NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A3636
SPONSOR: Niou
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the
inclusion of a confession of judgment in a contract or agreement for a
financial product or service
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To prohibit "confessions of judgment" in any contract or agreement for a
financial product or service.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 - Prohibits "confession of judgment" for any contract or
agreement for a financial product or service. Subdivision (2) - Defines
"financial product or service" and "financial product or service regu-
lated for the purpose of consumer or investor protection"
Section (2) - provides for an effective date of ninety days after the
bill becomes law.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
 
JUSTIFICATION:
A confession of judgment is a legal document that allows a party to
obtain a judgment without the need to bring a lawsuit.
Confessions of judgment are frequently abused by lenders to circumvent
legal court proceedings and claim, often without proof, that a debtor
has failed to meet their payment obligations. This allowed creditors to
legally seize assets of borrowers without a court proceeding, financial-
ly ruining tens of thousands of small businesses, including some of whom
did not default on their loans.
This bill will protect small businesses from predatory lenders that
often offer loans and cash advances on the pre-condition that they sign
a confession of judgment.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
No prior legislative history.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
No fiscal implications.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take place on the ninetieth day after it becomes law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3636
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. NIOU, PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Banks
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the
inclusion of a confession of judgment in a contract or agreement for a
financial product or service
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 396-aaa to read as follows:
3 § 396-aaa. Confession of judgment requirement for certain contracts;
4 prohibition. 1. No person shall require a confession of judgment in any
5 contract or agreement for a financial product or service.
6 2. As used in this section the following terms shall have the follow-
7 ing meanings:
8 (a) "Financial product or service" shall mean any financial product or
9 financial service offered or provided by any person regulated or
10 required to be regulated by the superintendent of financial services
11 pursuant to the banking law or the insurance law or any financial prod-
12 uct or service offered or sold to consumers except financial products or
13 services: (i) regulated under the exclusive jurisdiction of a federal
14 agency or authority, (ii) regulated for the purpose of consumer or
15 investor protection by any other state agency, state department or state
16 public authority, or (iii) where rules or regulations promulgated by the
17 superintendent of financial services on such financial product or
18 service would be preempted by federal law.
19 (b) "Financial product or service regulated for the purpose of consum-
20 er or investor protection": (i) shall include (A) any product or service
21 for which registration or licensing is required or for which the offeror
22 or provider is required to be registered or licensed by state law, (B)
23 any product or service as to which provisions for consumer or investor
24 protection are specifically set forth for such product or service by
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03324-01-9
A. 3636 2
1 state statute or regulation and (C) securities, commodities and real
2 property subject to the provisions of article twenty-three-A of the
3 general business law, and (ii) shall not include products or services
4 solely subject to other general laws or regulations for the protection
5 of consumers or investors.
6 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
7 have become a law.