Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo Author in Bipartisan Affordability Bill Package to Lower Costs and Crack Down on Predatory Practices

• Furkan Yalcin
• [email protected]

SACRAMENTO, CA - Yesterday, Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo joined the Consumer Federation of California (CFC) and a bipartisan coalition of legislators to unveil a comprehensive nine-bill affordability package aimed at lowering everyday costs and protecting people from predatory practices.

Assemblywoman Schiavo is a key contributor to the package through her bill, The Healthcare Debt Protection Act (AB 2746). The legislative package targets a wide range of issues impacting Californians, including predatory lending, hidden fees, and consumer fraud.

"People are being pushed to the brink by rising costs, powerful corporate monopolies and predatory financial practices. As a result, these higher prices are forcing them to make impossible choices between everyday needs like groceries, housing, and healthcare," said Assemblywoman Schiavo. "My bill, along with this full legislative package, , is about making life easier for people- and ensuring multi-billion dollar corporations can't take advantage of people when they're most vulnerable."

The Healthcare Debt Protection Act closes a major loophole by prohibiting medical debt charged to so-called "medical credit cards" from appearing on patient's credit reports, protecting their credit scores and saving them from higher borrowing costs. These medical credit cards are often marketed to patients during times of medical need, leading to unexpected high-interest debt that can damage long-term financial stability.

The nine-bill affordability package consists of the following:

• AB 2746 (Schiavo) - medical credit card reforms
• AB 1776 (Aguiar-Curry) - monopoly enforcement/COMPETE Act
• SB 29 (Laird) - remedies for families seeking justice
• SB 784 (Elena Durazo) - home improvement scams
• SB 1007 (Menjivar) - HOA fee reforms
• SB 1123 (Wiener) - "major regs" regulatory reform
• AB 2076 (Lowenthal) - online marketplace safety
• AB 2558 (Berman / Aguiar-Curry) - payday lending reform
• AB 2629 (Chen) - consumer DMV upcharge cap

"This bipartisan affordability bill package is focused on reforming the various ways in which certain industries relish taking as much as they can out of consumers' pockets by using every trick in the book," said Robert Herrell, Executive Director of CFC. "Whether it is relief from junk and hidden fees to limiting predatory practices to cracking down on scams and fraud, every bill in this package shares the goal of helping consumers keep more in their pocketbook.

The package is supported by a broad coalition of consumer advocacy organizations, including Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA), the California Nurses Association (CNA), the California Low Income Consumers Coalition (CLICC), and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), among others.

You can watch the full press conference where the bill package was released here.

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Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2022 and re-elected in 2024 to represent the 40th Assembly District, representing the Northwest San Fernando Valley, Val Verde, Castaic and the Santa Clarita Valley. Upon her election, she was appointed as Assistant Majority Whip by the Speaker of the Assembly and now serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs. During her first term she brought back a record $100 million district investments in school and community safety, seniors meal programs, veteran housing, domestic violence services and creating local jobs. Prior to her election, Assemblywoman Schiavo was a Nurse Advocate and Small Business Owner who worked in the labor movement for more than 20 years. Throughout her career, Assemblywoman Schiavo helped deliver healthcare, including reproductive healthcare, to more than one million people. In the Northwest San Fernando Valley, she co-founded an organization that helped secure housing for Veterans experiencing homelessness, has delivered more than 50,000 meals to people in need, and increased resources to help keep our communities safe. Assemblywoman Schiavo lives in Chatsworth with her creative kid where they love to hike in the Santa Susana Mountains.