Maine Senate enacts Sen. Donna Bailey bill to strengthen consumer protections for customers at banks and credit unions
AUGUSTA – On Tuesday, April 17, the Maine Senate enacted a bill from Sen. Donna Bailey, D-Saco. LD 580, “An Act to Protect Maine Consumers by Prohibiting Fees Charged for Receiving Paper Statements from Financial Institutions and Credit Card Issuers,” would protect Mainers — especially older adults and retirees —fees that banks and credit unions charge for paper statements. The Senate gave unanimous, bipartisan support to the bill.
“Like many of my bills, a constituent story was the inspiration for this one. ‘Why,’ they wondered, were they being charged for receiving a paper statement from the bank, especially when they had always received a free one before?” said Sen. Bailey. “When I heard this story, I began to bring it up in conversation, and I even wrote about it for The Courier. I learned that this issue was larger than one person. Now, that single constituent question is likely to become a new law to protect Mainers from unnecessary fees and help consumers save money across the state.”
So far, New York and Pennsylvania are the only states to have broadly banned these fees. Massachusetts has a similar law, but only for those under 18 and over 65. LD 580 would make Maine the third state to ban these fees for everyone, regardless of age. The bill is modeled on the legislation from New York that prohibits financial institutions and credit card companies from charging customers for receiving paper statements.
In his testimony submitted to the public hearing for the bill, John Brautigam of Legal Services for Maine Elders wrote, “For many consumers, particularly older adults and those in rural areas, paper statements are not a luxury, but a necessity.”
The average cost for producing paper statements is approximately $0.75, while the fees charged are often $1.99 or higher. LD 580 would not prohibit incentives for bank and credit card customers to switch to paperless statements. Instead, it would prohibit additional fees for customers choosing to receive paper statements in the mail.
LD 580 now goes to the Governor’s desk, where she has 10 days to sign it, allow it to become law without her signature or veto it.
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