STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7306 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 25, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Banks AN ACT establishing a New York state public bank commission to study the benefits of a public bank or network of public banks owned by the state of New York or by a public authority constituted by the state of New York; making an appropriation therefor; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. A temporary state commission, to be known as the New York 2 state public bank commission, hereinafter referred to as the commission, 3 is hereby established to hire a consultant to study the feasibility of 4 establishing a bank owned by the state of New York or by a public 5 authority constituted by the state of New York for the public interest. 6 § 2. (a) The commission shall consist of thirteen members, to be 7 appointed as follows: (i) six members shall be appointed by the gover- 8 nor, one of whom shall be a representative of the New York state depart- 9 ment of financial services, one shall be a representative from the New 10 York state department of taxation and finance, the remaining four gover- 11 nor's appointees shall not be employees of the executive branch and at 12 least one member shall represent the banking and financial industries of 13 the state including, but not limited to, the New York bankers associ- 14 ation, at least one member shall represent community banking, and no 15 more than one member may be a representative of any financial services 16 firm located within the state, including, but not limited to, the New 17 York state small business development center; 18 (ii) three members shall be appointed by the temporary president of 19 the senate, one of whom shall be a member of the senate; 20 (iii) three members shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly, 21 one of whom shall be a member of the assembly; and 22 (iv) the state comptroller or a proxy. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05646-02-5
A. 7306 2 1 (b) The majority of the members of the entire commission shall desig- 2 nate one of the commissioners to serve as the chair of the commission. 3 (c) The members of the commission shall be appointed no later than 4 ninety days after the effective date of this act. 5 (d) The commission is directed to hire a reputable consultant that has 6 the capacity, capability, and experience to conduct a feasibility study 7 to evaluate and make recommendations concerning the formation and 8 control of a state public bank. Consultants that have conducted a previ- 9 ous feasibility study of a public bank at the request of a government 10 entity in the United States will be given preference. Such study shall 11 make recommendations, with the advice of the department of financial 12 services, including but not limited to, on the feasibility of establish- 13 ing a state bank in New York and may recommend legislation for the 14 legislature to consider in order to create a state public bank for New 15 York. 16 § 3. The scope of such study shall include, but shall not be limited 17 to: 18 (a) the purposes of such public bank in the public interest; 19 (b) an analysis of cost savings, impacts on the state's finances, 20 economic development and infrastructure, housing and additional needs of 21 the state, including but not limited to: 22 (i) appropriate governance structures; 23 (ii) minimum capitalization requirements; 24 (iii) appropriate insurance and risk management tools; 25 (iv) charter requirements; 26 (v) financial and operations framework; 27 (vi) deposits; 28 (vii) permitted activities; 29 (viii) benefits; 30 (ix) potential challenges that such public banks may encounter; 31 (x) how the lack of accessible financial services contributes to the 32 cycle of poverty; 33 (xi) barriers to small business formation and growth; 34 (xii) impacts of such public banks on small businesses, including 35 minority- and women-owned business enterprises; 36 (xiii) impacts of such public banks on the unbanked, the underbanked 37 and banking deserts; and 38 (xiv) how a state public bank may provide banking to the cannabis 39 industry; 40 (c) a fiscal analysis of costs associated with formation; 41 (d) an analysis that considers the effects of an economic recession on 42 the financial results of such public banks; 43 (e) a legal analysis of whether the proposed structure and operation 44 of such public bank complies with the New York state constitution; 45 (f) an analysis of how the proposed governance structure of such 46 public bank would protect such public bank from unlawful insider trans- 47 actions and apparent conflicts of interest; 48 (g) a fiscal analysis of the benefits associated with the creation of 49 such public bank, including, but not limited to, cost savings, jobs 50 created, jobs retained, economic activity generated and private capital 51 leveraged; 52 (h) a qualitative assessment of social and environmental benefits of 53 such public bank; 54 (i) a review of feasibility studies on public banking, including the 55 city of Philadelphia public bank feasibility study and the city of San 56 Francisco public bank feasibility study; and
A. 7306 3 1 (j) a review of AB-857 (2019 Cal. Stats. Ch. 442). 2 § 4. The sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), or so much 3 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of 4 financial services from any moneys in the state treasury in the general 5 fund to the credit of the state purposes account not otherwise appropri- 6 ated for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such 7 sum shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller 8 on vouchers certified or approved by the superintendent of financial 9 services, or such superintendent's duly designated representative in the 10 manner provided by law. 11 § 5. No earlier than six months and no later than seven months after 12 the effective date of this act, the commission shall submit a report to 13 the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the 14 assembly, the chair of the senate banks committee and the chair of the 15 assembly banks committee on the findings and conclusions of the study 16 conducted pursuant to sections two and three of this act and shall 17 submit any legislative recommendations deemed to be necessary. Such 18 report shall be contemporaneously published on the official website of 19 the department of financial services. 20 § 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 21 have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed one year after 22 such effective date.