Governor Newsom swears in Rohit Chopra as Secretary of the new California Business and Consumer Services Agency

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new agency’s first secretary and advance efforts toward a fair, competitive, and entrepreneurial economy,” said California Business and Consumer Services Agency Secretary Rohit Chopra. “California consumers and small businesses are paying the price for harmful and corrupt practices. The new agency will sharpen and accelerate work to promote economic growth and protect the public from abuses.”

Across the country, consumers are battling with higher costs and fees. By putting consumer protection departments, boards, and bureaus under one roof, California can move quickly to root out practices that push up prices.

The new agency, which was established by Governor Newsom last year through a state government reorganization, brings together dozens of boards, bureaus, and departments charged with administering and enforcing laws that protect families and businesses, while also promoting a fair and dynamic economy for all Californians.

Secretary Chopra is nationally recognized for his leadership on consumer protection, market fairness, and financial oversight. He previously served as Director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, where he led efforts to combat junk fees, corporate misconduct, predatory practices, and anti-competitive behavior that harm consumers and small businesses. 

Created through Governor Newsom’s government reorganization effort last year, the Business and Consumer Services Agency brings together departments and entities responsible for administering and enforcing laws that protect consumers and businesses while promoting economic growth and accountability. 

Through the launch of he new agency, Governor Newsom and Secretary Chopra are advancing ambitious objectives that will help create stronger affordability, oversight and opportunity for California families and businesses. In the coming year, the agency will announce new initiatives, enforcement activities and programs to:

• Protect consumers and help entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed
• Crack down on harmful, anticompetitive, and corrupt practices that harm families and honest businesses
• Work to ensure that new technologies benefit all Californians

California is stepping up as federal protections are rolled back

Governor Newsom has positioned California at the forefront of efforts to protect consumers and lower costs, including:

• Cracking down on junk fees and hidden charges
• Increasing oversight and accountability for oil companies
• Launching CalRx to lower prescription drug costs
• Strengthening online privacy and consumer data protections
• Expanding enforcement against scams and predatory practices
• Increasing corporate transparency and accountability

The new Business and Consumer Services Agency will build on those efforts by strengthening oversight, improving coordination across departments, and modernizing California’s consumer protection framework amid growing threats from weakened federal enforcement.

The new agency includes the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board (ABC AB), Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), Cannabis Control Appeals Panel (CCAP), California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), Department of Real Estate (DRE), and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).

Rohit Chopra: a national leader in consumer protection

Rohit Chopra is a nation-leading advocate for consumers, spearheading decades of work to address affordability, ensure fairness in the marketplace, strengthen banking and financial systems, and hold those who violate the law accountable.

Under President Biden, Chopra served as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2021 to 2025, leading the CFPB’s mission in overseeing mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and other consumer financial products. During Chopra’s tenure, the CFPB recovered nearly $10 billion in refunds and penalties from companies that broke the law. Among other efforts, Chopra spearheaded work to eliminate junk fees imposed on consumers and businesses and pursued modernization efforts to create a more open and competitive banking and payments system.

In 2017, Chopra was nominated by President Trump and subsequently confirmed by the Senate unanimously to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, where he served until 2021. He helped hold violators of trade laws accountable, strengthened sanctions against bad actors, and helped create more robust antitrust enforcement.

Chopra earned a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University. He was also the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to the Republic of Korea.