News From Asssemblymember Ed Chau

Consumer Protection and Cybersecurity Legislation Clears Senate Fiscal Committee

On August 16, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved five bills authored by assemblymember Ed Chau (D–Monterey Park). The bills include efforts to safeguard consumer information from data breaches, to implement reasonable regulations for the use of digital pills, to require that retailers carry out age verification checks, to protect consumers from false and deceptive spam emails, and to bolster California’s cybersecurity and election infrastructure.

“I am ecstatic to have these bills move forward because they address very important issues, such as the repercussions dealt from the Equifax data breach, keeping personal health information confidential, and ensuring that retailers take reasonable steps to prevent children from getting their hands on items they are not legally allowed to purchase, such as weapons,” said Assemblymember Ed Chau. “These bills will also protect consumers from deceptive email advertisements, and enhance the state’s election system to guard against future cyber threats.”

• AB 1859 – would require Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies, such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, to patch vulnerable computer systems expeditiously or be subject to enforcement actions by the Attorney General, if a breach occurs and the personal information of California residents is compromised because of a failure to patch the systems.

• AB 2167 – would define digital health feedback systems, to include items such as digital pills, and ensure that the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) applies to information derived from, or in the possession, of these systems.  This bill would also require that manufacturers equip digital health feedback systems with reasonable and appropriate security features.

• AB 2511 – would require retailers to take reasonable steps to verify  the age of the purchaser when selling products that are illegal for a minor to purchase.

• AB 2546 – would strengthen California’s prohibitions on false and deceptive spam emails by holding spam networks and the actual senders liable for false and deceptive spamming, prohibiting the use of falsified or misrepresented business names, postal addresses, or unsubscribe links, located in the body of email, authorizing the Courts to impose injunctions to stop unlawful spamming, and allowing District Attorneys and City Attorneys to bring actions against unlawful spammers.

• AB 2748 – would establish a voluntary pilot program for up to five county election officials to have an independent cybersecurity assessment of their election infrastructure.

Governor Brown signs law to prohibit financially interested third parties from attending code enforcement inspections

On September 10 Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2485, authored by Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park), which will prohibit local inspection officials from being accompanied by a person with a potential financial interest in the outcome of the inspection of commercial properties or businesses.
“It is important to ensure that individuals who are present during a code enforcement inspection do not have a conflict of interest when attending those inspections,” said Assemblymember Chau. “AB 2485 would ensure that a third party contractor may only attend a code enforcement inspection if they are there for a legitimate reason.”

In December of 2017, a newspaper reported on a possible case of inappropriate behavior by a code enforcement officer and an independent contractor.  The article detailed an anonymous tip submitted by the owner of an auto body factory who underwent a business permit inspection. During the inspection, the code enforcement officer was accompanied by a third party contractor. After the code enforcement officer cited a number of non-compliance issues and left the premise, the third party contractor stayed behind and offered to fix all the issues for $30,000. The business owner was previously quoted to pay only $10,000 by his initial architect. Anticipating potential delays in the permit approval process, the owner went with the third party contractor, but suspected being the victim of an improper scheme.

Specifically, AB 2485 would allow a third-party independent contractor to accompany a local government code enforcement officers, or health officer, to the inspection of commercial properties or businesses, only in situations where the individual has legitimate reasons for being present and will not financially benefit from remedying any of the issues found during the inspection.

Assemblymember Ed Chau represents the 49th Assembly District, comprised of the communities of Alhambra, Arcadia, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Temple City and portions of Montebello, and South El Monte.