Bill Text: NY A06924 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires a study of the utilization of state government payments as an opportunity to transition unbanked and underbanked state residents into the banking system; requires a report shall be compiled and provided on the findings no later than eighteen months after the effective date of this act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-03-21 - REFERRED TO BANKS [A06924 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06924-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6924

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Banks

        AN  ACT  in relation to the study of the utilization of state government
          payments as an opportunity  to  transition  unbanked  and  underbanked
          state residents into the banking system

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The superintendent of the department of financial services,
     2  in conjunction with the director of the state budget,  the  director  of
     3  state  operations and the commissioner of the department of taxation and
     4  finance, and in consultation with the state comptroller, shall study and
     5  issue a comprehensive report on methods and opportunities to  transition
     6  unbanked  and  underbanked  state residents entitled to state government
     7  payments into the banking system.
     8    1. For purposes of this section, the following terms  shall  have  the
     9  following meanings:
    10    a. "unbanked" shall mean an individual not served by an insured insti-
    11  tution in any capacity;
    12    b.  "underbanked"  shall  mean  an  individual  with  an account at an
    13  insured institution but who has obtained alternative, nonbank  financial
    14  services in the past twelve months; and
    15    c.  "state  agency" shall mean any agency, department, bureau, commis-
    16  sion, board, task  force,  committee,  public  benefit  corporation,  or
    17  public authority, where a member is appointed by the governor.
    18    2. Such study shall:
    19    a. examine the types of payments made by state agencies to state resi-
    20  dents including but not limited to tax returns, benefits, credits, unem-
    21  ployment  insurance,  and  the  lottery,  which are made in a sufficient
    22  amount to the unbanked and underbanked;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10095-01-3
        A. 6924                             2

     1    b. examine what methods of payment are  used  by  state  agencies  and
     2  whether  direct  deposit  and  debit  cards  are included as options for
     3  recipients of such state payments;
     4    c.  determine whether opportunities exist when state payments are made
     5  to enable state agencies to provide financial education as it relates to
     6  the value of participation in the banking system;
     7    d. examine any barriers to choice of direct deposit and the use of the
     8  banking system based on contact with state agencies;
     9    e. examine the use of debit cards of other new financial  technologies
    10  as  a  method  for  disbursement  of  state payments to the unbanked and
    11  underbanked as a bridge to the banking system;
    12    f. examine whether a contractual relationship with a minority bank  or
    13  banks that define specific terms of financial service would be an effec-
    14  tive measure in encouraging use of direct deposit;
    15    g.  determine in which, if any, circumstances state payments should be
    16  exempted from an execution of judgment to encourage use of  the  banking
    17  system for the unbanked and the underbanked;
    18    h.  examine barriers and opportunities to charter minority-owned banks
    19  in unbanked or underbanked communities  including  capital  availability
    20  and use of state deposits to incentivize their formation; and
    21    i.  include any concerns or recommendations that the superintendent of
    22  the department of financial services deems necessary.
    23    3. A comprehensive report summarizing all of the findings from  subdi-
    24  vision two of this section shall be sent to the governor, the speaker of
    25  the  assembly  and  the  temporary president of the senate no later than
    26  eighteen months after the effective date of this act.
    27    4. The superintendent of the  department  of  financial  services  may
    28  request  and  is  authorized  to  receive any information from any state
    29  agencies that is relevant and material to the completion of  this  study
    30  and  report.    Such  information  received by the superintendent of the
    31  department of financial services shall be subject to the  same  require-
    32  ments  for confidentiality and limitations on use, if any, as are appli-
    33  cable to such state agency's use of such information.
    34    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.