BILL MILLS

Bank On Florida

On April 24, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a white paper on Payday Loans and Deposit Advance Products. There are some statistics in this report that really show the importance of the Bank On Initiative.

For example, 84% of those applying for these loans made less than $40,000 a year.

43% make under $20,000! The sad part of this number is that of this percentage, a huge portion of this clientele (well over 50% for the $10,000 - $20,000 income range), are receiving public assistance.  

So all taxpayers are sharing in the 339% Mean APR!

From their conclusion:

The potential consumer harm and the data gathered to date are persuasive that further attention is warranted to protect consumers. Based upon the facts uncovered through our ongoing work in this area, the CFPB expects to use its authorities to provide such protections.

I encourage you to read this paper and pass it on!

FreeFLTaxSites.org

First, I want to thank our partners from Barry University Law School, Pinellas Prosperity Partnership, St. Thomas University School of Law, University of Florida Master Money Mentor program, and University of Tampa's Beta Alpha Psi for their outstanding help with this project. We had over 4,000 hits on our website during tax season. Just under 1,800 accessed links to our partner physical sites or myfreetaxes.com links. In addition, just under 600 accessed the link to the IRS "find a location by zip code" page from our site. We are extremely grateful for all of our partners help with promoting the site! 

Check out the Member News below for information on the new VITA grant! 

Money Smart Train-the-Trainer

It is time to RSVP for a Money Smart Train-the-Trainer in your area. Here is a flyer for the next one coming up in Lakewood Ranch on June 5. Here is a flyer for a Miami class on July 1. Here is a flyer for a West Palm Beach class on July 2. I look forward to seeing you there!

Don't see one in your area? Would you like to host a class? Let me know! Email me at [email protected].

FPP ADVOCACY

ROBIN WARREN

By Guest Columnist Robin Warren

The 2013 Session is at its halfway point and we have good news to report. Knowing it was an uphill climb, our original request of the Legislature was to require that every student in Florida take a semester course in personal finance before high school graduation. The Legislature responded very favorably to us and we made significant progress toward our goal.  Requiring a semester course is a significant change in public policy that some believed could not be done in one legislative session. In particular, many legislators wanted more information about the fiscal impact of such a course and how it would be implemented.  However, for the first time, legislators were openly supporting our idea in committee, during debate and in meetings with staff, which is something that did not happen last year. The debate and discussion led to the consensus that a semester course was something all stakeholders, including Department of Education (DOE), the Florida Council on Economic Education (FCEE) and the Florida Prosperity Partnership (FPP), should work on during the interim to ensure that all aspects were being addressed.

New financial literacy requirements are embedded in the House (HB7091) and Senate (SB1076) versions of the Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act. The CAPE Act passed in the Senate yesterday and is now working its way through the House. [Update note: Governor Scott signed the bill into law on Monday, April 22, 2013.]

The new law:

1. Keeps the legislative provision that inserts financial literacy into the semester of economics that is already required. This was a decision of the bill's sponsors to get "half a loaf" so current students would get some exposure to personal finance. The sponsors and the DOE believe this is a means of getting some financial literacy into the curriculum without any fiscal impact.
2. Most importantly, legislators have incorporated into the bill in both chambers their desire to evaluate the impact of requiring a semester course in personal finance. The bill requires the Department of Education by October 1, 2013, to "prepare an analysis of the costs associated with implementing a separate, one-half credit course in financial literacy, including estimated costs for instructional personnel, training, and the development or purchase of instructional materials. The commissioner shall work with one or more nonprofit organizations with proven expertise in the area of personal finance, consider free resources that can be utilized for instructional materials, and provide data on the implementation of such a course in other states."  This gives us the opportunity to work with the DOE over the coming months to show how this can be implemented in Florida while minimizing the financial impact on our school districts.

• This will also provide a sense of legitimacy and credibility to the issue of financial literacy and hopefully serve as the catalyst to legislation in 2014 that will require the semester course on personal finance.  This particular amendment took some doing on our part but we prevailed.
• This will give us the necessary platform over the coming months to bring in all stakeholders together to produce the optimal outcome for our goal of requiring a semester course. It will also raise the profile of FCEE and FPP and our partners with our legislators and DOE on the issue of financial literacy by statutorily requiring the DOE to work with us instead of simply paying lip service to our efforts.

For those of you who would like to see the actual bill as passed in the Senate, click here. The pertinent provisions can be found at lines 593-637 on pages 20-21 of the text.

   Special thanks to the following for helping us get to this point:

• Representatives Janet Adkins (Nassau County) and Manny Diaz (Miami-Dade County) for amending HB7091 to require the DOE to assess the impact of requiring a financial literacy course. Senator John Legg (Pasco County) agreed to incorporate their language into his bill in the Senate.
• Mark Anderson for his tireless efforts on our behalf that enabled us to gain legislators' attention on this important issue and, ultimately, their support
  • Florida Prosperity Partnership and its CEO Kaye Schmitz for partnering with the FCEE to advocate for a semester course and for her testimony before the House K-12 Education Subcommittee
  • Hanna Karimipour, High School Senior at Lawton Chiles High School for her testimony before the House K-12 Education Subcommittee
  • Bill Daniel, Finance Academy Teacher at Boone High School in Orange for his letter to the K-12 Education Subcommittee that was introduced into evidence
  • U. S. Bankruptcy Judges Laurel Isicoff and Karen Specie for their advocacy and testimony
  • Spanish River High School Economics teacher Brett Burkey, for testifying before the Senate Education Appropriations Committee

How you can help?

Contact Representatives Adkins and Diaz and Sen. Legg to thank them for their support:

Representative Janet Adkins

Chair, K-12 Education Subcommittee

[email protected]

313 House Office Building

402 South Monroe Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Representative Manny Diaz

[email protected]

1003 The Capitol

402 South Monroe Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Sen. John Legg

[email protected]

316 Senate Office Building

404 South Monroe Street

Tallahassee, FL   32399-1100

Robin K. Warren

Executive Director

• Enable VITA Programs to extend services to underserved populations in hardest-to-reach areas, both urban and non-urban;
• Increase the capacity to file returns electronically;
• Heighten quality control;
• Enhance volunteer training; and
• Significantly improve the accuracy rate of returns prepared at volunteer sites.

Central Florida Investor Fraud Summit

Free and Open to the Public

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (Doors open at 8:00 a.m.)

Florida A&M University - College of Law

201 Beggs Avenue 

Downtown Orlando

Federal and state law enforcement and financial regulatory representatives will be on hand to talk about:

Recent Fraud Trends in Central Florida and 

How to Avoid Common Fraud Schemes Such As: 

• Reverse Mortgage Schemes
• Investment Schemes
• Stolen Identity Refund Fraud

COMPLIMENTARY Resource materials and breakfast, but space is limited so please call to register - 407-648-7569.

_____________________________

Paying for college? Here's what you can do.

By: Rohit Chopra,Student Loan Ombudsman-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Spring is here, and students across the country are receiving college acceptance letters. It's an exciting opportunity, but it comes with a lot of decisions to make, like how to pay for it. Cracking the code of financial aid is a big (and sometimes stressful) part of making that final choice, and it's not always easy to figure out which school is giving you the best deal. You may have to take on student debt to finance your dreams, but it shouldn't have to be so stressful.

We've built something you can use to compare your financial aid packages, side-by-side. It's supported by data from thousands of schools that have provided information about the costs of a college education.

Compare your financial aid offers now

You can compare offers from community college, bachelor's, certificate, and graduate programs to help you with this big decision. If you're a servicemember or veteran, you can see how your GI Bill benefits can help with costs as well. 

College is a big decision and an exciting next step. We want to work with you to help you choose the best financial approach for your college experience. 

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