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House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	March 2, 2015 01:57 PM
From:	Representative Dan Moul
To:	All House members
Subject:	Check Cashing Fees – Former HB313

In the near future, I will be reintroducing legislation that aims to end the predatory practice of charging a fee to cash checks currently in place at many financial institutions. As you may know, some financial institutions throughout the Commonwealth currently charge a fee to non-account holders for cashing checks, even when they are the issuers of the check. Unfortunately, the individuals being assessed this fee are often the elderly and those who are least able to afford such a charge. As someone who has worked on behalf of the underprivileged for several years, I find this practice rapacious, immoral, and unethical and one that must be stopped. This bill amends the Uniform Commercial Code (the code which establishes the legal principles under which businesses are to interact) to prohibit the imposition of a charge or fee as a condition of acceptance if that fee reduces the effective face value of the negotiable instrument (check). In other words, this would not prohibit the financial institution from imposing a fee; it would prohibit the imposition of the fee on the person to whom the check is made out. DM/ssb

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