In summary
Senate Bill 1149 — the “Public Right to Know Act” — would help hold companies accountable for a defective product or environmental hazard that poses a risk to public health or safety.
By Connie M. Leyva, Special to CalMatters
Connie M. Leyvaa Democrat from Chino, represents the 20th senate district in the California legislature.
Over the past two decades, Bayer’s Essure – a non-surgical birth control device – seriously injured thousands of women when pieces of the metal coils broke off, leaving pieces inside the women’s reproductive system. These Essure implants caused miscarriages and perforated organs — and even the inability to have sex. Worse, despite more than 27,000 lawsuits filed by women against Bayer, a broad court “protective order” favored secrecy over public disclosure.
Finally, in 2020, Public Justice, a non-profit legal advocacy organization, stepped in and obtained some of the information. By then, there had been tens of thousands of serious injuries and at least 23 adult deaths verified by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
Although Bayer finally stopped selling Essure several years ago, it was too late for the women killed or permanently injured by the product—and all because Bayer used legal maneuvers to prevent the public from knowing about its product’s dangers in so that he could continue. selling Essure nationwide.
Sadly, the injuries and deaths resulting from Essure are only the tip of the iceberg.
For years, some companies have worked hard to hide vital security information so they can continue to make a profit. Earlier this year, I introduced Senate Bill 1149—the “Public Right to Know Act”—with Public Justice and Consumer Reports as co-sponsors. That bill would prohibit abuses that withhold information about a defective product or environmental hazard and pose a risk to public health or safety.
As just one more example among many, Purdue Pharma – the maker of OxyContin – used legal schemes to prevent the truth about its opioids from becoming public. Strong prescription pain medication is now known to have caused more than 100,000 deaths as a result of its manufacturer telling outright lies about safe dosage levels and the likelihood of addiction.
In late 2019, facing state claims totaling more than $2 trillion, Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy. But in 2004, when the first case—West Virginia’s claims against Purdue Pharma—was settled, the judge allowed information substantiating those claims to remain secret. More than a dozen judges in other cases followed suit.
The result was that the facts remained hidden for more than a decade, until the Los Angeles Times published an investigative report after reviewing many internal company documents in 2016. Until then, neither the public nor regulators knew the truth, which was in court records, but was sealed under a broad confidentiality order.
It is clear that we must remove these walls of court secrecy that endanger the lives of the public and the people we love.
Not surprisingly, a number of companies and business associations oppose SB 1149 because they would rather supplement their bottom line than help protect the public from the very dangers they create. Information about dangerous public risks should never be hidden behind legal documents and court secrecy – quite the opposite. The public has a right to know information about any defective products or environmental hazards that companies are aware of but choose to keep secret so they can continue business as usual.
The premise of SB 1149 is simple: If a lawsuit reveals factual information about a defective product or environmental hazard, that information will no longer be secret. This important measure will help hold companies accountable and prevent future injuries or deaths. We must finally lift the veil of court secrecy that has hurt countless children and families across the Golden State.
Please let your legislative representative know by phone, Twitter or any other means that you strongly support SB 1149 and want California to join states across the country – including Florida, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina and Washington – that have already passed similar anti-secrecy laws.
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Connie M. Leyva previously wrote about California collection of rape kits AND Cal Grant Program.
