#AdvocacyInAction: Budget process continues; League staff stressing credit union issues
Published by: Jose Ortiz
April 20, 2021 | Government Affairs
While the Ohio General Assembly was on Easter break, your League was busy pushing forward to ensure the interests of Ohio’s credit unions are at the forefront of lawmakers’ minds. Below is a snapshot of recent advocacy action at the Ohio Statehouse.
- As the budget process progresses the League continues to keep a close eye on the legislation as it proceeds throughout the legislature. Most recently, the Ohio House of Representatives announced their changes to Ohio’s two-year operating budget, none of which raise red flags for Ohio’s credit unions and passed the bill out of the chamber.
- Throughout the last General Assembly and the current one, the League tracked and engaged on a bill that enacted changes to the state contract statute of limitations, Senate Bill 13. Anticipated to take effect on June 10, 2021, you can read more about the bill and changes here.
- Another piece of legislation the League worked on last General Assembly was reintroduced as House Bill 133. The bill fixes a current requirement to provide a debtor written notice before a collection attempt is made on a loan secured by a residential piece of property. Additionally, “collect” or “attempt to collect” were not clearly defined in statute. H.B. 133 fixes this matter by not requiring any additional burden but instead clarifying that the notice must be sent 30 days before an action of foreclosure and can be included on or accompany a prior notice; restoring your credit union’s ability to work directly with borrowers experiencing financial difficulty before more formal action is taken. It also defines “restitution” as a waiver of any fees or actual damages and prevents a class-action suit. It is expected to be up for consideration before the Ohio Senate in the coming weeks.
- The League recently flagged H.B. 93 which revises the Address Confidentiality Program (also known as the Safe at Home Program). While the original intentions of the bill were good, it could prove to be problematic to how credit unions communicate and share member information during the mortgage lending process. After hearing the thoughts of your credit union peers, League staff worked with the bill’s sponsors on several potential compromises and finally settled on amending the bill to remove the private entity section entirely and keep the bill’s focus on public entities, which is the overall goal of the legislation. As the bill continues to navigate the legislative process, we will be sure to keep you apprised of any changes.
- When we ask credit union leaders what keeps them up at night, one of the most frequently heard answers involves some sort of concern over data privacy and security. That is why the League has been busy working with fellow interested parties in ensuring any legislation continues to protect your members and their data while also not requiring additional hoops for your credit union to jump through, as you are already abiding by national standards for financial institutions. Over the last few years, there have been efforts to bring a bill forward that would set a data privacy standard for the State of Ohio. Though it has yet to be formally introduced, the League has been working to ensure there will be regulatory flexibility to allow credit unions to continue to best serve your members. The most up-to-date version of the bill exempts any financial institutions that are required to comply with the GLBA. Of course, we will continue to monitor the legislation once it is introduced and makes its way through the legislative process.If you would like to learn more about our advocacy efforts or have questions about specific legislation, please contact League Senior Manager of Political and Grassroots Affairs, Andrew Canan.
CONTACT US
E: acanan@ohiocul.org
T: (614) 923-9710
C: (614) 512-0330
Contact Andrew Canan for questions or assistance.
