Yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of Rohit Chopra, former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner, as Secretary of the state’s new Business and Consumer Services Agency (BCSA). The new cabinet‑level agency, which formally launches on July 1, 2026, is designed to consolidate and elevate state‑level consumer and market oversight at a moment when federal enforcement is being scaled back. Governor Newsom framed the move as bringing “one of the nation’s most prominent consumer protection leaders” into state government to crack down on corporate abuse, curb junk fees, and lower costs for Californians.
The BCSA will bring together a wide array of licensing, supervisory, and enforcement functions that directly affect consumer‑facing industries. The agency will house the existing Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and its appeals board, the Department of Cannabis Control and appeals panel, and the California Horse Racing Board.
Governor Newsom’s announcement makes clear that affordability and market fairness will be central themes for BCSA. The press release highlights ongoing California initiatives to crack down on junk fees and hidden charges, strengthen online privacy and data protections, and expand enforcement against perceived scams and predatory practices. With BCSA, those efforts will now be coordinated through a single agency Chopra’s own statement underscores that, in his view, federal agencies are “making life more expensive and enriching special interests,” and that California intends to “fire on all cylinders” to prevent markets from being “rigged against families and small businesses.”
Our Take
From a practical perspective, Chopra’s role atop BCSA could have significant implications for companies operating in or from California. The DFPI already plays a heightened role in supervising nonbank financial services and enforcing state consumer financial protection laws. Under BCSA, the DFPI is likely to take direction from Chopra, and may become more aggressive because of that, following the aggressive nature of his tenure at the CFPB. Firms should anticipate continued, and potentially increased, regulatory scrutiny of fee practices and disclosures, subscription pricing and renewals, hardship and collections conduct, merchant‑financed sales, medical billing and debt practices, and algorithmic decisioning that affects cost or availability of credit and other essential services.