October 2, when the California Public Banking Act was signed into law by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, making it explicitly legal for municipalities in California to create their own public banks and use those banks to hold and leverage public funds. To date, the only publicly owned banks in the United States are in North Dakota and American Samoa. But now California, which has the world’s fifth largest economy and is known for setting national precedents and having its policies emulated by others, has opened the floodgates by permitting the creation of public banks. This will shift power away from profit-motivated board members of corporate banks and into the hands of the people.
— source commondreams.org | Oct 25, 2019