Topic: Public Banks California. California movement against Wall Street control over public finance builds momentum as this press release sent to Zennie62Media reports.
SAN FRANCISCO – Today city councils in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Los Angeles joined with San Jose, Eureka, Santa Cruz County and other cities throughout California by passing resolutions in support of AB 857, California’s landmark legislation enabling communities to establish public banks.
The legislation, coauthored by Assembly members David Chiu (San Francisco) and Miguel Santiago (Los Angeles), allows municipalities to redirect public funds from megabanks that invest in fossil fuels, private prisons, and gun manufacturers toward publicly-owned banks that would invest in local socially responsible initiatives including clean energy, affordable housing, and infrastructure projects.
“Cities across California are ready to disentangle from Wall Street’s control of banking public dollars,” said Sushil Jacob, senior economic justice attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, a founding member of the California Public Banking Alliance. “Wall Street banks have proven an unreliable custodian of our public dollars, from investments that are antithetical to our values, to high fees for banking our communities. These resolutions show that powerful local governments across the state support public dollars for public good in public banks.”
Under the legislation, public banks will be required to partner with local credit unions and community banks to provide low-interest loans to local small businesses and nonprofits.
“The move away from large corporate banks towards a public banking model provides incredible opportunity for local governments and their residents,” said San Francisco Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, who chairs the Board’s Budget and Finance Committee. “We should maximize our tax dollars by investing in priorities that reflect our values, like affordable housing and neighborhood-based small businesses. Public banking is an idea whose time has come.”
The bill is backed by the California Public Banking Alliance (CPBA), a statewide advocacy organization of financial experts, community organizers and concerned citizens.
“From Oakland to San Francisco, the Bay Area is sending a unified message to Sacramento that we support the Public Banking Act, Assembly Bill 857,” said Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan. “This bill brings us one step closer to making this a reality, and creating a banking institution that is centered around the public good and reinvestment into our most vulnerable communities.”
The cities of Richmond, San Diego and Santa Rosa are expected to pass similar resolutions this month.