In the News

EVERYDAY HEALTH: FDA Proposes Cancer Warnings on Tanning Beds

May 06, 2013

A new FDA proposal would require all tanning beds to carry a warning label indicating they increase the risk of skin cancer, and that they are dangerous for kids under 18.

By Amir Khan, Everyday Health Staff Writer
 

MONDAY, May 6, 2013 — A new FDA proposal would require warnings on all tanning beds indicating that they are dangerous for children under the age of 18 because of their cancer risk.

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Gov. Brown signs Sen. Ted Lieu bill banning teens under 18 from using cancer-causing tanning beds

SANTA ROSA PRESS-DEMOCRAT: Move to dump retroactive state business tax passes 1st hurdle

May 02, 2013

By ROBERT DIGITALE

Legislation that would rescind a retroactive state tax on business owners passed its first test Wednesday in Sacramento.

The state Senate Governance and Finance Committee voted 6-1 to approve SB 209, which would reverse a Franchise Tax Board ruling that affects up to 2,500 business owners.

The owners claimed a tax exemption for the sale of small businesses within the past five years. Late last year the tax board retroactively ended the exemption after losing an appellate court lawsuit.

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Bill to shine increased light on campaign financing passes first policy test

SACRAMENTO BEE: California Senate committee OKs bill to block retroactive taxes

May 02, 2013
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Legislation that would protect thousands of Californians from paying retroactive income taxes on their sales of business investments won initial committee approval Wednesday.

The Senate Governance and Finance Committee approved the legislation, Senate Bill 209, by a 6-1 margin with the committee chair, Davis Democrat Lois Wolk, casting the lone "no" vote.

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Senate’s government-policy panel OKs helping ‘job creators’ by rescinding state’s retroactive tax

VENTURA COUNTY STAR: California wants taxpayers to pay back proceeds from a tax break later ruled illegal

May 01, 2013

The California Franchise Tax Board is seeking to collect a total of $120 million from 2,500 taxpayers who took advantage of a tax credit that a court later ruled violated the federal Constitution's commerce clause.

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Sen. Ted W. Lieu and supporters talk about why the FTB needs to rescind its retroactive tax.

CNBC: California Retroactive Tax Could Slam Small Businesses

April 30, 2013

By: Robert Digitale for the Huffington Post

Brian Overstreet is more familiar with starting a business than lobbying the Legislature, but a retroactive state tax bill has him crying foul and calling for relief.

Related Stories: 
Sen. Ted W. Lieu and supporters talk about why the FTB needs to rescind its retroactive tax.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Realignment legislation jeopardizes victims' compensation

April 28, 2013

By Gillian Flaccus

SANTA ANA -- The California law that eases prison overcrowding by shifting responsibility for thousands of lower-level felons to county jails has made it much harder for certain crime victims to collect restitution from inmates.

The state's 33 adult prisons have a seamless system for siphoning 50 percent of the money out of an inmate's prison account -- money earned from a prison job or deposited by friends and family -- to pay victims for their losses.

PRESS DEMOCRAT: Healdsburg entrepreneur fights retroactive tax

April 28, 2013
By
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Brian Overstreet is more familiar with starting a business than lobbying the Legislature, but a retroactive state tax bill has him crying foul and calling for relief.

Related Stories: 
Ending retroactive tax is goal of joint effort backed by BOE Chair Horton