Last week, Governor Hochul signed Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter's overdraft legislation into law (A5519). The bill would protect consumers from excessive or unexpected overdraft fees for paperless transactions.

"Before today, protections against excessive overdraft fees only existed for check payments,” explained Assemblywoman Hunter. “Now, the Department of Financial Services will establish these same protections for paperless transactions, which are much more common today.”

In addition to establishing protections for paperless transactions, Assemblywoman Hunter's legislation will require the Department of Financial Services to develop rules relating to how these charges are imposed on consumers whose accounts are overdrawn and how account owners are informed and notified about overdraft processes.

“Working families in the 128^th District and New York State face economic headwinds from stubborn inflation and high mortgage rates. They are struggling to pay for necessities such as groceries, utilities, and housing," said Hunter. "One way we can provide New Yorkers with meaningful relief is to establish overdraft protections for paperless transactions such as debit and credit cards."

The legislation first passed the Assembly in March 2023 and passed the Senate at the end of the legislative session in June.

“As the Chair of the Banking Committee and sponsor of this legislation, I thank Governor Hochul for signing this commonsense legislation into law and joining my colleagues in protecting consumers," she said.