In 1997, Massachusetts passed the Electric Restructuring Act and deregulated its electric utility companies. Prior to that change in the law, electric utilities (local distribution companies or LDCs) owned the power plants that generate electricity and the local utility poles and lines seen on virtually every street that connect homes and businesses to the electricity…
Add-on products sold by car dealers, such as service contracts, Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance, and window etching, make up a large share of dealers’ profits. They also significantly increase car buyers’ costs. While many have questioned the value of these products for consumers, the pricing of these products has received less attention, largely because…
Every day thousands of cars are taken from owners without court review or the involvement of law enforcement. Most of those takings are done by unlicensed individuals, including some convicted criminals.
Read More about Repo Madness: How Automobile Repossessions Endanger Owners, Agents, & the Public
CO-AUTHORED WITH DERON LOVAAS AND LARRY LEVINE (NRDC) Utility services–electricity, heat, water, sanitation, telecommunications, and internet access–are essential to health, safety, and daily life. The vital need for uninterrupted utility service was evident before the coronavirus pandemic, but the COVID-19 public health emergency has reinforced the essential nature of utility service and the threats of…
Read More about A New Customer Bill of Rights: Affordable Utility Services
Supplemental Testimony of Robyn Smith, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and National Consumer Law Center, Before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment regarding “Protecting Students and Taxpayers: Improving the Closed School Discharge Process”.
Non Judicial Foreclosure State
Read More about Model Foreclosure Mediation/Diversion Statute
Judicial Foreclosure State
Read More about Model Foreclosure Mediation/Diversion Statute
Advocates seeking to improve water affordability can work within current decision-making structures to influence rates, policies, and programs. They can also work to change the decision-making structure to improve their ability to effect change and hold decision makers accountable.
Read More about WAAT: Accountability and Participation in Decision Making
