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SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has announced that consumers may now file claims to recover money in a $310 million multi-state settlement with major manufacturers of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) computer chips over price fixing allegations.
“These companies betrayed the trust of consumers by artificially inflating prices to drive up profits,” Attorney General Harris said. “I encourage California consumers who purchased one of these products to file a claim immediately.”
Consumers who purchased computers, printers, video game consoles or other electronic devices with DRAM memory between 1998 and 2002 are eligible to make a claim before August 1, 2014 and could receive money from the settlement.
To file a claim, visit www.DRAMclaims.com or call 1-800-589-1425.
After completing an investigation in 2006, California, with other states, filed antitrust suits alleging that consumers over-paid for electronic devices containing DRAM chips for purchases made from 1998 to 2002. DRAM is a common form of memory chip found in computers and other devices.
The settlement, reached in conjunction with class actions, pays individuals and businesses that purchased these chips or devices containing these chips in the United States between 1998 and 2002 from someone other than a DRAM manufacturer, such as retailers like Best Buy or Staples.
The settlement also requires that these DRAM manufacturers implement antitrust compliance programs and enjoins them from certain conduct related to the sale of DRAM that would violate antitrust laws.
Court filings associated with the settlement can be found here: http://dramclaims.com/settlement-details/court-documents/ .
A full list of defendant companies can be found here: http://dramclaims.com/faq/ .
For more information about the settlements, visit www.DRAMclaims.com .
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SACRAMENTO – George Runner announced he is sponsoring legislation to extend common sense protections to taxpayers.
Two identical measures, AB 2510 (Wagner) and SB 1327 (Knight), would require the state to provide a full refund to all individuals who paid a tax later declared unconstitutional or illegal.
“It is criminal that the State of California can keep money it illegally collects from its citizens,” said Board of Equalization Member George Runner. “Anyone who in good faith pays what ends up being an illegal tax should get their money back. It’s as simple as that.”
Currently, taxpayers are only eligible to receive refunds if they have exhausted all their administrative appeals remedies, even if the tax they paid is later declared illegal or unconstitutional.
AB 2510 and SB 1327 would require the state to automatically issue refunds to taxpayers whose information is up to date.
It also would open up an additional appeals period of one year after a state tax is declared illegal or unconstitutional, giving taxpayers a chance to apply for the refunds they deserve.
“When government makes a mistake, they need to do the right thing. This bill would return illegally collected taxes to the taxpayers … it’s just common sense,” said Senator Steve Knight (R-Antelope Valley).
“When California taxpayers have been illegally forced to pay a tax, it should not be their responsibility to fill out paperwork that they may or may not know exists, in order to recoup this money. The State needs to reimburse the taxpayers as quickly and painlessly as possible – it is not our money,” said Assemblyman Donald Wagner (R-Irvine).
The bills would apply to state taxes and fees paid by both businesses and individuals, including the controversial Fire Prevention Fee.
Even if a class action lawsuit challenging the fire fee is successful, under current law only taxpayers who filed appeals within 30 days of the date on their bills would be eligible for refunds.
Elected in November 2010, George Runner represents more than nine million Californians as a member of the State Board of Equalization.
For more information, visit www.boe.ca.gov/Runner .
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MOUNTAIN VIEW– Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday signed a broad agreement to develop joint projects and conduct mutually beneficial research in California and Israel.
“Through this agreement, California and Israel will build on their respective strengths in research and technology to confront critical problems we both face, such as water scarcity, cybersecurity and climate change,” said Gov. Brown.
The agreement will boost economic, cultural and academic cooperation between California and Israel, with an emphasis on water conservation, alternative energy, cybersecurity, health and biotechnology, education and agricultural technology.
The agreement will also enable Israeli companies to access California's Innovation Hubs (iHUB), an innovation network that includes 16 clusters of research parks, technology incubators, universities and federal laboratories, together with economic development organizations, business groups and venture capital funds.
The agreement is copied below.
Memorandum of Understanding On the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership for Joint Innovation, Exchanges and Cooperation Between The Government of the State of California, United States of America And The Government of the State of Israel
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA (hereinafter “the Participants”) RECOGNIZE THAT:
WHEREAS, two-way trade between Israel and California totaled over $4 billion in 2013 – one of the largest two-way trade relationships between Israel and a U.S. State; and
WHEREAS, the State of California and the State of Israel share close ties and are global leaders in the alternative energy, environmental technology, and other technology-based industry sectors; and
WHEREAS, the State of California is home to the largest in-state innovation network in the United States, which offers technology-commercialization opportunities for the State of Israel; and
WHEREAS, the Participants seek to expand the current level of cooperation between Israel and California in, but not limited to, alternative energy, environmental technology, health, food and agriculture and other technology based industry sectors, business innovation, research and development.
THEREFORE, IT IS DECLARED AS FOLLOWS:
The Participants hereby sign this Memorandum of Understanding for the purposes of establishing a formal relationship between them to foster economic cooperation and economic development, facilitate joint industrial research and development, and enhance business relationships and educational opportunities to foster job creation and incubate global solutions from joint California-Israel innovation initiatives.
To achieve these aims:
1. The Participants intend to seek to convene bilateral, interagency and inter-ministerial working groups with international expertise to coordinate initiatives.
2. The Participants plan to facilitate collaborations between Israeli and Californian entrepreneurs and researchers through (though not exclusively limited to) the California innovation hub (iHub) network – a network consisting of self-funded, collaborative regional innovation clusters, uniting government, universities, foundations, national labs and the private sector.
3. The Participants intend to support and encourage their people and competent authorities to further develop interpersonal contacts and exchanges, and to promote mutual cooperation, understanding, and friendship by encouraging ad hoc task forces, trade delegations, and professional exchanges between Israel and California in key sectors including, but not limited to:
a.) Water Conservation and Management
b.) Alternative Energy and related Clean Technologies
c.) Health and Biotechnology Solution
d.) CyberSecurity
e.) Arts & Culture
f.) Education
g.) Agricultural Technologies
4. The Participants intend to support and encourage the creation of public-private partnerships between Californian and Israeli entities in these areas of economic development, social entrepreneurship, or academic research related to the above activities.
5. The Participants intend to support and encourage the strengthening of sister city programs between Israeli and California cities, which are designed to enhance opportunities for cultural and educational exchanges, economic partnerships, and social entrepreneurship on the local level.
6. The Participants intend to encourage collaboration between California and Israeli universities, public and private research institutions.
This Memorandum of Understanding is intended to become effective on the date it is signed and does not create any legally binding rights or obligations for either Participant. This Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Mountain View on the 5th day of March, 2014, corresponding to the 3rd day of Adar II of 5774.
_____________________ __________________________
EDMUND G. BROWN JR. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
Governor of California Prime Minister
United States of America State of Israel
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SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala Harris has issued recommendations to California businesses to help protect against and respond to the increasing threat of malware, data breaches and other cyber risks.
“My office issued this guide to support California’s businesses and ensure a robust economy,” Harris said. “Technology has created new opportunities and new risks for California businesses, including cyber attacks. This guide offers specific, straightforward recommendations to help businesses continue to thrive by reducing cyber security risks to employees and customers.”
The guide, “Cybersecurity in the Golden State,” provides recommendations focused on small to mid-sized businesses, which are particularly vulnerable to cybercrime and often lack the resources to hire cybersecurity personnel.
In 2012, 50 percent of all cyber attacks were aimed at businesses with fewer than 2,500 employees and 31 percent were aimed at those with less than 250 employees.
Cybersecurity in the Golden State can be found at https://oag.ca.gov/cybersecurity .
The guide is a product of a collaborative effort between the California Attorney General’s office, the California Chamber of Commerce and Lookout, a mobile security company.
“Prevention is the best medicine. Not only does the guide provide useful information to reduce the threat of cybercrime, it highlights the need to be proactive in preventing data breaches. This is good for California businesses and consumers,” said Allan Zaremberg, president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce.
“Security should not be viewed as a technology problem; it needs to be viewed as a business problem. If companies take a more proactive approach to security, they mitigate issues related to cyber risk,” said Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and CTO at Lookout. “We’re happy to collaborate with Attorney General Harris to identify the steps businesses can take to improve their security practices – for companies of all sizes.”
Key recommendations for small business owners:
- Assume you are a target and develop an incident response plan now.
- Review the data your business stores and shares with third parties including backup storage and cloud computing. Once you know what data you have and where it is, get rid of what is not necessary.
- Encrypt the data you need to keep. Strong encryption technology is now commonly available for free, and it is easy to use.
- Follow safe online practices such as regularly updating firewall and antivirus software on all devices, using strong passwords, avoiding downloading software from unknown sources and practicing safe online banking by only using a secure browser connection.
In 2003, California was the first state to pass a law (AB 700) mandating data breach notification, which requires businesses and state agencies to notify Californians when their personal information is compromised in security breach. In 2012, companies and state agencies subject to the law were required for the first time to report any breach that involved more than 500 Californians to the Attorney General’s Office (SB 24).
That first year, The Attorney General’s Office received reports of 131 data breaches, which placed the personal information of an estimated 2.5 million Californians at risk.
More information is available here, http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-releases-report-data-breaches-25-million .
Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute cyber crimes such as hacking, theft of intellectual property, identity theft, on-line fraud and extortion and identity theft.
She also established the office’s Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit in 2012 to enforce federal and state privacy laws regulating the collection, retention, disclosure, and destruction of private or sensitive information by individuals, organizations and the government.
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