IDENTITY THEFT–TexPIRG’s Luke Metzger speaks with Fox News Channel’s Phil Keating about legislation to protect consumers.

Legislature Adopts Identity Theft Protections

Responding to the wave of security breaches at Choicepoint and dozens of other financial institutions and retailers, the Texas Legislature adopted new measures to protect privacy and rein in identity theft.

In just the first quarter of 2005, over 3.5 million consumers across the nation have had their personal information exposed as a result of a security breach.

These breaches put consumers at increased risk of identity theft, yet until now companies and public entities that discovered a breach were not required to notify affected individuals. The new law, introduced by Sen. Juan Hinojosa, requires such notification.

It also gives new rights to victims of identity theft, including protection from creditors.

Congress Passes Dangerous Energy Bill

After five years of hard work opposing it, the U.S. Congress passed a polluting, budget-busting energy bill that hands over billions in taxpayer dollars to some of the wealthiest polluting corporations in the world.

Texas’ entire Congressional delegation voted for the measure, except for Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) and Ron Paul (R-Surfside).

While we were ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the bill, TexPIRG did help keep some of the worst provisions out, including provisions that would have let oil companies off the hook for contaminating drinking water with the gasoline additive MTBE and provisions that delayed deadlines for polluters to reduce emissions in some of America’s most polluted cities.

Loan Sharks Evading State Usury Laws

On June 30, the nation’s largest “payday” lenders announced they would use a loophole to evade new federal guidelines restricting the usurious and unaffordable practice of payday lending.

The announcement came on the heels of TexPIRG’s success in stopping a measure in the Texas Legislature that would have legalized triple digit interest rates on payday loans.

Payday lenders prey on working consumers who live paycheck to paycheck, offering loans at interest rates as high as 900 percent. When the consumer is unable to pay back the loan and the interest after two weeks, he is locked into a cycle of debt, unable to escape.

TexPIRG and our allies are now pressing the state to file suit against the payday loan firms for violation of state usury laws.

TexPIRG’s Fears On Campaign Finance Law Prove True

A new PIRG report “The Role of Hard Money” takes a critical look at the impact of the McCain- Feingold Reform Act of 2002. After the first full election cycle, the state PIRGs found that candidates and political parties raised more money than ever before, topping $2.5 billion; big money still determined the outcome of 97 percent of races; and competition for seats dropped even further as fewer candidates than ever chose to run for Congress.

The bill, initially supported by the state PIRGs, was crippled in an eleventh hour compromise that traded a ban on unregulated ‘soft’ money for doubling the limits on regulated ‘hard’ money contributions. Voicing strong opposition to the compromise, PIRG made controversial predictions on how higher contribution limits would undermine the long sought-after goals of reform—and these predictions have now come true.