This weekend on In Focus, we open a conversation on financial protections for all New Yorkers.

Assemblymember Pamela Hunter chairs the Committee on Banks and represents the 128^th District in the Syracuse area. She sat down with JoDee Kenney to discuss legislation this session addressing regulations in an ever-changing banking industry. That includes efforts to create public banks here in New York, with legislation, Hunter said, that would allow municipalities to create their own public bank, take deposits and utilize those funds and bonds for economic development. Hunter said public banking would also provide more services to underbanked areas. The assemblymember also talked about the need for protections for bank account closures, and associated fees and notifications to consumers. Hunter also talked about new regulations on lending, including requiring debt collectors to be licensed and examining "buy now, pay later" programs.

You can watch the full interview with Assemblymember Pamela Hunter in the video player above. And be sure to tune in for a look inside the biggest issues impacting upstate New York, on In Focus with JoDee Kenney — every Sunday on Spectrum News 1.