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New York State lawmakers are negotiating three different proposals to regulate the buy now, pay later industry, in an attempt to pass legislation before the end of the session on Thursday, said Paul Alexander, legislative director for State Sen. James Sanders Jr., during a phone call on Wednesday.
Sanders, a Democrat, introduced the third and latest proposal to regulate BNPL providers in a Senate bill last month, following an Assembly bill introduced in March by Democratic Assembly Member Pamela Hunter and a proposal included in the executive budget in January from Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The negotiations are taking into account both the Assembly bill and Senate bill, said Jacob Sherrets, policy chief for Assemblymember Hunter, in a phone call on Wednesday. Sherrets added that the state’s Department of Financial Services, part of the executive branch overseen by Hochul, is also involved in the negotiations.
Because the Assembly and Senate bills “don’t match” negotiations are “in a tight spot,” Sherrets said. Both Sherrets and Alexander declined to discuss the nature of the negotiations or speculate on the likelihood of lawmakers reaching a deal on the BNPL bills.
The Senate bill resembles the governor’s proposal in that it requires BNPL lenders to be licensed by DFS. However, the bill would prohibit BNPL loans from being reported to credit reporting agencies, while the proposal would require BNPL providers to maintain records in case the DFS opts to require such reporting.
The Assembly bill contrasts with the governor’s proposal in that it has a narrower definition of BNPL providers; prohibits consumer fees related to BNPL services; and discourages reporting of BNPL activity to consumer credit bureaus, said Eamonn Moran, who is senior counsel with the firm Norton Rose Fulbright, in a March interview.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to questions related to the two bills, the current negotiations and the likelihood of a BNPL law being passed by Thursday.
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