State & Local Projects

Ensuring Existing Laws Can Meet The Moment

All states have general consumer protection laws modeled after federal authority that are intended to ensure fair dealing and block practices that take advantage of households. For decades, states and private litigants have used these laws—bans against unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, or “UDAAPs”—to stop scams, predatory lending, false advertising, and other abuses. These laws are intended to be broadly applicable and flexible enough to address new and emergent issues, but in recent years, they have struggled to keep up. Big Tech is blurring the lines between our financial and everyday lives, and scammers are using social media and AI to target and drain money from vulnerable communities. We are fighting across the country to modernize UDAAP laws and ensure states have the tools they need to protect households and small businesses from tomorrow’s greatest threats.

Holding Schools Accountable

For decades, schools have engaged in abusive debt collection practices against their own students, ranging from withholding critical records to suing students in court. Thanks to our work, more and more states are banning the practice of “transcript withholding” and other abusive debt collection tactics when students owe money to their schools. We are fighting for more transparency into how these debts accrue and the tactics schools use to collect them.

Activating Cities

Working families face financial insecurity in every city, town, and neighborhood across the country, hurting local economies and labor markets. Student debt is driving shortages in critical professions, including teachers, nurses, and other public service workers who make our cities work. Stagnant wages and increased cost of living strain household budgets and increase reliance on credit and debt for everyday expenses—magnifying gaps in wealth and driving inequality.

Protect Borrowers is working with city governments and local partners to address this crisis and empower local leaders to stand up for borrowers in their communities.