Contact Members of the Finance Committee Before Dec 13

It’s put up time on public banking for the City Council Finance Committee. They’re the ones who will be considering the latest version of Councilmember Green’s public banking bill, introduced Thursday, December 2nd. The next step is a hearing on the Bill in the Finance Committee on Monday, December 13th, at 10 AM, followed immediately by a Committee vote. If approved by the Committee, the bill will be up for final approval by the full Council at its first session next year, late in January. We need your help to contact members of the Finance Committee to vote yes on this bill.

Strictly speaking, this bill is actually an enabling act to create a “Public Financing Authority.” But it is a major stepping stone on the way to an actual public bank that would enable the City to take its money out of the major Wall St. banks, and deposit them with a bank owned and controlled by the people. And the way the bill is structured, it would indeed be the people who run the bank, because Board members would have to be nominated by organizations concerned about environmental justice, education, low-cost housing, co-ops, small business development, and other public interests. See Summary of Public Bank Bill 210956. Or Check out Tuesday’s “Financing Philadelphia’s Future” with Councilmember Green for more details on the bill.

Here’s how you can help:

• Review the Advocacy Tool Kit. It has all the information you will need – contact information, sample scripts and emails, posts for FB, Instagram and Twitter
• Contact Finance Committee Members Now and latest by December 13, 9AM. The sooner the better. Contact all members by telephone and email. Please also use FB, Instagram and Twitter, if you can.
• Report Results of your Outreach to tim@phillynn.org. Note if you get a response from any of the Council members.

We all need to speak up in favor of this bill. Although the original bill, introduced last January, had 12 sponsors, this one has only three as we speak. The powers that be have been working hard to cast doubt on the need for a public bank because they think the status quo is just fine. We know better, but we need to get the bill out of the Finance Committee. There are 8 members – we need 5 of them to vote yes!

One way you can help is to testify at the digital Finance Committee hearing on December 13th @ 10 AM. If you are able to offer testimony that morning, contact Stan Shapiro at shapsjs33@gmail.com.

We’re on our way folks – with your help – to being the first City in the nation with its very own public bank!