Bill Text: NY S07826 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Enacts the pro-banking act to mandate acceptance of the New York city identity card as a primary form of identification at all covered entities, including all banking organizations, foreign banking corporations, and interstate branches.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-05-30 - PRINT NUMBER 7826B [S07826 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07826-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7826--B

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    December 20, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. RAMOS, COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when  printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted
          to the Committee on Banks in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged,  bill  amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT to amend the banking law, in relation to mandating acceptance of
          the New York city identity card as a primary form of identification at
          all covered entities

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

     1    Section  1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "pro-bank-
     2  ing act".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds  and  declares
     4  that:
     5    (a) Local law no. 35 for the year 2014 amended subchapter 1 of chapter
     6  1  of  title  3  of  the  administrative code of the city of New York by
     7  adding a section  3-115,  creating  the  New  York  city  identity  card
     8  program.  One of the main objectives of the program was to expand access
     9  to bank-approved identification cards, thereby reducing  the  number  of
    10  unbanked residents across the city. In 2015, federal regulatory authori-
    11  ties  notified  the city agencies in charge of administering the program
    12  that banks could use the New York city  identity  card  to  satisfy  the
    13  minimum requirements of federal anti-money laundering laws. In 2016, the
    14  New  York  State  Department of Financial Services further "encourage[d]
    15  New York state-chartered and licensed financial institutions  to  accept
    16  the Municipal ID as a form of acceptable identification card."
    17    (b) Despite authorization by federal and state regulatory authorities,
    18  only  approximately  one-third  of  city  banks accept the New York city
    19  identity card, leaving many city residents on the margins of the  finan-
    20  cial system. As of 2017, 11.2 percent of households in New York city had

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13677-09-4

        S. 7826--B                          2

     1  no bank account and ten neighborhoods accounted for nearly 35 percent of
     2  those  households. Residents of color, undocumented residents, and resi-
     3  dents living below the poverty line are disproportionately impacted  and
     4  are  at  greater risk of falling victim to predatory financial services,
     5  imperiling their financial futures and aggravating  economic  inequality
     6  across the state.
     7    (c) The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that our most vulner-
     8  able  residents  are  not  cut  off  from  traditional banking services.
     9  Mandating acceptance of the New York city identity card  at  state-char-
    10  tered  financial  institutions  will  allow all residents to build their
    11  financial futures and advance the state's goal of  facilitating  broader
    12  financial inclusion.
    13    §  3. The banking law is amended by adding a new section 13 to read as
    14  follows:
    15    § 13. Acceptance of New York city identity card.  1.  Definitions.  As
    16  used in this section:
    17    (a)  "New  York city identity card" refers to the identity card issued
    18  by the city of New York pursuant to subdivision c of  section  3-115  of
    19  the administrative code of the city of New York.
    20    (b)  "Covered entity" means all banking organizations, foreign banking
    21  corporations licensed by the  superintendent,  and  interstate  branches
    22  established pursuant to article five-C of this chapter.
    23    2.  Covered entities shall accept the New York city identity card as a
    24  primary source of identification for account-opening  purposes.  In  the
    25  event  a customer's New York city identity card does not contain a resi-
    26  dential or business street address, a covered entity shall  not  deny  a
    27  customer  account-opening  services, provided the customer can furnish a
    28  residential or business street address of their next of kin  or  another
    29  contact   individual  consistent  with  federal  laws  and  regulations.
    30  Receipt of a New York city identity card shall be deemed to satisfy  the
    31  customer  identification  program  requirements  of all covered entities
    32  consistent with laws, rules and regulations of the state  of  New  York.
    33  Nothing  in subdivision two of section twelve-a of this article shall be
    34  deemed to annul this section.
    35    3. The superintendent  is  empowered  to  exempt  any  covered  entity
    36  subject  to subdivision two of this section upon a demonstration that it
    37  would be unable to comply with relevant  federal  laws  or  regulations,
    38  including without limitation, customer identification programs regarding
    39  anti-money laundering laws, or upon a demonstration of other reasons for
    40  inability to comply that the superintendent finds sufficient.
    41    § 4. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
    42  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
    43  be invalid and after exhaustion of  all  further  judicial  review,  the
    44  judgment  shall  not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof,
    45  but shall be confined in its operation to the  clause,  sentence,  para-
    46  graph,  section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy
    47  in which the judgment shall have been rendered.
    48    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    49  it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    50  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    51  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    52  completed on or before such effective date.
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