Prohibits fees for any service rendered through a bank relating to the use of an electronic benefit transfer card issued by the state or certain departments or…

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic1

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why James Sanders Jr. says this is needed

As of May 2020, New York State had paid out $6.8 billion in unemployment insurance benefits to the more than 1.8 million New Yorkers who had filed for unemployment benefits since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Even as New York State begins a phased reopening of its regional economies, the total benefits paid and unemployment insurance (UI) claimants will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. New York UI claimants have the option of receiving their UI benefits on a debit card issued by KeyBank, which currently holds a contract with New York, State to administer benefit banking services for Ul, as well as the Department of Labor's Occupational Training Act program and the Office of Children & Family Services' Adoption Subsidy Electronic Payments program. According to a June 2020 New York Times article, about half a million New Yorkers receive their UI benefits via the KeyBank debit cards. KeyBank charges benefit recipients using their debit cards a $1.50 per withdrawal fee at domestic ATMs outside of the KeyBank ATM network. For New Yorkers who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19-related restrictions on their place of employment, UI benefits are a lifeline. Banks holding lucrative contracts with New York State to provide banking services for the administration of public benefits should not be eating into recipients' benefits with fees for basic transactions like ATM withdrawals. This bill would prohibit any bank providing benefit banking services to New York State or its local governments from charging fees to benefit recipients.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.