Tell your state legislators: We need strong consumer protections now

We are facing the worst economic crisis in living memory, but the Trump administration has gutted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), leaving consumers vulnerable.

Gov. Newsom has proposed creating a state-version of the CFPB here in California, known as the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).

The DFPI's mission would be to protect consumers from aggressive debt collectors, loan sharks and scammers that are running wild during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tell your state legislators: California must adopt stronger consumer financial protections now.

Subject: We need a strong consumer watchdog in California. Support the creation of the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

Your Letter:

Californians are facing the most threats to our financial security since the Great Depression, but the Trump administration has gutted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), leaving consumers vulnerable.

Gov. Newsom has proposed creating a state-version of the CFPB here in California by transforming the Department of Business Oversight (DBO) into a strong consumer protection agency called the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). If approved, this new agency would have expanded authority to help protect Californians from aggressive debt collectors, loan sharks and scammers.

Stronger consumer protections were needed in California even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the surge in predatory lending and financial scams since the start of the outbreak, this reform is more urgent than ever.

The governor's proposal would position California as a national leader in protecting consumers, small businesses, and communities struggling to recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, the existing DBO does not have the authority necessary to stop the abuses harming consumers.

Adopting the DFPI would protect Californians without impacting the state's general budget, by unlocking existing funds at DBO to increase its operating budget. In fact, if this proposal is delayed beyond 2020, many consumers now clinging on will require additional support and services from the State of California.

We cannot effectively address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic without a better plan to oversee the financial industry and protect vulnerable Californians.

I urge you to adopt Gov. Newsom's proposal and to support creation of the DFPI.

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