CA AB8

Amends Section 1339.1 of the Unemployment Insurance Code to require the Employment Development Department to offer unemployment compensation recipients a choice between direct deposit to a qualifying account or application to a prepaid debit card, effective by July 1, 2021.

Defines "qualifying account" as either a demand deposit or savings account at an insured financial institution, or a prepaid card account that meets federal EFTA requirements and does not have automatically repaid credit or overdraft features.

Establishes that prepaid card issuers must comply with all EFTA requirements and provide the same consumer protections as payroll card accounts.

Specifies that the Employment Development Department has no obligation to verify whether a recipient's chosen account is a qualifying account and cannot be held liable for authorizing deposits to non-compliant prepaid card accounts.

Declares the bill an urgency statute effective immediately to address unemployment benefit utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic economic crisis.