SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- On April 29, 2021, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced the formal creation of its inaugural debt collection advisory committee, a seven-member board that will provide critical feedback to the Department as it stands up its debt collection licensing program. The committee will advise Commissioner Clothilde V. Hewlett on matters related to the debt collection business, including proposed fee schedules and other requirements.

The committee members were appointed by former Commissioner Alvarez for two-year terms pursuant to Financial Code section 100025 of the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA).

The committee members represent a diverse cross-section of stakeholders; five are industry representatives, one is a consumer advocate, and one is a law and economics professor who studies the industry. The committee includes the following members:

  • Elizabeth Gonzalez, Public Counsel

  • Scott Hyman, Severson & Werson

  • Mark Naiman, ITP MDR, LLC

  • Cindy Yaklin, States Recovery Systems Inc.

  • Tamar Yudenfreund, Midland Credit Management

  • Ohad Samet, TrueAccord Corporation

  • Prasad Krishnamurthy, UC Berkeley School of Law

The next meeting of the committee will take place virtually on July 27th, 2022, at 2:00 PM PST This meeting will be open to the public and led by Senior Deputy Commissioner Suzanne Martindale and Deputy Commissioner Melinda Lee.

Meeting Agenda:

Introductions

  1. Program Update

  2. Regulations*

  3. Roundtable

  4. Public Comment 

*DFPI will be restricted from commenting on current pending regulations but appreciates feedback and encourages discussion on potential future rulemakings as well.

Zoom Webinar Information

To join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, or Android please click the link below:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JEDkeAEDR6Kqx4f6EVI3Ng

Dial-in audio information will be made available on the DFPI Debt Collector Advisory page (https://dfpi.ca.gov/debt-collection-advisory-committee/) when the webinar goes live at 2:00 PM as well as being displayed during the event.

If you have any questions or need to request reasonable disability-related modifications or accommodations, please contact Ryan Rodriguez at ryan.rodriguez@dfpi.ca.gov. 


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