Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Monday a bill that will prevent debt collectors from emptying Californians’ bank accounts.
The bill — SB 616 — doesn’t block collectors from draining funds from the account of a person with IOUs. But it puts a halt to the practice once an individual’s combined account balances are down to $1,724.
…The Western Center on Law and Poverty and the California Low-Income Consumer Coalition estimate that the average Californian owes $15,100 in non-mortgage debt, including medical, student, auto and credit card obligations.