California has its own CFPB

California Assembly Bill 1864 was passed by the legislature in August creating a “Department of Financial Protection and Innovation” under the guise of increasing legal protections for consumers in the financial sector. However, the new Department is suspiciously structured similar to the unconstitutional Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). The “appointed” commissioner of the Department is authorized to bring a civil action or other proceeding to enforce the provisions of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 and its associated federal regulations. The Department has investigative authority and can demand documents, reports and information. It has also been granted rule-making authority over an already extensive bureaucracy including but not limited to state licensure and reporting requirements as well as identifying unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.