After reading the post below, reader Ted Mermin of California Low-Income Consumer Coalition emailed:
Last week the Governor signed a groundbreaking law providing an automatic exemption from bank levy for the last $1724 in a debtor’s account. According to the law’s findings, debt collectors routinely clean out consumers’ bank accounts, leaving nothing to pay for basic living expenses like rent or food. Too often, the financial shock results in the loss of a home, a car, and/or a job. Senate Bill 616 (bill text here) requires instead that the bank protect the amount set by the state Department of Social Services as the minimum needed to live for a month ($1724 in 2019). The author’s press release is here; the press release from supporters is here. And an LA Times piece by David Lazarus is here.
[Thanks, Ted.]
Governor Newsom also signed SB 707, which provides for sanctions when a business fails to pay arbitration fees.