I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6775 

To provide for the Federal charter of certain public banks, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Ms. TLAIB (for herself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Ways and 

Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the Federal charter of certain public banks, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Public Banking Act of 2023’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—FEDERAL RECOGNITION OF PUBLIC BANKS 

Sec. 101. Federal charter of public lending banks and public payment banks. 

Sec. 102. Federal recognition of non-federally chartered banks. 

Sec. 103. Federal Reserve System membership. 

Sec. 104. Public member bank services. 

Sec. 105. Specific requirements relating to covered banks. 

Sec. 106. Regulations. 

Sec. 107. Technical assistance. 

TITLE II—FEDERAL RECOGNITION OF PUBLIC SECURITIES 

Sec. 201. Regulation of public lending banks and non-federally chartered banks. 

TITLE III—PUBLIC DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

Sec. 301. In general. 

TITLE IV—POSTAL BANKING 

Sec. 401. Partnerships with covered banks for postal banking services. 

TITLE V—PUBLIC BANK DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 

Sec. 501. Public bank grant program. 

Sec. 502. Public bank incubator program. 

Sec. 503. Community development grant program. 

Sec. 504. Treatment of funding. 

TITLE VI—COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 

Sec. 601. State and local instrumentalities eligible to be community development financial institutions. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) BOARD OF GOVERNORS.—The term ‘‘Board 

4 of Governors’’ means the Board of Governors of the 

5 Federal Reserve System. 

6 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

7 means the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

8 (3) COPYLEFT LICENSE.—The term ‘‘copyleft 

9 license’’ means any copyright license with respect to 

10 technology that grants the licensee the authority 

11 to— 


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1 (A) use the technology for any purpose; 

2 (B) study how the technology works, and 

3 change the technology as desired; 

4 (C) access any source code related to the 

5 technology; and 

6 (D) redistribute copies of the technology, 

7 including modified or extended copies, to others, 

8 for any purpose, if the authorities described 

9 under this paragraph are also granted to all 

10 modified, extended, or redistributed copies. 

11 (4) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’ 

12 means the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

13 (5) COVERED BANK.—The term ‘‘covered bank’’ 

14 means— 

15 (A) a public lending bank (as defined in 

16 section 101(b)); 

17 (B) a public payment bank (as defined in 

18 section 101(c)); and 

19 (C) a non-federally chartered bank (as de20 fined in section 102(b)) that obtains a certifi21 cate of Federal recognition under section 102. 

22 (6) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

23 With respect to a public lending bank, the term ‘‘en24 vironmental justice community’’ means— 


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1 (A) a community with significant represen2 tation of communities of color, low-income com3 munities, or Tribal and Indigenous commu4 nities, that experience, or are at risk of experi5 encing, higher or more adverse human health or 

6 environmental effects; or 

7 (B) notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a 

8 definition established by the State in which the 

9 public lending bank is located, if— 

10 (i) the definition was established by 

11 using a process established, by rule, jointly 

12 by the Environmental Protection Agency 

13 and the Council on Environmental Quality; 

14 and 

15 (ii) the State establishes a cor16 responding screening tool to identify which 

17 communities are an environmental justice 

18 community under such definition. 

19 (7) PUBLIC MEMBER BANK.—The term ‘‘public 

20 member bank’’ means a covered bank that is a mem21 ber of the Federal Reserve System. 

22 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

24 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

25 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 


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1 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

2 States. 

3 (10) TRIBAL AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY.— 

4 The term ‘‘Tribal and indigenous community’’ 

5 means a population of people who are members of— 

6 (A) a federally recognized Indian Tribe; 

7 (B) a State-recognized Indian Tribe; 

8 (C) an Alaska Native community or orga9 nization; 

10 (D) a Native Hawaiian community or or11 ganization; or 

12 (E) any other Indigenous community lo13 cated in a State. 

14 (11) TRIBAL COVERED BANK.—The term 

15 ‘‘Tribal covered bank’’ means a covered bank that is 

16 wholly owned and controlled by— 

17 (A) a Tribal government, including a unit 

18 of local Tribal government, or Tribal govern19 ment agency; 

20 (B) a Tribally chartered corporation; 

21 (C) a nonprofit instrumentality designated 

22 by a Tribal government as acting in the public 

23 interest of a community within such Tribe, in24 cluding an unincorporated community; or 


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1 (D) an association of 1 or more entities de2 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

3 TITLE I—FEDERAL RECOGNI4 TION OF PUBLIC BANKS 

5 SEC. 101. FEDERAL CHARTER OF PUBLIC LENDING BANKS 

6 AND PUBLIC PAYMENT BANKS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors shall 

8 charter public lending banks and public payment banks. 

9 (b) PUBLIC LENDING BANK DEFINED.—In this Act, 

10 the term ‘‘public lending bank’’ means a person that— 

11 (1) is wholly owned and controlled by— 

12 (A) a State or Tribal government, includ13 ing a unit of local government, or government 

14 agency; 

15 (B) a State or Tribally chartered corpora16 tion; 

17 (C) a nonprofit instrumentality designated 

18 by a State or Tribal government as acting in 

19 the public interest of a community within such 

20 State or Tribe, including an unincorporated 

21 community; or 

22 (D) an association of 1 or more entities de23 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C); 

24 (2) that— 


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1 (A) is not owned or governed by, operated 

2 as a subsidiary of, or otherwise affiliated with 

3 any for-profit entity; 

4 (B) does not own, govern, or operate a 

5 subsidiary that is any for-profit entity; and 

6 (C) does not compensate any employee, ex7 ecutive, or board member at a rate to exceed 

8 the salary of the President of the United States 

9 for that equivalent period; and 

10 (3) provides— 

11 (A) fiscal agent services; 

12 (B) money transmitter services; 

13 (C) digital dollar services as a pass14 through intermediary for the Federal Govern15 ment; 

16 (D) depository services; 

17 (E) banking services in partnership with 

18 the United States Postal Service; 

19 (F) municipal deposit services; 

20 (G) securities-related services; or 

21 (H) any lending product approved by the 

22 Board of Governors, including participation 

23 loans and letters of credit. 

24 (c) PUBLIC PAYMENT BANK DEFINED.—In this Act, 

25 the term ‘‘public payment bank’’ means a person that— 


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1 (1) is wholly owned and controlled by an entity 

2 described in subsection (b)(1); 

3 (2) provides at least one of the services speci4 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of subsection 

5 (b)(3); and 

6 (3) does not provide the services specified in 

7 subparagraph (G) or (H) of subsection (b)(3). 

8 (d) EXCEPTION OF CERTAIN PUBLIC LENDING

9 BANKS FROM CONSIDERATION AS BANK HOLDING COM10 PANY.—A person or entity described in subsection (b)(1) 

11 shall not be considered a bank holding company under the 

12 Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et 

13 seq.) or any other law, solely due to the person or entity’s 

14 ownership or control of a public lending bank, public pay15 ment bank, or non-federally chartered bank. 

16 SEC. 102. FEDERAL RECOGNITION OF NON-FEDERALLY 

17 CHARTERED BANKS. 

18 (a) CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION.—The Board of 

19 Governors shall issue certificates of Federal recognition to 

20 non-federally chartered banks. 

21 (b) NON-FEDERALLY CHARTERED BANK DE22 FINED.—In this Act, the term ‘‘non-federally chartered 

23 bank’’ means a person that is— 

24 (1) wholly owned and controlled by an entity 

25 described in section 101(b)(1); and 


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1 (2) either— 

2 (A) chartered as a non-depository institu3 tion by an approved non-Federal financial regu4 lator described in subsection (c); or 

5 (B) insured as a depository institution by 

6 the Corporation, by an approved non-Federal fi7 nancial regulator described in subsection (c), or 

8 under an alternate public deposit insurance 

9 scheme approved by the Corporation. 

10 (c) LIST OF APPROVED NON-FEDERAL FINANCIAL

11 REGULATORS.—The Board of Governors shall establish 

12 and maintain on a public website of the Board of Gov13 ernors a list of approved non-Federal financial regulators 

14 for the purpose of determining eligibility for a certificate 

15 of Federal recognition under this section. 

16 (d) CONVERSION.—At the request of a non-federally 

17 chartered bank, the Board of Governors may convert such 

18 bank into a public payment bank or a public lending bank. 

19 (e) SERVICES.—A non-federally chartered bank— 

20 (1) may not offer depository services before— 

21 (A) obtaining— 

22 (i) deposit insurance or conditional 

23 deposit insurance from the Corporation; or 


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1 (ii) deposit insurance from alternate 

2 public deposit insurance scheme approved 

3 by the Corporation; and 

4 (B) becoming a public member bank or a 

5 conditional public member in accordance with 

6 section 103(b); and 

7 (2) may— 

8 (A) invest any funds held on behalf of an 

9 entity described in section 101(b)(1) in a fiscal 

10 agent account; 

11 (B) provide fiscal agent services, including 

12 sending and receiving money and effectuating 

13 payments to and from any entity whose funds 

14 are invested in a fiscal agent account; 

15 (C) invest any funds held on behalf of an 

16 entity not described in section 101(b)(1) in a 

17 payments account or as digital dollar products; 

18 and 

19 (D) provide money transmitter and digital 

20 dollar services. 

21 SEC. 103. FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM MEMBERSHIP. 

22 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—A covered bank shall be eligible 

23 for membership in the Federal reserve system as a public 

24 member bank and, except as provided in subsection (c), 

25 shall be treated in the same manner as a member bank 


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1 under section 4 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 

2 308). 

3 (b) CONDITIONAL PUBLIC MEMBER BANK.—The 

4 Board of Governors shall establish a special category of 

5 public member bank, called a ‘‘conditional public member 

6 bank’’, for persons that are in the process of applying for 

7 becoming a covered bank. Such conditional public member 

8 banks shall be subject to such conditions and restrictions 

9 as the Board of Governors determines to be necessary and 

10 appropriate to promote public welfare, provided that such 

11 conditions and restrictions are not arbitrary, punitive, or 

12 unduly burdensome. 

13 (c) PURCHASING STOCK.—The Board of Governors 

14 may not require a covered bank to purchase stock in a 

15 Federal reserve bank or otherwise maintain paid-in capital 

16 in the Federal reserve system. 

17 SEC. 104. PUBLIC MEMBER BANK SERVICES. 

18 (a) PURPOSES OF SERVICES.—The Board of Gov19 ernors shall offer the services described in subsection (b) 

20 to public member banks in order to— 

21 (1) promote the safety, soundness, viability, and 

22 resiliency of publicly owned and operated financial 

23 institutions; 

24 (2) facilitate the provision of payments, credit, 

25 and other financial services as a public good; and 


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1 (3) support the financial and budgetary health 

2 of State and Tribal governments, local government 

3 units, government agencies, State or tribally char4 tered corporations, nonprofit entities designated by a 

5 State or Tribal government to be acting in the pub6 lic interest of a community within such State or 

7 Tribe, or an association of one or more of such enti8 ties. 

9 (b) SERVICES.—The Board of Governors shall offer 

10 the following services to public member banks: 

11 (1) Fiscal agent accounts— 

12 (A) in which public member banks may in13 vest funds held on behalf of any entity de14 scribed in section 101(b)(1); and 

15 (B) under which— 

16 (i) the Board of Governors shall pay 

17 interest on all balances held overnight in 

18 such fiscal agent accounts at a rate that is 

19 greater than or equal to the greater of— 

20 (I) the sum of the overnight pol21 icy target rate plus two percent; or 

22 (II) the daily rate on 30-year 

23 marketable Treasury bonds; and 

24 (ii) the interest described in clause (i) 

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1 posed by the public member bank) shall be 

2 paid to the entity for which the public 

3 member bank invested such funds. 

4 (2) Payment accounts— 

5 (A) in which public member banks may in6 vest funds held on behalf of any entity other 

7 than an entity described in section 101(b)(1) 

8 for purposes of providing money transmitter 

9 services; and 

10 (B) under which the Board of Governors 

11 shall pay interest (minus a reasonable adminis12 trative fee) on all balances held overnight in 

13 such fiscal agent accounts at a rate that is 

14 greater than or equal to the greater of— 

15 (i) the overnight rate paid on required 

16 reserves; or 

17 (ii) the overnight rate paid on excess 

18 reserves. 

19 (3)(A) Digital dollar services in which public 

20 member banks may operate as pass-through inter21 mediaries for any digital dollar or other financial 

22 services offered by the Federal Government, includ23 ing— 


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1 (i) digital dollar account wallets adminis2 tered by the Board of Governors (commonly 

3 known as ‘‘FedAccounts’’); 

4 (ii) digital dollar cash wallets administered 

5 by the Secretary (commonly known as 

6 ‘‘eCash’’); and 

7 (iii) postal banking services provided by 

8 the United States Postal Service. 

9 (B) The Board of Governors may issue regula10 tions as necessary to ensure effective harmonization 

11 and coordination between covered banks and any en12 tities responsible for administering digital dollar 

13 services on behalf of the Federal Government. 

14 (4)(A) A facility (to be known as the ‘‘Public 

15 Bank Primary Liquidity Facility’’) to provide liquid16 ity to public member banks by buying or lending (at 

17 a reasonable rate of interest that is not greater than 

18 the overnight policy target rate) against federally 

19 recognized public loans (as described in section 105) 

20 and federally-recognized public securities (as de21 scribed in section 201(b)), under terms and condi22 tions that the Board of Governors determines to be 

23 necessary and appropriate to promote public welfare. 


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1 (B) The facility under subparagraph (A) shall 

2 purchase or accept loans or securities under such 

3 subparagraph at face value. 

4 (5)(A) A facility (to be known as the ‘‘Public 

5 Bank Supplementary Liquidity Facility’’) to provide 

6 liquidity to public member banks by buying or lend7 ing (at a reasonable rate of interest that is not 

8 greater than the overnight policy target rate) 

9 against assets not otherwise eligible to be purchased 

10 or accepted as collateral under paragraph (4). 

11 (B) The facility under subparagraph (A) may 

12 purchase or accept assets as collateral under such 

13 subparagraph at a reasonable discount. 

14 (6) A facility (to be known as the ‘‘Public Bank 

15 Credit Facility’’) to provide credit to public member 

16 banks on an unsecured basis, in such amounts and 

17 such rates of interests as the Board of Governors 

18 determines to be necessary and appropriate to pro19 mote public welfare. 

20 (7) A facility (to be known as the ‘‘Federally 

21 Recognized Public Loan Facility’’) to, in consulta22 tion with the Corporation— 

23 (A) develop rules, standards, and criteria 

24 for Federal recognition of loans, mortgages, 

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1 rect lending products issued by public member 

2 banks; and 

3 (B) provide prepurchase agreements under 

4 which the facility will purchase loans and agree 

5 that such loans will be repurchased by the pub6 lic member bank at such time as is agreed upon 

7 by such facility and member bank. 

8 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE, OPERATING, AND MAINTE9 NANCE COSTS.—The Board of Governors shall pay all ad10 ministrative, operating, and maintenance costs associated 

11 with the accounts, services, and facilities described in sub12 section (b). 

13 (d) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Board of Governors 

14 shall reimburse a public member bank for any expenses 

15 reasonably incurred in the process of operating as a pass16 through intermediary described in subsection (b)(3). 

17 (e) EXPENSES.— 

18 (1) MEMBER SERVICES.—Any expenses in19 curred by the Board of Governors under paragraphs 

20 (1) through (3) of subsection (b) and under sub21 sections (c) and (d) shall be recorded— 

22 (A) in an account to be known as the 

23 ‘‘Special Public Member Bank Services Ac24 count’’ established at the Federal Reserve Bank 

25 of New York; and 


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1 (B) as a deferred asset (as described in 

2 section 11.96 of the Financial Accounting Man3 ual for Federal Reserve Banks, as in effect on 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act) and 

5 maintained separately from the balance sheet of 

6 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the 

7 Federal Reserve System, so as to not reduce or 

8 impact the calculation of total income or rev9 enue generated by the Federal Reserve System, 

10 or otherwise reduce the total amount of net op11 erating profits to be made available for remit12 tance to the Treasury on an ongoing basis. 

13 (2) FACILITIES.—Any expenses incurred by the 

14 Board of Governors under paragraphs (4) through 

15 (7) of subsection (b) shall be recorded— 

16 (A) in an account to be known as the 

17 ‘‘Special Public Member Bank Liquidity and 

18 Credit Account’’ established at the Federal Re19 serve Bank of New York; and 

20 (B) as a deferred asset (as described in 

21 section 11.96 of the Financial Accounting Man22 ual for Federal Reserve Banks, as in effect on 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act) and 

24 maintained separately from the balance sheet of 

25 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the 


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1 Federal Reserve System, so as to not reduce or 

2 impact the calculation of total income or rev3 enue generated by the Federal Reserve System, 

4 or otherwise reduce the total amount of net op5 erating profits to be made available for remit6 tance to the Treasury on an ongoing basis. 

7 SEC. 105. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO COV8 ERED BANKS. 

9 (a) PUBLIC PURPOSE BANK REQUIREMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered bank shall serve 

11 the public good and promote the general welfare. 

12 (2) DEFINITION IN GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.— 

13 A covered bank shall define the terms ‘‘public good’’ 

14 and ‘‘promote the general welfare’’ in the governing 

15 documents of the covered bank, after such defini16 tions are approved by either— 

17 (A) the Governing Assembly of the covered 

18 bank; or 

19 (B) if the covered bank does not have a 

20 Governing Assembly, the Board of Directors. 

21 (b) DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE.— 

22 (1) GOVERNANCE POLICY.—Before the end of 

23 the 2-year period beginning on the formation of a 

24 covered bank, the Board of Directors of the covered 

25 bank or the Governing Assembly of the covered bank 


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1 shall establish a formal governance policy for the 

2 covered bank. 

3 (2) INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A DEMOCRATIC

4 GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE.—A covered bank shall 

5 institutionalize a democratic governance structure 

6 through the following: 

7 (A) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The estab8 lishment of a Board of Directors— 

9 (i) charged with ensuring that fidu10 ciary duties of the covered bank are met; 

11 (ii) charged with ensuring the covered 

12 bank complies with policies and procedures 

13 required by statute, regulation, and prin14 ciples of safety and soundness; 

15 (iii) with no less than 5 members, of 

16 which— 

17 (I) at least one-third of the mem18 bers shall represent community-based, 

19 nonprofit organizations based pri20 marily within the geographic area of 

21 (or, with respect to a corporation or 

22 nonprofit instrumentality, the geo23 graphic area served by) the relevant 

24 entity described in section 101(b)(1); 


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1 (II) at least one member shall 

2 have demonstrated experience with, 

3 and endorsement from, organizations 

4 representing historically excluded and 

5 marginalized groups based primarily 

6 within the geographic area of (or, 

7 with respect to a corporation or non8 profit instrumentality, the geographic 

9 area served by) the relevant entity de10 scribed in section 101(b)(1); 

11 (III) at least one member shall 

12 have demonstrated experience with, 

13 and endorsement from, environmental 

14 justice or environmental organizations 

15 based primarily within the geographic 

16 area of (or, with respect to a corpora17 tion or nonprofit instrumentality, the 

18 geographic area served by) the rel19 evant entity described in section 

20 101(b)(1); 

21 (IV) at least one member shall 

22 have demonstrated experience with, 

23 and endorsement from, community de24 velopment organizations based pri25 marily within the geographic area of 


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1 (or, with respect to a corporation or 

2 nonprofit instrumentality, the geo3 graphic area served by) the relevant 

4 entity described in section 101(b)(1); 

5 (V) at least one member shall 

6 have demonstrated experience with, 

7 and endorsement from, labor organi8 zations based primarily within the ge9 ographic area of (or, with respect to a 

10 corporation or nonprofit instrumen11 tality, the geographic area served by) 

12 the relevant entity described in section 

13 101(b)(1); and 

14 (VI) with respect to a Tribal cov15 ered bank, include a number of rep16 resentatives of Indigenous commu17 nities on the board roughly propor18 tionate to the percentage of the popu19 lation of the geographic area of the 

20 relevant entity described in section 

21 101(b)(1) who are Indigenous; 

22 (iv) with respect to a covered bank 

23 with a Governing Assembly and a People’s 

24 Review Board, that is— 


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1 (I) responsible for the basic oper2 ations of the covered bank, includ3 ing— 

4 (aa) hiring and firing senior 

5 management; 

6 (bb) monitoring and assess7 ing the covered bank’s perform8 ance, operations, and investment 

9 decisions; 

10 (cc) producing internal an11 nual reports; and 

12 (dd) interfacing with the 

13 People’s Review Board in the 

14 issuance of public-facing reports; 

15 and 

16 (II) responsible for ensuring that 

17 the mandates set by the Governing 

18 Assembly are successfully imple19 mented; and 

20 (v) with respect to a covered bank 

21 without a Governing Assembly and Peo22 ple’s Review Board, responsible for the 

23 basic operations of the covered bank, in24 cluding— 


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1 (I) those responsibilities de2 scribed under item (aa) through (cc) 

3 of clause (iv)(I); 

4 (II) setting the core mandates 

5 and policies which guide the covered 

6 bank’s activities; and 

7 (III) issuing public-facing re8 ports. 

9 (B) REQUIREMENT FOR LARGER PUBLIC

10 LENDING BANKS.—With respect to a public 

11 lending bank with more than $500,000,000 in 

12 total assets— 

13 (i) the establishment of a Governing 

14 Assembly, which— 

15 (I) shall— 

16 (aa) be responsible for set17 ting the broad priorities of the 

18 public lending bank’s financing 

19 and loan programs over a multi20 year investment cycle; 

21 (bb) generate the public 

22 lending bank’s core mandates; 

23 (cc) make binding decisions 

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1 trol over day-to-day decision 

2 making; 

3 (dd) be composed of mem4 bers in a manner that ensures 

5 adequate representation of, or 

6 democratic accountability to, resi7 dents within the geographic area 

8 of (or, with respect to a corpora9 tion or nonprofit instrumentality, 

10 the geographic area served by) 

11 the relevant entity described in 

12 section 101(b)(1); and 

13 (ee) with respect to a Tribal 

14 covered bank, include a number 

15 of representatives of Indigenous 

16 communities on the Governing 

17 Assembly roughly proportionate 

18 to the percentage of the popu19 lation of the geographic area of 

20 the relevant entity described in 

21 section 101(b)(1) who are Indige22 nous; and 

23 (II) may only have members se24 lected by sortition if— 


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1 (aa) a super-majority of the 

2 members are selected by a strati3 fied sampling of residents based 

4 primarily within the geographic 

5 area of (or, with respect to a cor6 poration or nonprofit instrumen7 tality, the geographic area served 

8 by) the relevant entity described 

9 in section 101(b)(1); 

10 (bb) the Governing Assem11 bly is professionally facilitated, 

12 deliberative in nature, and draw 

13 upon outside experts representing 

14 a range of divergent interests 

15 and viewpoints; 

16 (cc) the members selected 

17 through sortition are required to 

18 receive a comprehensive orienta19 tion and intensive training on 

20 banking regulation and finance 

21 prior to participating in decision 

22 making, and required to receive 

23 continuing educational program24 ming throughout their term; and 


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1 (dd) no member serves for 

2 longer than 6 months, absent ex3 tenuating circumstances; and 

4 (ii) the establishment of a People’s 

5 Review Board— 

6 (I) which shall act in an advisory 

7 and oversight capacity for the public 

8 lending bank, including— 

9 (aa) monitoring and assess10 ing the public lending bank’s per11 formance, operations, and invest12 ment decisions to ensure they are 

13 consistent with the core man14 dates and policies established by 

15 the Governing Assembly; 

16 (bb) assessing the priorities 

17 and mandates of the public lend18 ing bank; 

19 (cc) ensuring the viewpoints 

20 of affected groups are rep21 resented in the policy of the pub22 lic lending bank; and 

23 (dd) providing information 

24 and recommendations to the Gov25 erning Assembly and Board of 


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1 Directors of the public lending 

2 bank; 

3 (II) which shall have access to all 

4 public lending bank information perti5 nent to the operations and perform6 ance of the People’s Review Board; 

7 (III) the meetings of which shall 

8 be open to public observation; 

9 (IV) which shall issue an annual 

10 report of the findings and rec11 ommendations of the People’s Review 

12 Board, and make such report publicly 

13 available online; 

14 (V) the structure of which shall 

15 ensure adequate representation of, or 

16 democratic accountability to, residents 

17 within the geographic area of (or, 

18 with respect to a corporation or non19 profit instrumentality, the geographic 

20 area served by) the relevant entity de21 scribed in section 101(b)(1); 

22 (VI) the membership of which 

23 shall prioritize community members 

24 representing historically redlined and 

25 marginalized communities; and 


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1 (VII) which may only have mem2 bers selected by sortition if— 

3 (aa) a super-majority of the 

4 members are selected by a strati5 fied sampling of residents based 

6 primarily within the geographic 

7 area of (or, with respect to a cor8 poration or nonprofit instrumen9 tality, the geographic area served 

10 by) the relevant entity described 

11 in section 101(b)(1); 

12 (bb) the People’s Review 

13 Board is professionally facili14 tated, deliberative in nature, and 

15 draw upon outside experts rep16 resenting a range of divergent in17 terests and viewpoints; and 

18 (cc) the members selected 

19 through sortition are required to 

20 receive a comprehensive orienta21 tion and intensive training on 

22 banking regulation and finance 

23 prior to participating in decision 

24 making, and required to receive 


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1 continuing educational program2 ming throughout their term. 

3 (c) TRIBAL COVERED BANK LENDING PRIORITIES.— 

4 A Tribal covered bank shall prioritize loans to Indigenous 

5 communities. 

6 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY.—Before the end of the 

7 2-year period beginning on the formation of a covered 

8 bank, the Board of Directors of the covered bank or the 

9 Governing Assembly of the covered bank shall establish 

10 a formal environmental or environmental justice policy for 

11 the covered bank. 

12 (e) USE AND DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INFORMA13 TION AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

14 (1) GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT.—Title V of 

15 the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6801 et 

16 seq.) shall apply to a covered bank to the same ex17 tent such title applies to a financial institution. 

18 (2) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—A covered bank 

19 shall— 

20 (A) wherever feasible, prefer, use, and pro21 mote open source technologies; 

22 (B) wherever possible, license under a 

23 copyleft license any software, hardware, or 

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1 nanced, or otherwise owned by the covered 

2 bank; 

3 (C) wherever possible, make any software 

4 acquired or developed by the covered bank 

5 available to other covered banks to study, copy, 

6 and use, at zero cost, upon request; and 

7 (D) generally take all reasonable efforts to 

8 encourage and promote technology sharing and 

9 the development of technological best practices 

10 and common standards. 

11 (3) EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY.—A covered 

12 bank shall— 

13 (A) maintain an individual or entity’s le14 gitimate expectation of privacy if that individual 

15 or entity is a customer of the covered bank; and 

16 (B) not be presumed to have given up such 

17 a legitimate expectation of privacy on the basis 

18 of the third-party doctrine articulated by the 

19 Supreme Court in United States v. Miller 

20 (1976). 

21 (4) DATA PRIVACY.—Data obtained by a cov22 ered bank— 

23 (A) may not be sold to third parties, ex24 cept consumer reporting agencies; 


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1 (B) that is shared with a third party by 

2 the covered bank, shall maintain an assumed 

3 right of privacy; 

4 (C) with respect to lending data, may only 

5 be shared with— 

6 (i) Federal, State, or Tribal agencies; 

7 or 

8 (ii) a third party that is a consumer 

9 reporting agency under the Fair Credit Re10 porting Act and is in compliance with such 

11 Act; and 

12 (D) with respect to account data, may only 

13 be accessed by appropriate warrant or adminis14 trative search subpoena. 

15 (5) METADATA.—A covered bank— 

16 (A) may not share metadata with private 

17 or for-profit third parties; and 

18 (B) shall hold metadata unused in a man19 ner consistent with rights of privacy and duty 

20 of care. 

21 (f) TERMS OF LENDING.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY ON LENDING

23 PRACTICES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the end 

25 of the 1-year period beginning on the date of 


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1 the formation of a public lending bank, the pub2 lic lending bank shall establish a policy on lend3 ing practices. With respect to a public lending 

4 bank in existence on the date of enactment of 

5 this Act, the policy on lending practices shall be 

6 established before the end of the 1-year period 

7 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (B) UPDATE OF POLICY.—A public lending 

9 bank shall update the policy on lending prac10 tices required under subparagraph (A) at least 

11 every 5 years. 

12 (C) PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS.—A public 

13 lending bank shall provide for a public comment 

14 period of at least 90 days before the establish15 ment of, and any update of, the policy on lend16 ing practices required under this paragraph. 

17 (2) LENDING PREFERENCES.—For purposes of 

18 determining the projects with respect to which a 

19 public lending bank extends loans, the public lending 

20 bank shall give preference to projects that— 

21 (A) maximize the creation of high-quality 

22 employment and apprenticeship opportunities 

23 for local workers, consistent with the public in24 terest, especially workers from environmental 

25 justice communities and labor organizations; 


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1 (B) certify, for all contractors and sub2 contractors, that the rights of workers to orga3 nize and unionize are recognized; 

4 (C) agree to implement a project labor 

5 agreement; 

6 (D) ensure that no less than 40 percent of 

7 the monetary value of such loans provide direct 

8 benefits, including economic and health bene9 fits, to environmental justice communities; and 

10 (E) meet unmet needs in the local banking 

11 market. 

12 (3) REQUIREMENTS ON WHO MAY RECEIVE

13 LOANS.—The public lending bank shall require, for 

14 any project for which the public lending bank ex15 tends a loan, that— 

16 (A) the recipient does not oppose or resist 

17 unionization efforts involving projects utilizing 

18 public funds; 

19 (B) if the loan is $500,000 or more, as a 

20 condition of receiving the loan, the recipient 

21 shall ensure that all laborers employed by a 

22 nongovernmental entity that enters into a con23 tract for the performance of construction, alter24 ation, or repair work that is facilitated, in 

25 whole or in part, by such loan, or a subcontract 


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1 thereof, are paid wages at rates not less than 

2 those prevailing on similar construction, alter3 ation, or repair work in the locality as deter4 mined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance 

5 with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 

6 United States Code (commonly referred to as 

7 the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’) and with respect to 

8 such labor standards, the Secretary of Labor 

9 shall have the authority and functions set forth 

10 in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 

11 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 

12 3145 of title 40, United States Code; 

13 (C) if the project with respect to which the 

14 loan is being extended has a budget of 

15 $35,000,000 or more, all contractors and sub16 contractors shall implement a project labor 

17 agreement that includes— 

18 (i) goals for hiring local community 

19 members, economically disadvantaged 

20 workers, or workers from other underrep21 resented communities; 

22 (ii) an equity plan, including— 

23 (I) the impacts of the proposed 

24 project on underserved communities, 


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1 including social and environmental im2 pacts; 

3 (II) the overall benefits of the 

4 proposed project, if funded, to under5 served communities; and 

6 (III) how diversity, equity, and 

7 inclusion objectives will be incor8 porated into the project; and 

9 (iii) strategic recruitment and reten10 tion policies for workers from underserved 

11 communities and people facing systemic 

12 barriers to employment; and 

13 (D) if the project is for the acquisition, 

14 construction, or renovation of, or addition to, a 

15 residential building which includes rental units, 

16 the recipient— 

17 (i) may not discriminate when renting 

18 the units based on an applicant’s source of 

19 income, sexual orientation, gender expres20 sion or identity, immigration status, con21 viction or arrest history, bankruptcy his22 tory, eviction history, or credit score; 

23 (ii) shall ensure the right of tenants 

24 to organize tenant unions, associations, or 

25 resident councils; 


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1 (iii) shall utilize minimum time-bound 

2 affordability requirements of at least 99 

3 years for affordable housing; 

4 (iv) except with respect to a building 

5 assisted under section 9 of the United 

6 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

7 1437g) or a building that has been issued 

8 a certificate of occupancy within the pre9 vious 5 years, may not increase rent on an 

10 annual basis in excess of the annual per11 cent change in the Consumer Price Index 

12 for All Urban Consumers published by the 

13 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart14 ment of Labor for the closest metropolitan 

15 core based statistical area, rounded to one 

16 decimal place, as established the August 

17 preceding the calendar year in question or 

18 3 percent, whatever is less; and 

19 (v) shall practice avoidance and miti20 gation of displacement, including by estab21 lishing a right of return and temporary re22 location for tenants displaced by renova23 tions. 

24 (4) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN LAWS.—The fol25 lowing Acts shall apply to a public lending bank to 


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1 the same extent as such Acts apply to applicable 

2 persons subject to such Acts: 

3 (A) The Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 1601 et seq.). 

5 (B) The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

6 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.). 

7 (C) The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.). 

9 (D) The Fair Debt Collection Practices 

10 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.). 

11 (g) TERMS OF RETAIL ACCOUNT SERVICES.—Any 

12 covered bank that holds, administers, or manages funds 

13 on behalf of any unincorporated person in a payments ac14 count, or otherwise accepts funds on deposit or for the 

15 purpose of providing public depository accounts services— 

16 (1) may not— 

17 (A) impose any fees, minimum balances, or 

18 maximum balances on such payments accounts 

19 or public depository accounts; or 

20 (B) include on such payments accounts or 

21 public depository accounts overdraft fees or 

22 penalties; 

23 (2) shall— 

24 (A) prominently brand any such payments 

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1 lic bank account’’ in all account statements, 

2 marketing materials, and other communications 

3 of the public bank; and 

4 (B) provide such account holders with rea5 sonable protection against losses caused by 

6 fraud or security breaches, as determined by 

7 the Corporation or the Director of the Bureau 

8 of Consumer Financial Protection, or both; and 

9 (3) may only close or restrict access to such 

10 payments accounts or public depository accounts on 

11 the basis of the mandate of the covered bank. 

12 (h) TERMS OF RETAIL CREDIT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provi14 sion of law, the annual percentage rate applicable to 

15 any extension of credit by a covered bank may not 

16 exceed the lesser of— 

17 (A) 15 percent on unpaid balances, inclu18 sive of all finance charges; or 

19 (B) the maximum rate permitted by the 

20 laws of the State in which the consumer resides. 

21 (2) OTHER FEES.—Any fees that are not con22 sidered finance charges under paragraph (1), includ23 ing fees for ancillary products and services, may 

24 not— 


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1 (A) exceed the total amount of finance 

2 charges assessed; and 

3 (B) be imposed in such a way as to evade 

4 or frustrate the purpose of limiting the total in5 terest and related costs that may be charged in 

6 relation to any lending product issued by cov7 ered banks under this Act. 

8 (3) PENALTIES FOR CHARGING HIGHER RATES

9 ON RETAIL CREDIT.— 

10 (A) VIOLATION.—The taking, receiving, re11 serving, or charging of an annual percentage 

12 rate or fee greater than that permitted by para13 graph (1), when knowingly done, shall be a vio14 lation of this subsection, and a forfeiture of the 

15 entire interest which the note, bill, or other evi16 dence of the obligation carries with it, or which 

17 has been agreed to be paid thereon. 

18 (B) REFUND OF INTEREST AMOUNTS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a 

20 person charging interest, a finance charge, 

21 or a fee greater than that permitted by 

22 paragraph (1), the person paying such in23 terest, finance charge, or fee may notify 

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1 cial Protection shall take such enforcement 

2 actions as the Director of the Bureau of 

3 Consumer Financial Protection determines 

4 appropriate. 

5 (ii) LACK OF BUREAU ACTION.—If a 

6 person notifies the Bureau of Consumer 

7 Financial Protection under clause (i), and 

8 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec9 tion takes no action with respect to such 

10 notice during the 60-day period following 

11 such notice, such person may bring an ac12 tion in a Federal district court to recover 

13 the entire amount of interest, finance 

14 charges, or fees paid. 

15 (C) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Any creditor who 

16 violates this subsection shall be subject to the 

17 provisions of section 130(a) of the Truth in 

18 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1640(a)). 

19 (D) BANK SECRECY ACT.—In establishing 

20 and maintaining personal accounts, each cov21 ered bank shall comply with— 

22 (i) section 21 of the Federal Deposit 

23 Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b); 

24 (ii) section 123 of Public Law 91– 

25 508; and 


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1 (iii) subchapter II of chapter 53 of 

2 title 31, United States Code. 

3 (i) ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each 

4 covered bank shall make publicly available an annual re5 port on the activities of such covered bank, including re6 cipients of financial services, sources of funding, financial 

7 reporting, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the cov8 ered bank’s services in achieving the public purposes for 

9 which it was chartered, as well as any other purposes, 

10 goals, and targets under this Act or other law or regula11 tion, including the percentage of the monetary value of 

12 a public lending bank’s loans which provide direct benefits 

13 to environmental justice communities. 

14 (j) OTHER EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—A covered bank 

15 may not provide loans to, make investments in, or other16 wise engage in any activity that is financial in nature, or 

17 incidental to such financial activity, with— 

18 (1) a company supporting— 

19 (A) weapon or gun manufacturing; 

20 (B) private prisons; 

21 (C) immigration detention facilities; or 

22 (D) the tobacco industry; or 

23 (2) a company that has— 


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1 (A) a C.E.O. to median worker pay ratio 

2 in excess of 100:1, as determined by the Na3 tional Labor Relations Board; 

4 (B) a history of unfair labor practices, as 

5 determined by the Secretary of Labor; 

6 (C) a history of violations of the Fair 

7 Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Occupa8 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970, as deter9 mined by the Secretary of Labor; or 

10 (D) a history of offshore tax avoidance, as 

11 determined by the Commissioner of the Internal 

12 Revenue Service. 

13 (k) CLARIFYING THE ELIGIBILITY OF PUBLIC LEND14 ING BANKS AND PUBLIC PAYMENT BANKS FOR CERTAIN

15 FEDERAL PROGRAMS.— 

16 (1) ELECTIVE PAYMENT OF APPLICABLE CRED17 ITS.—Section 6417(d)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue 

18 Code of 1986 is amended— 

19 (A) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

20 end; 

21 (B) in clause (vi), by striking the period at 

22 the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(vii) a public lending bank or a pub25 lic payment bank (as such terms are deVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jan 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6775.IH H6775

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1 fined, respectively, under section 101 of 

2 the Public Banking Act of 2023).’’. 

3 (2) INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATIVE TECH4 NOLOGIES.—Section 1701(7)(B) of the Energy Pol5 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511(7)(B)) is amend6 ed by inserting ‘‘and an entity that is a public lend7 ing bank or a public payment bank (as such terms 

8 are defined, respectively, under section 101 of the 

9 Public Banking Act of 2023)’’ before the period at 

10 the end. 

11 (l) EXCEPTION FOR EXISTING PUBLIC BANKS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (b), (e), (f), (g), 

13 and (h) shall not apply to a covered bank in exist14 ence on the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (2) PUBLIC BANK GRANT PROGRAM PARTICI16 PANTS.—Paragraph (1) shall cease to apply to a 

17 covered bank described under that paragraph after 

18 the end of the 24-month period beginning on the 

19 date the covered bank receives a public bank grant 

20 under section 501. 

21 SEC. 106. REGULATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors, 

24 the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec25 tion, and the Corporation shall jointly— 


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1 (1) establish a separate regulatory scheme with 

2 respect to public lending banks, public payment 

3 banks, and non-federally chartered banks that re4 ceive or are in the process of receiving a certificate 

5 of Federal recognition under section 102; and 

6 (2) after a notice and comment period during 

7 which consumer advocacy organizations shall be in8 vited to submit feedback and suggestions, issue such 

9 regulations as are necessary and appropriate to pro10 mote public welfare with respect to public lending 

11 banks, public payment banks, and non-federally 

12 chartered banks that receive or are in the process of 

13 receiving a certificate of Federal recognition under 

14 section 102. 

15 (b) REGULATIONS WITH RESPECT TO EXCLUDED

16 AND MARGINALIZED GROUPS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of 

19 Governors shall issue regulations for public lending 

20 banks, public payment banks, and non-federally 

21 chartered banks to ensure that the services provided 

22 by such banks are universal and comprehensively in23 clude historically excluded and marginalized groups. 

24 (2) LIMITATIONS.—A regulation issued under 

25 this subsection may not— 


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1 (A) supersede or supplant any other 

2 stronger regulations or standards promulgated 

3 by other Federal or applicable State regulatory 

4 entities, including any such regulation issued by 

5 the Corporation or the Director of the Bureau 

6 of Consumer Financial Protection; and 

7 (B) result in less robust or less stringent 

8 protections to consumers than protections that 

9 exist on the date of the enactment of this Act 

10 for consumers served by other existing cat11 egories of depository institutions, including pro12 tection under the Community Reinvestment Act 

13 of 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). 

14 (3) DATA REPORTING.—The Board of Gov15 ernors and the Corporation shall jointly, in a man16 ner that respects the privacy of covered bank cus17 tomers to the greatest extent possible, develop an 

18 annual assessment for determining if covered banks 

19 have appropriately provided services to all customers 

20 within the jurisdiction of service, based on demo21 graphic information chosen by regulators, including 

22 race, gender, and area median income of such cus23 tomers. 

24 (c) ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS

25 AND PROHIBITIONS ON FOSSIL FUEL INVESTMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors, the 

2 Corporation, and the Commission shall jointly de3 velop and promulgate rules and regulations to— 

4 (A) ensure that any and all activities un5 dertaken and services offered by a covered 

6 bank, or any person seeking or in the process 

7 of becoming a covered bank, are consistent with 

8 Federal and scientifically established standards, 

9 goals, and targets with respect to ecological sus10 tainability, climate crisis-mitigation, and 

11 decarbonization; and 

12 (B) require that any covered bank or per13 son seeking or in the process of becoming a cov14 ered bank, may not facilitate fossil fuel produc15 tion, processing, or infrastructure, including 

16 by— 

17 (i) providing loans to, making invest18 ments in, or otherwise engaging in any ac19 tivity that is financial in nature, or inci20 dental to such financial activity, with a fos21 sil fuel company; 

22 (ii) providing loans to, making invest23 ments in, or otherwise engaging in any ac24 tivity that is financial in nature, or inciVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jan 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6775.IH H6775

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1 dental to such financial activity, for a fossil 

2 fuel project; 

3 (iii) taking compensation to arrange 

4 or facilitate a transaction that provides 

5 funds for fossil fuel production or proc6 essing from existing or new sources; 

7 (iv) securitizing assets that provide 

8 funds for fossil fuel production or proc9 essing from existing or new sources; 

10 (v) entering into a derivatives trans11 action designed to provide funding for, fa12 cilitate, or hedge risks from fossil fuel pro13 duction or processing from existing or new 

14 sources; and 

15 (vi) engaging in any activity that is 

16 complementary to a financial activity in17 volving fossil fuel production or processing 

18 from existing or new sources, including fi19 nancing the international trade thereof; or 

20 any other form of activity defined by regu21 lators or supervisors of the covered bank. 

22 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

23 (A) EXISTING SOURCES.—The term ‘‘exist24 ing sources’’ means— 


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1 (i) reserves of fossil fuels proven, de2 veloped, and producing as of the date of 

3 enactment of this section; or 

4 (ii) fossil infrastructure that would fa5 cilitate the production described in clause 

6 (i). 

7 (B) FOSSIL FUEL.—The term ‘‘fossil fuel’’ 

8 means coal, petroleum, natural gas, or any de9 rivative of coal, petroleum, or natural gas that 

10 is used for fuel. 

11 (C) FOSSIL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

12 ‘‘fossil infrastructure’’ means fossil fuel-related 

13 projects, including wells, rail infrastructure, 

14 pipelines, terminals, refineries, and power 

15 plants. 

16 (D) NEW SOURCES.—The term ‘‘new 

17 sources’’ means— 

18 (i) any production in excess of proven 

19 developed producing reserves of fossil fuels 

20 as of the date of enactment of this section; 

21 or 

22 (ii) new or expanded fossil infrastruc23 ture that would facilitate the production 

24 described in clause (i). 


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1 (E) PROCESSING.—The term ‘‘processing’’ 

2 means the preparation of a chemical substance 

3 or mixture (including any chemical trans4 formations of, or physical separations involving, 

5 such substance or mixture) after its production 

6 or extraction, for distribution in commerce— 

7 (i) in the same form or physical state 

8 as, or in a different form or physical state 

9 from, that in which it was received by the 

10 person so preparing such substance or mix11 ture; or 

12 (ii) as part of an article of commerce 

13 containing the chemical substance or mix14 ture. 

15 (F) PRODUCTION.—The term ‘‘produc16 tion’’ means extractive or production activities 

17 that result in fossil fuels being made available 

18 for refining or use. 

19 (d) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this section may be 

20 construed to preempt any provision of State law that pro21 vides greater protection to consumers, or establishes more 

22 stringent environmental or ecological regulations, than is 

23 provided in this section. 


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1 SEC. 107. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

2 The Board of Governors shall provide technical as3 sistance to public member banks to develop, use, and share 

4 financial and infrastructure technologies, practices, and 

5 operational and business practice data that promote the 

6 public welfare, however such data may not include any 

7 customer data, including transactional and identifying in8 formation. 

9 TITLE II—FEDERAL RECOGNI10 TION OF PUBLIC SECURITIES 

11 SEC. 201. REGULATION OF PUBLIC LENDING BANKS AND 

12 NON-FEDERALLY CHARTERED BANKS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish a 

14 separate registration and regulatory scheme for licensing 

15 and regulating as public investment entities all public 

16 lending banks and non-federally chartered banks that en17 gage or seek to engage in securities-related activities, in18 cluding origination, investment brokering, dealing, and 

19 trading of federally-recognized public securities. 

20 (b) FEDERALLY-RECOGNIZED PUBLIC SECURI21 TIES.—The Board of Governors shall, in consultation with 

22 the Commission, develop rules, standards, and criteria for 

23 Federal recognition of securities issued by public member 

24 banks (to be known as ‘‘federally-recognized public securi25 ties’’) as the Commission determines to be necessary and 

26 appropriate to promote public welfare. 


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1 (c) CONDITIONAL LICENSE.—The Commission shall 

2 establish a special category of public investment entity li3 cense for entities that are in the process of applying for, 

4 but have not yet received, any license to issue federally5 recognized public securities, which shall be subject to such 

6 conditions and restrictions as the Commission determines 

7 to be necessary and appropriate to promote public welfare. 

8 TITLE III—PUBLIC DEPOSIT 

9 INSURANCE 

10 SEC. 301. IN GENERAL. 

11 (a) PUBLIC DEPOSIT INSURANCE.—Within 6 months 

12 of the date of enactment of this Act, the Corporation shall 

13 establish a separate registration and regulatory scheme for 

14 providing deposit insurance (to be known as ‘‘public de15 posit insurance’’) to covered banks and make such deposit 

16 insurance available to covered banks without regard to the 

17 total deposit amount. 

18 (b) ALTERNATIVE PUBLIC DEPOSIT INSURANCE.— 

19 Within 6 months of the date of enactment of this Act, 

20 the Corporation shall establish publicly available criteria 

21 for alternative public deposit insurance schemes estab22 lished and provided by an approved non-Federal financial 

23 regulator, and subsequently approve, within 6 months of 

24 such submission, schemes that meet said criteria. 


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1 (c) CONDITIONAL INSURANCE.—Within 6 months of 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Corporation shall 

3 establish a separate registration and regulatory scheme for 

4 providing deposit insurance (to be known as ‘‘conditional 

5 public deposit insurance’’) for entities that are in the proc6 ess of applying for, but have not yet received, public de7 posit insurance, which shall be subject to such conditions 

8 and restrictions as the Corporation determines to be nec9 essary and appropriate to promote public welfare. 

10 (d) ALTERNATIVE RISK PROFILE.—The Corporation 

11 shall— 

12 (1) establish and utilize an alternative risk pro13 file methodology for covered banks at an advantage, 

14 in comparison to other depository institutions pro15 vided deposit insurance, which accounts for the ben16 efits to the general welfare created by publicly owned 

17 and operated financial institutions; and 

18 (2) within 6 months following the establishment 

19 of the alternative risk profile methodology, the Cor20 poration shall publish a publicly available report on 

21 the alternative risk profile methodology. 


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1 TITLE IV—POSTAL BANKING 

2 SEC. 401. PARTNERSHIPS WITH COVERED BANKS FOR 

3 POSTAL BANKING SERVICES. 

4 (a) PARTNERSHIP WITH USPS.—Notwithstanding 

5 section 404(e)(2) of title 36, United States Code, the 

6 Postmaster General shall, to the maximum extent prac7 ticable, partner with covered banks to make available re8 tail account and payment services provided by covered 

9 banks at post offices, and via any postal banking plat10 forms established by the United States Postal Service. 

11 (b) FUNDING.—The Board of Governors shall provide 

12 such funding to the United States Postal Service as the 

13 Postmaster General determines to be necessary to achieve 

14 carry out subsection (a). 

15 (c) TREATMENT OF EXPENSES.—Any expenses in16 curred by the Board of Governors under this section shall 

17 be recorded— 

18 (1) in an account to be known as the ‘‘Special 

19 Public Member Bank Services Account’’ established 

20 at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and 

21 (2) as a deferred asset (as described in section 

22 11.96 of the Financial Accounting Manual for Fed23 eral Reserve Banks, as in effect on the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act) and maintained separately 

25 from the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve Bank 


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1 of New York and the Federal Reserve System, so as 

2 to not reduce or impact the calculation of total in3 come or revenue generated by the Federal Reserve 

4 System, or otherwise reduce the total amount of net 

5 operating profits to be made available for remittance 

6 to the Treasury on an ongoing basis. 

7 TITLE V—PUBLIC BANK 

8 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 

9 SEC. 501. PUBLIC BANK GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors 

12 shall, jointly with the Secretary, carry out a grant 

13 program to make grants to covered banks, or per14 sons seeking to become or in the process of becom15 ing covered banks, to carry out the activities de16 scribed in subsection (b). 

17 (2) CONSIDERATIONS FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 

18 (A) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS.—When 

19 determining eligibility for grants under this sec20 tion, the Board of Governors and the Secretary 

21 shall consider, among other factors, the extent 

22 to which a grant applicant has established an 

23 appropriate degree of community involvement 

24 and oversight, including dedicated community 

25 representation on the governing board, and eviVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jan 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6775.IH H6775

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•HR 6775 IH

1 dence of support or commitment from commu2 nity representative organizations. 

3 (B) PROHIBITED CONSIDERATION.—When 

4 determining eligibility for grants under this sec5 tion, the Board of Governors and the Secretary 

6 may not consider the budgetary or financial 

7 health of the entity that wholly owns or controls 

8 a covered bank. 

9 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant 

10 under this section may use the grant funds— 

11 (1) to carry out activities related to bank for12 mation, chartering, and regulatory compliance; 

13 (2) for capitalization; 

14 (3) to make payments and develop financial 

15 market infrastructure; 

16 (4) to carry out activities related to information 

17 and communications technology; 

18 (5) to support operations; 

19 (6) to cover unexpected losses; 

20 (7) to run sortition processes; and 

21 (8) to carry out such other activities as the 

22 Board of Governors and the Secretary determine ap23 propriate. 

24 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Board of Governors 

25 and the Secretary may not require that an entity that reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jan 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6775.IH H6775

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1 ceives a grant under this section provide matching funds 

2 with respect to such grant. 

3 SEC. 502. PUBLIC BANK INCUBATOR PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors shall es5 tablish an incubator program to provide technical and 

6 technological assistance to persons seeking to be chartered 

7 by the Board of Governors under section 101 or to obtain 

8 a certificate of Federal recognition under section 102. 

9 (b) APPLICATION.—The Board of Governors, in co10 ordination with the Secretary, the Corporation, and the 

11 Commission, shall establish a single application and review 

12 process for persons seeking to— 

13 (1) be federally chartered under section 101; 

14 (2) obtain a certificate of Federal recognition 

15 under section 102; 

16 (3) become a public member bank; 

17 (4) obtain a license to issue federally-recognized 

18 public securities under section 201; 

19 (5) obtain public deposit insurance pursuant to 

20 section 301 or from a Corporation-approved alter21 native provider; and 

22 (6) apply for a grant under section 401. 

23 SEC. 503. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM. 

24 (a) REASONABLE EFFORTS TO COORDINATE.—Cov25 ered banks shall, where and as appropriate, make reasonVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jan 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6775.IH H6775

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1 able efforts to coordinate activities with community devel2 opment financial institutions, minority deposit institu3 tions, and credit unions to promote community develop4 ment and ensure community-oriented financial services are 

5 universal and comprehensively include historically ex6 cluded and marginalized groups. 

7 (b) GRANTS FOR COORDINATION.—The Board of 

8 Governors shall, jointly with the Secretary, award grants 

9 to covered banks, community development financial insti10 tutions, minority deposit institutions, and credit unions to 

11 facilitate coordination of activities under subsection (a). 

12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL IN14 STITUTION.—The term ‘‘community development fi15 nancial institution’’ has the meaning given the term 

16 in section 103(5) of the Riegle Community Develop17 ment and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 

18 U.S.C. 4702(5)). 

19 (2) CREDIT UNION.—The term ‘‘credit union’’ 

20 means a Federal credit union or a State credit union 

21 (as such terms are defined in section 101 of the 

22 Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752)). 

23 (3) MINORITY DEPOSIT INSTITUTION.—The 

24 term ‘‘minority deposit institution’’ has the meaning 

25 given the term in section 308(b)(1) of the Financial 


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1 Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act 

2 of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463(b)(1)). 

3 SEC. 504. TREATMENT OF FUNDING. 

4 Any expenses incurred by the Board of Governors 

5 under this title shall be recorded— 

6 (1) in an account to be known as the ‘‘Special 

7 Public Bank Development Programs’’ established at 

8 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and 

9 (2) as a deferred asset (as described in section 

10 11.96 of the Financial Accounting Manual for Fed11 eral Reserve Banks, as in effect on the date of the 

12 enactment of this Act) and maintained separately 

13 from the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve Bank 

14 of New York and the Federal Reserve System, so as 

15 to not reduce or impact the calculation of total in16 come or revenue generated by the Federal Reserve 

17 System, or otherwise reduce the total amount of net 

18 operating profits to be made available for remittance 

19 to the Treasury on an ongoing basis. 


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1 TITLE VI—COMMUNITY DEVEL2 OPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITU3 TIONS 

4 SEC. 601. STATE AND LOCAL INSTRUMENTALITIES ELIGI5 BLE TO BE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FI6 NANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

7 Section 103(5)(A)(v) of the Riegle Community Devel8 opment and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 

9 U.S.C. 4702(5)(A)(v)) is amended by striking ‘‘, or of any 

10 State or political subdivision of a State’’. 

Æ 


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