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  1. What We Do
  2. State & Local Projects
  3. State Regulatory Advocacy

State Regulatory Advocacy

State financial regulators oversee the practices of firms that lend, service, and collect on debt owed by families across the country.

State financial regulators can be families’ best defense when financial companies make predatory loans or engage in sloppy servicing or abusive debt collection. State financial regulators license and supervise financial companies, and some can bring lawsuits to win justice for borrowers harmed by unlawful industry conduct. These agencies may also write the rules that govern how financial firms participate in the economy, including guardrails that protect families from mismanagement and abuse.

What We’re Doing

We work to help state financial regulators defend families from financial firms’ abuses—passing new laws to empower these agencies, building cases against firms that break these laws, providing technical assistance as agencies write rules to protect borrowers, and educating states about emerging issues and schemes. See below to learn more about our work to strengthen state oversight across the economy.

Latest Work


  • Testimony & Remarks
    Mar 4, 2026

    Testimony of Winston Berkman-Breen Before the NY State Senate Codes and Consumer Protection Committees

    See here to read Winston Berkman-Breen’s March 4, 2026, testimony.

    More


  • Testimony & Remarks
    Feb 23, 2026

    Testimony of Winston Berkman-Breen Before the NYC Council Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection

    See here to read Winston Berkman-Breen’s February 23, 2026, testimony.

    More


  • Press Releases
    Nov 5, 2025

    Amid Student Loan System Chaos, Advocates, Local Officials, and Community Members Convene in Louisville to Discuss Local Response

    Louisville Office of Financial Empowerment and Protect Borrowers reveal data on nearly 215,000 Louisville borrowers in $8.2 billion of student debt.

    More


  • Press Releases
    Apr 17, 2025

    Community Roundtable: Kern County Families to Discuss the Impact of Proposed Budget Cuts on Education Access

    Advisory for Wednesday, April 23.

    More


  • News Clips
    Apr 10, 2024

    Oregon borrowers, consumer advocates call for more accountability among student loan servicers

    Mike Pierce of the Student Borrower Protection Center agreed that more accountability is needed, noting the federal government relies heavily on private contractors to service federal loans.

    More


  • Letters & Memos
    May 1, 2022

    Memo: Transcript and diploma withholding

    States have an opportunity to ban transcript and diploma withholding at academic institutions, allowing students to access documentation of their earned credits and move forward with their educations and careers.

    More


  • Comments
    Aug 16, 2021

    Advocates Public Comment on Virginia Student Borrower Bill of Rights Implementation

    In a public comment to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, SBPC and 12 organizations representing consumers, students, student loan borrowers, and teachers draw attention to industry attempts to circumvent the legislative process, and call on the regulator to faithfully implement the Commonwealth’s new consumer protections.

    More


  • Reports
    Apr 22, 2021

    Discrimination is Unfair: Interpreting UDA(A)P to Prohibit Discrimination

    This report from the SBPC and Relman Colfax attorneys Stephen Hayes and Kali Schellenberg, examines how laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive (and sometimes abusive) acts and practices (“UDA(A)Ps”) can be applied to combat discrimination in the student loan market and beyond.

    More


  • News Clips
    Apr 9, 2021

    States Step In To Stop Colleges Holding Transcripts Ransom For Unpaid Bills

    Several states have passed or are considering laws to curb the practice of blocking students who owe money from obtaining their transcripts. California last year became the first state in which public and private higher educational institutions were banned from holding back the transcripts of students who have unpaid debts. A new Washington State law requires that students who owe money be allowed to get their transcripts to apply for jobs. A coalition…

    More


  • Letters & Memos
    Mar 10, 2021

    The Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights Call on the CA Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to Create Strong Protections for Student Loan Borrowers

    In a letter sent to the Commissioner Alvarez, the Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights—a coalition of advocacy organizations committed to protecting student loan borrowers—calls on the newly created California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to use its authorities to engage in diligent supervision, proactive enforcement, deliberate rulemaking, and smart data collection to protect California’s 3.8 million student loan borrowers.

    More

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