• Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) recently introduced the Reef Safe Truth in Marketing Act, or Assembly Bill 1744. This legislation would make it unlawful to advertise or label a sunscreen product sold in California as “reef safe,” “ocean safe,” or any similar term implying environmental safety unless the product contains no chemical ultraviolet filters to harm marine life. “At a time when everyday products are already costly, the last thing consumers need is to be misled by environmental claims that don’t hold up,” Addis said in a Feb. 11 statement. “If a product is advertised as protecting our environment, it must actually do so. The Reef Safe Truth in Marketing Act provides clarity for consumers and holds manufacturers accountable. Californians deserve accurate information when purchasing goods.”
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) issued a statement in response to President Donald Trump’s nomination of two Republicans to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Padilla noted that one Democratic seat on the FEC has remained vacant for more than a year, after the Trump administration removed Ellen Weintraub from the commission. “Donald Trump illegally fired Ellen Weintraub in retaliation for speaking the truth about foreign election interference and corruption in his first term. Trump has since issued unlawful executive orders aimed at seizing control of our elections and dismantling the independence of agencies like the FEC,” Padilla said in a Feb. 12 statement. “This capricious move to nominate only Republicans to the traditionally bipartisan FEC—while ignoring the open Democratic seat—undermines the independence of our elections institutions and shows, once again, that he is attempting to tilt the scales in his favor. … Congress created the FEC following the Watergate scandal as an independent watchdog for the American people—not to protect Donald Trump.”
• On Feb. 11, U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff (D-California) and Chuck Schumer (D-New York) introduced the Venezuela Oil Proceeds Transparency Act. If passed, this legislation would direct the comptroller general of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an independent audit of the Trump administration’s financial arrangement using offshore accounts for Venezuelan oil revenue, according to Schiff’s office. “For months, the Trump administration claimed that its military operations in the Caribbean were about stopping drugs, but the objective is now abundantly clear: This was about seizing Venezuela’s oil and lining the pockets of the oil industry,” Schiff said in a statement. Schiff described the Venezuela Oil Proceeds Transparency Act as targeting the Trump administration’s “dubious scheme to hide its Venezuelan oil transactions” in offshore accounts. “The president wants to control an unaccountable fund with the proceeds parked in an offshore bank. The American people deserve to know more about this scheme and where the money is going,” Schiff stated. “This independent audit would help deliver answers.” Along with initiating an independent audit of the U.S.-Venezuela energy deal, the Venezuela Oil Proceeds Transparency Act would require the comptroller general to immediately alert Congress if the Trump administration unreasonably delays or denies GAO’s access to information necessary for the audit. “Energy costs have soared for American families over the past year. Rather than provide real relief, President Trump is waging a war against clean energy that is driving up costs and killing jobs, concocting a scheme in secrecy that paves the way for self-enrichment and corruption of oil companies in rebuilding Venezuela,” Sen. Schumer said in a statement. “The American people deserve to know what’s happening with the money received from these Venezuelan oil payments and where—and to whom—they are going.”
This article appears in February 19 – February 26, 2026.