The Pennsylvania State House of Representatives approved a bill last week that seeks to support the integrity of Pennsylvania’s banking system.
The legislation, House Bill 859, was introduced by Pennsylvania State Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland). It now moves to the State Senate for a vote.
The bill references the Banking Fund, which holds semi-annual assessments paid by Pennsylvania’s state-chartered banks and credit unions to finance the regulation of the industry. However, in recent years, over $40 million from the fund has been transferred to balance operating budgets for state agencies.
“House Bill 859 would prevent state government from accessing dedicated revenue in order to balance budgets,” Delozier, a former majority chairman of the House Commerce Committee, said. “Moving the assessment dollars to a trust fund with the sole purpose of paying for the regulation and oversite of the industry and protecting the consumer in the case of a failure is good fiscal policy and consumer protection.”
She said the changes made by House Bill 859 would help to keep the banking industry regulated appropriately, without taxpayer dollars, “while allowing the institutions to remain good community partners, as they were this past year administering millions of dollars to our small businesses through the federal loan programs during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she added.