Home

What's New

News Release | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Transportation Bill is a Step Backwards

Statement by Phineas Baxandall, Florida PIRG’s Senior Transportation Analyst, regarding the disappointing federal Transportation Bill as released from conference committee today.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Florida PIRG | Health Care

Supreme Court Upholds Health Reform

Today’s decision is good news for consumers. Insurance companies can’t go back to the days of dropping your coverage once you become ill, or denying coverage to sick children. And beginning in 2014, the days of insurers being able to deny anyone coverage for “pre-existing conditions” will be history. 

> Keep Reading
News Release | Florida PIRG | Democracy

First-of-its-kind “Refrain From Political Spending” Resolution to Be Voted on at Bank of America Shareholder Meeting

On Wednesday, May 9, shareholders at Bank of America will vote “yea” or “nay” on a first-of-its-kind “refrain from political spending” resolution. Resolutions addressing political spending are among the most popular in the 2012 shareholder season, many dealing with disclosure of such spending. This is the first shareholder season for this groundbreaking resolution which was introduced by socially responsible investment firms Trillium Asset Management at Bank of America and 3M Corporation and by Green Century Capital Management at Target Corporation.

> Keep Reading
Report | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Following the Money 2012

This report is U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s third annual ranking of states’ progress toward “Transparency 2.0”—a new standard of comprehensive, one-stop, one-click budget accountability and accessibility. The past year has seen continued progress, with new states providing online access to government spending information and several states pioneering new tools to further expand citizens’ access to spending information and engagement with government. In 2011, eight states created new transparency websites and several others made significant improvements to sites already launched.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Florida Receives D on Transparency of Government Spending But Still Makes Important Progress

Today, the Florida Public Interest Research Group (Florida PIRG) released its third annual report evaluating state transparency websites. The new report, Following the Money 2012: How the States Rank on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data, looks at and compares state websites across the country highlighting states that are leading the way. While Florida received a D for the Transparency Florida site the state still made some important progress.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | Florida PIRG | Consumer Protection

Annual Survey Finds Toxic or Dangerous Toys on Store Shelves

Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, according to the Florida Public Interest Research Group’s 26th annual Trouble in Toyland report. The report, released this morning, reveals the results of laboratory testing on toys for lead and phthalates, both of which have been proven to have serious adverse health impacts on the development of young children.  The survey also found toys that pose either choking or noise hazards.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Florida PIRG | Budget

New Report Outlines Problems with Red-Light and Speed Cameras

A new research report released today outlines problems with the growing trend among cities to outsource traffic enforcement to red-light and speed camera vendors.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Data Shows 290 Bridges in Florida Remain Structurally Deficient on Eve of Obama Bridge Speech

With President Obama calling for robust investments in repairing America’s crumbling roads and bridges today, Florida PIRG released data today documenting the number of “structurally deficient” bridges in the state.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Florida PIRG | Consumer Protection, Financial Reform

Florida Consumer Groups Release Poll Showing Strong Support for CFPB and Wall Street Reform & New Report Showing “10 Reasons” We Need Consumer Protection

Leading Florida consumer groups today announced the results of a poll showing that an overwhelming majority of likely voters both support a new consumer agency (74%) and want Wall Street held “accountable” (77%), along with a new report documenting “10 reasons” consumers need the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Today, the new Bureau will take over enforcement of all major consumer laws.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Florida PIRG | Transportation

New Report Examines Whether High-Speed Rail Should Be Public, Private or Both

A first-of-its-kind report released today examines whether high-speed rail should be public, private or both.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Report | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Fixing it First

America’s infrastructure is showing its age. Our nation’s roads, highways and bridges have increasingly received failing scores on maintenance and upkeep. For the nation’s bridges, lack of maintenance can result in the sudden closure of a critical transportation link or, far worse, a collapse that results in lost lives and a significant loss in regional economic productivity.

> Keep Reading
Report | Food

Apples to Twinkies

America is facing an obesity epidemic – one that’s hitting children especially hard. Childhood obesity rates have tripled over the last three decades, with one in five kids aged 6 to 11 now obese.

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Financial Reform

10 Reasons We Need The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Now

This report outlines predatory financial practices that hurt consumers and helped collapse the economy, costing us eight million jobs, millions of foreclosed homes and trillions of dollars in lost home and retirement values. It explains these and other emerging problems as “10 Reasons We Need The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Now.” In response to the problems caused by those predatory practices, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 included a major reform demanded by the public: it established the landmark Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

High-Speed Rail: Public Private or Both?

Private sector companies are likely to play a major role in the construction of high-speed rail lines in the United States. Public-private partnerships – or “PPPs” – have come to play an important role in the construction of high-speed rail lines around the world.

> Keep Reading
Report | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Financial Reform

The Tax Shell Game

Tax havens are countries with minimal or no taxes, to which U.S.-based multinational firms or individuals transfer their earnings to avoid paying taxes in the United States. Users of tax havens benefit from access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security, but pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Tools & Resources

  • STOP TAX DODGERS
    Corporate tax avoidance cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. We're working to close the loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying the taxes they owe.
    Learn more
    Take Action
  • YOUR TAX DOLLARS BECOME CORN SYRUP
    At a time when one-in-three kids is overweight or obese, over a billion taxpayer dollars go to high-fructose corn syrup and junk food ingredients.
    Learn more
    Take Action
  • Reclaim Democracy
    The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ushered in an era of unprecedented spending by big money in our elections, but we're working to return our democracy back to the principle of "one person, one vote."
    Learn more
  • BUILDING A BETTER HEALTH CARE MARKETPLACE
    Now the fight for health care reform is in Florida.
    Learn More

PRIORITY ACTION

Some of the nation’s best-known companies — including GE, Google and Goldman Sachs — have avoided paying the taxes they owe, costing us $100 billion last year.

Send an email

Support Us

Your donation supports Florida PIRG’s work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.

donate today

Consumer Alerts

Join our network and stay up-to-date on our campaigns, get important consumer updates and take action on critical issues.