New York S 163: Makes English the official language of New York state

Bill Text

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S00163 Summary:

BILL NOS00163 

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SAME ASSAME AS A06662

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SPONSORRAMOS

&nbsp

COSPNSRCOMRIE, JACKSON

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MLTSPNSR

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Add §13, Bank L

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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.

Go to top S00163 Actions:

BILL NOS00163 

&nbsp

01/08/2025REFERRED TO BANKS

01/07/2026REFERRED TO BANKS

Go to topS00163 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS00163 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS00163 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 163

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 (Prefiled)

 January 8, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sens. RAMOS, COMRIE, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered
 printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Banks

 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
 21 no bank account and ten neighborhoods accounted for nearly 35 percent of
 22 those households. Residents of color, undocumented residents, and resi-
 23 dents living below the poverty line are disproportionately impacted and

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00747-01-5

 S. 163 2

 1 are at greater risk of falling victim to predatory financial services,
 2 imperiling their financial futures and aggravating economic inequality
 3 across the state.
 4 (c) The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that our most vulner-
 5 able residents are not cut off from traditional banking services.
 6 Mandating acceptance of the New York city identity card at state-char-
 7 tered financial institutions will allow all residents to build their
 8 financial futures and advance the state's goal of facilitating broader
 9 financial inclusion.
 10 § 3. The banking law is amended by adding a new section 13 to read as
 11 follows:
 12 § 13. Acceptance of New York city identity card. 1. Definitions. As
 13 used in this section:
 14 (a) "New York city identity card" refers to the identity card issued
 15 by the city of New York pursuant to subdivision c of section 3-115 of
 16 the administrative code of the city of New York.
 17 (b) "Covered entity" means all banking organizations, foreign banking
 18 corporations licensed by the superintendent, and interstate branches
 19 established pursuant to article five-C of this chapter.
 20 2. Covered entities shall accept the New York city identity card as a
 21 primary source of identification for account-opening purposes. In the
 22 event a customer's New York city identity card does not contain a resi-