Bill Would Halt Unauthorized Sale of Credit Card Information

Legislation to prohibit credit card companies from compiling and selling information about cardholders to mail advertisers and high-pressure sales firms has been introduced in the Assembly.

“People are bombarded with unwanted junk mail and calls from telemarketers,” said Assemblyman Sal Cannella (D-Modesto), author of the measure (AB 609). “My bill offers one way for them to fight back.”

Cannella’s legislation would require companies to notify cardholders that information about them is being compiled and sold to third parties. A toll-free telephone line also would be required so cardholders could tell the companies to stop the practice.

ASSEMBLY

Floor Action

Auditor General: Refused to concur in Senate amendments to a bill (AB 5) by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) to revive the defunct Auditor General’s Office and make it part of the Little Hoover Commission. The vote was 64 to 4. There is a similar Senate measure, and a two-house conference committee is expected to write a compromise version.

Bill Introductions

Cremation: AB 598 by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame) would establish tighter regulation of the cremation of human bodies, including annual unannounced inspections of California’s 142 licensed crematories.

Smoking: AB 615 by Assemblyman Mike Gotch (D-San Diego) would prohibit smoking on the premises of licensed child day-care centers.

Illegal Drugs: AB 629 by Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Brentwood) would increase potential prison penalties for the sale of illegal drugs within 300 feet of a public park or beach.

Pornography: AB 642 by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) would give local governments the authority to prohibit the sale of pornographic material in vending machines.

Vitamins: AB 603 by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame) would make state vitamin vouchers available for children under 18 who reside in households eligible to receive food stamps.

Abortions: AB 600 by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame) would make any person convicted of blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic, church or school subject to civil damages as well as a criminal penalty.

Bond Issues: ACA 5 by Assemblyman Curtis Tucker Jr. (D-Inglewood) would allow voters to approve local government bond issues by a simple majority vote instead of a two-thirds vote.

More Bond Issues: AB 638 by Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista) asks the voters to approve a $150-million bond issue to finance waste-water disposal and toxic cleanup along the California-Mexican border.

SENATE

Bill Introductions

Open Meetings: SB 367 by Sen. Quentin L. Kopp (I-San Francisco) would require state bodies to allow public testimony on agenda items before taking any action.

Midwifery: SB 350 by Sen. Lucy Killea (I-San Diego) would require the Department of Health Services to track and monitor the practices of 50 qualified midwives to document the safety and effectiveness of midwifery.

Driver Education: SB 360 by Sen. Ralph C. Dills (D-Gardena) would include driver education among the courses authorized to be offered by school districts during summer sessions.

Cellular Telephones: SB 318 by Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) would make fraudulent use of a cellular telephone a felony.

Air Pollution: SB 334 by Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) would grant a tax break to the purchasers of zero-emission automobiles.

Capital Fact

In California, 33,944 people had died of AIDS as of Dec. 31, according to the Department of Health Services.