The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has announced that its Debt Collection Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on Thursday, December 16 at 3:00pm PT. The meeting comes two weeks before the state enacts a new debt collection licensing law, which will go into effect on January 1. Companies must have their applications submitted to the DFPI by December 31 in order to be eligible to continue to collect while their application is being processed.
The meeting is open to the public. Interested participants can watch and make public comments by clicking here.
According to an announcement from the DFPI, the agenda for the meeting will be:
- Program Update
- Regulations
- Roundtable
- Public Comment
The DFPI issued a reminder that it is not able to comment on pending regulations, “but appreciates feedback and encourages discussion on potential future rulemakings as well.”
The meeting will be chaired by Suzanne Martindale, a Senior Deputy Commissioner with the DFPI. Also attending will be the members of the Advisory Committee, who were each appointed to two-year terms earlier this year. The members of the committee are:
- Elizabeth Gonzalez, Public Law Center
- Scott Hyman, Severson & Werson
- Mark Naiman, Absolute Resolutions Corporation
- Cindy Yaklin, States Recovery Systems Inc.
- Tamar Yudenfreund, Midland Credit Management
- Ohad Samet, TrueAccord Corporation
- Prasad Krishnamurthy, UC Berkeley School of Law
The DFPI itself is a new agency, created from the former Department of Business Oversight. Among the investigatory powers that have been bestowed upon the department are those to look into the use of engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices with respect to consumer financial products and services, which could include debt collection activities.
