Public Banking Option Act – AB 1177
2021 (PASSED)
On October 4th, 2021 Governor Gavin Newsom signed The California Public Banking Option Act – AB 1177 into law. This is the first bill in the nation guaranteeing universal banking access.
AB 1177 (Santiago, Carrillo, Chiu, Garcia, Gonzalez, Kalra, Lee, Ting, Wicks, Gipson), or BankCal, closes the financial services gap, bolsters the economy, and ensures an equitable economic recovery by providing a stable, accessible platform for underserved communities especially hit hard by the pandemic. LCCRSF is a proud co-sponsor of AB 1177, which creates a new retail banking option provided by the state that would offer every Californian:
- a zero-fee, zero-penalty debit account and debit card
- direct deposit from employers and public benefits
- automatic bill pay to registered payees
- recurring payments and donations to account holders’ organizations or charities of choice
- an infrastructure to support account holders in building credit
- tools for financial literacy
This builds on LCCRSF’s long standing work on public banking as a founding member of the California Public Bank Alliance, the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition, and the passage of AB 857 in 2019 to legalize public banking in California.