R 152

2016 -- S 2891 Enacted 04/07/2016

S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

DESIGNATING APRIL, 2016, AS "FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Senators Gallo, Lynch Prata, Walaska, Felag, and Algiere

Date Introduced: April 07, 2016

WHEREAS, According to the 2013 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, at least 20 percent of Rhode Island

households are either unbanked or underbanked which dramatically limits access to vital and

basic financial services; and

WHEREAS, The financial well-being of individual Rhode Island citizens is directly

linked to our state's and our nation's economic health; and

WHEREAS, There is a need to understand the importance of wise fiscal management,

and Rhode Islanders of all races, ages, genders, and socio-economic groups seek to improve their

personal family finances by developing the basic financial skills needed to create and maintain a

budget, to understand credit, loans, banking, investments, and retirement plans, and to take

advantage of the financial opportunities and assess the risks connected with each; and

WHEREAS, Personal financial literacy education involves active engagement on the part

of individual citizens and family units in an ongoing and evolving process; and

WHEREAS, Governments, private businesses, community-based organizations, and

institutions of education are stakeholders in the pursuit of increased personal financial literacy,

and by working together, such entities can help consumers make informed decisions about their

finances; and

WHEREAS, The personal financial education of all citizens, especially youth and other

vulnerable populations, will improve the quality of their lives, will provide them with the

necessary skills for success, and will contribute to making positive changes for the communities

in which they live and work; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby proclaims April, 2016, to be "Financial Literacy Month." We moreover urge all Rhode

Islanders to take advantage of various programs and activities that will increase their personal

financial literacy both during the month of April and throughout the year; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to The Honorable Gina M. Raimondo, Governor

of the State of Rhode Island.

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LC005634

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