to restrict law enforcement access to FasTrak data. Except in emergencies, the law requires police to go to court for a search warrant to get their hands on pesonally identifiable information.”
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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Legislation authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to protect the privacy of drivers using the FasTrak payment system for toll bridges and roads has been signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
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Maliciously impersonating someone online – out of revenge, or jealousy, or a twisted sense of humor -- isn’t just a cruel game anymore. It’s a crime. California’s 19th century impersonation law was updated to protect victims of e-personation yesterday when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation, authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). Senate Bill 1411 makes it a misdemeanor to impersonate someone online with intent to harm, intimidate, threaten or defraud.
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April 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
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The California Senate has approved a bill that would update the state’s pioneering data breach notification law, the lawmaker who introduced the legislation announced Friday.
The bill from Democratic Sen. Joe Simitian is a reintroduction of the same measure that he proposed last year, but which was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The current legislation, known as SB-1186, builds on the landmark 2003 breach notification bill, SB-1386, by requiring that breach notification letters also contain specifics around the data-loss incident, including the type of personal information exposed, a description of the incident, and advice on steps to take to protect oneself from identity theft.
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Friday, April 16, 2010
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The California State Senate voted Thursday to approve Senate Bill 1166 by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). Senate Bill 1166 would strengthen and improve the state’s existing security breach notification requirements.
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March 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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Someone in Southern California keeps getting busted by red-light cameras — but Vera Gil of San Jose keeps getting the bill.
Gil, an administrator for the city of Cupertino, said she has received three red-light tickets in the past two years for violations she didn’t commit. It seems the cameras consistently misread a “D” on the Southern California driver’s license plate for an “O” on Gil’s.
After a frustrating experience trying to fight the tickets, Gil entered state Sen. Joe Simitian’s “There Oughta Be A Law” contest. Her proposal for new protections for drivers improperly cited by red-light cameras was one of three winners this year, Simitian announced Monday.
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Tuesday, March 09, 2010
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Wednesday State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) will join representatives of the National MS Society, the Diabetes Coalition of California, the California Conference of Environmental Health Directors and other consumer health organizations to present criteria that will be used to evaluate safe needle disposal plans prepared by drug manufacturers. The criteria come on the heels of Simitian’s Senate Bill 486, which was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger last fall.
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February 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
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The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has named State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) their California Legislator of the Year.
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January 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
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The Consumer Federation of California and the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), two statewide consumer rights organizations, have recognized State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) for his 2009 voting record. Both organizations gave Simitian 100% scores on their annual legislative scorecards.
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December 2009
Thursday, December 31, 2009
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Simitian — well-known for his cell phone driving bills — has another motorist law on the books beginning Friday.
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October 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed an update to California's landmark data-breach notification law, saying that the new bill would be too hard on businesses without adequately benefiting consumers.
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Monday, October 12, 2009
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Sacramento – Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 486, authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). The new law – suggested by a constituent in Simitian’s annual “There Oughta Be A Law” contest – will help an estimated one million Californians safely dispose of their “sharps” (a type of medical waste that includes syringes and needles).
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Sunday, October 11, 2009
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Today Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed State Senator Joe Simitian's (D-Palo Alto) Senate Bill 20. The bill would have strengthened and updated California's landmark privacy protection law that requires businesses and state agencies to notify residents when sensitive personal information is lost or stolen from their databases.
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September 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
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California State Sen. Joe Simitian could be called the father of state data breach notification laws. He received the award for Excellence in the Field of Public Policy at the RSA Conference 2007 in recognition of that -- though he's willing to share the credit.
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Sunday, September 27, 2009
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This year, Sen. Simitian is back with SB 20, a bill now on its way to the governor's desk. If signed, it would provide an important upgrade to California's landmark privacy protection law.
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
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In California, which has lead the nation in passing “green chemistry” laws, an influential Democrat, State Senator Joe Simitian, said he would press for mandatory disclosure if the voluntary effort comes up short.
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Friday, September 11, 2009
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A new Senate bill in California, which seeks to complement the state's trailblazing SB-1386 data breach disclosure bill, is ready for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature.
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
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State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) announced today that his bill, SB 486, to facilitate the safe disposal of “sharps” (a type of medical waste that includes syringes and needles) passed its final hurdle in the Legislature.
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Wednesday, September 09, 2009
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The State Legislature approved State Senator Joe Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) SB 20, a bill to strengthen and update California’s landmark privacy protection law.
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May 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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Privacy Piracy host Mari Frank interviews State Senator Joe Simitian on his range of legislation aimed at protecting Californians' privacy.
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Monday, May 04, 2009
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Sacramento – State Senator Joe Simitian is inviting constituents in the 11th State Senate District to participate in the Senate’s first ever live streaming town hall from the State Capitol. “E-Upd@te With State Senator Joe Simitian” will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13th. All topics will be open for discussion during the one hour event.
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April 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
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Sacramento – The California State Senate approved today SB 20, legislation by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), which aims to strengthen existing privacy protection laws for California consumers. The new law builds on legislation authored by Simitian in 2002 that requires a business or government agency that incurs a data breach to provide notice to the individual(s) whose information was compromised. More than 40 states have adopted similar legislation since that time, largely based on the California measure.
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March 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
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California's landmark data-breach notification law will get another update, if State Senator Joe Simitian gets his way.
Simitian, co-author of California's original 2003 legislation, has proposed a new bill, SB 20, that would spell out what companies must tell customers in their data breach letters and require that breaches affecting more than 500 people be reported to the state's attorney general.
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Friday, March 06, 2009
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Six years after California enacted the country's first data breach notification law, many state residents have received letters warning them that their data was exposed by a breach but usually they don't know how or how long, experts said at a privacy conference on Friday.
That would change with the passage of a measure proposed by California State Sen. Joe Simitian, who authored the country's first bill requiring companies to notify customers when a breach has occurred that exposes their data.
Senate Bill 20 would require that notification letters to consumers have a standard set of information such as information about the timing and circumstances of the breach.
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January 2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
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The message is clear today: Put your cell phone down while driving.
Beginning today, text messaging while driving is against the law and carries with it a $20 to $50 fine. The new law, authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, closes the technology loophole left after the hands-free cell phone law went into effect last year.
The new law is just one of the 834 bills signed into law in 2008 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. New federal, state and local laws that take effect Jan. 1, 2009 range from the naming of Devil’s Slide tunnel to the second consecutive year of minimum wage increases.
A few of those laws were ideas suggested to state Simitian through his annual “There Oughta Be A Law” contest. Simitian passed 14 bills, including ones that regulate deceptive sweepstakes practices and expands the small business loan program.
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December 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
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Palo Alto – As Californians usher in the New Year, they will find new protections for many including victims of sexual abuse, veterans and seniors. The protections will come from laws that State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) authored and will take effect on January 1, 2009. The following are among the 14 bills that Simitian received signatures on this fall from the Governor.
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October 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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Palo Alto – State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) announced today that Governor Schwarzenegger has signed his Senate Bill 1400, which provides greater protection for the elderly and vulnerable against deceptive sweepstakes solicitations. Simitian’s measure is the first such effort in the past 10 years.
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January 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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Sacramento - The California State Senate has endorsed the important principle that consumers should be able to find out what is in the products they purchase by passing a “disclosure of ingredients” bill introduced by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto).
The measure, Senate Bill (SB) 509, would require manufacturers of consumer products to publish on the Web a list of every substance in a product that makes up more than one-tenth of one percent of the whole. While previous laws have mandated disclosure of ingredients in food and cosmetics, no similar requirement exists for the thousands of consumer products that people buy and use every day.
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October 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
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Palo Alto - A lot of stuff goes down the toilet that probably should not, for instance unwanted and expired prescription drugs. But the efforts of one Northern California teen helped put a new law into place that requires pharmacies to take back and properly dispose of the drugs.
18-year-old Rebecca Kassel looked into the issue, created her own website and campaigned for the new law. She was aided by State Senator Joe Simitan of Palo Alto, who holds an annual "There Ought to be a Law" contest.
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Friday, October 12, 2007
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Sacramento – Governor Schwarzenegger announced today that he has signed Senate Bill 966, a bill by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to put in place a drug “take-back” program to help ensure proper disposal of over the counter drugs and prescription pharmaceuticals.
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Thursday, October 04, 2007
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You got well faster than expected. You bought more medicine than you needed, and now it's past the expiration date. Or you tried something and it didn't work. Those leftover medications are sitting in your medicine chest, and they're worse than just clutter. They're hazardous household waste.
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August 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
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Sacramento — The Consumer Federation of California, a statewide nonprofit consumer rights advocacy organization, has recognized State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) for scoring 100% on his 2006 voting record on consumer protection legislation.
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July 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
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When state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, learned that medications are polluting waterways nationwide, he decided to do something about it.
His idea, which several San Diego County sewage agencies are expected to vote today to support, is to require pharmacies take back outdated or unneeded medications so residents don't flush them down the toilet.
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January 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
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Sacramento — CALPIRG, one of the state’s leading consumer advocacy organizations, has recognized State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) for scoring 100% on his 2005 voting record on consumer protection legislation.
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January 2004
Friday, January 30, 2004
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Palo Alto – Once again, California leads the nation on child safety and environmental policy. Legislation authored by Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and passed in 2002 has been introduced at the federal level by Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-New York).
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December 2003
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
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Palo Alto – A new law takes effect January 1 to prevent accidental poisonings of children, pets and wildlife in California.
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March 2003
Monday, March 17, 2003
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Palo Alto – There actually ‘oughta be’ several new laws, if the record number of entries for Assemblyman Joe Simitian’s annual contest is any indication. More than 100 people submitted their ideas to put new laws on the books.
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September 2002
Friday, September 27, 2002
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Sacramento – Winners of Assemblyman Joe Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) “There Oughta Be a Law” Contest joined Simitian and Governor Gray Davis today in Sacramento as their bills were signed into law by the Governor.
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May 2002
Wednesday, May 08, 2002
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Sacramento – Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) announced today that a winner of his “There Oughta Be a Law Contest” was in Sacramento to testify on behalf of her entry which will protect consumers using gift certificates. Assembly Bill 2473, regarding gift certificates in bankruptcy, was unanimously approved by the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions on Tuesday, May 7th. This bill protects consumers by requiring businesses that have declared bankruptcy to honor gift certificates issued prior to the date of the bankruptcy filing.
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April 2002
Monday, April 22, 2002
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Sacramento – Assemblyman Joe Simitian announced today that his Assembly Bill 2474 regarding antifreeze poisoning will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions on April 23, 2002. By adding a bittering agent to antifreeze, the bill is designed to improve consumer safety and reduce the number of accidental poisonings suffered by children and animals.
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Thursday, April 18, 2002
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Sacramento – Winners of Assemblyman Joe Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) “There Oughta Be a Law” Contest will be coming to Sacramento to testify on behalf of their bills. Three different winners were selected by Simitian, who introduced three bills based on their proposals.
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March 2002
Wednesday, March 06, 2002
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Sacramento – Assemblyman Joe Simitian announced today that there are three winners in his “There Oughta Be A Law” contest. Simitian sponsored the contest last fall to solicit ideas for new legislation. Nearly 100 people entered the contest. The winning legislative ideas covered diverse issues including consumer rights, environmental protection and public health.
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