League drives Movement legislation in Congress and the Ohio General Assembly
Published by: Jared Weiser
May 18, 2022 | Political Action
While the legislative process often drags on, credit union priorities in both Congress and the Ohio General Assembly gained momentum last week. As a result, the League is driving offensive and defensive strategies to best advocate for your members’ success through the following initiatives.
Congress
H.R. 7003, the Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act, was marked-up by the House Financial Services Committee and would expand Field of Membership opportunities to enable federally chartered credit unions to reach further into underserved communities, helping Ohio credit unions serve more individuals without adequate access to financial services.
H.R. 5911, the Fair Hiring in Banking Act sponsored by Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-Columbus), recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with a 329 to 88 bipartisan vote, which seeks to empower credit unions with hiring flexibility in a challenging environment so individuals with past minor criminal offenses can be considered as employment candidates.
Ohio General Assembly
House Bill 116, originated by an Ohio credit union and recently heard in the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee, aims to close a glaring legal loophole that bad actors currently exploit to gain access to sensitive data and information without penalty, so credit unions and their members are better protected from an attempted breach.
House Bill 646 was introduced in the Ohio House and strives to wrap stronger consumer protection standards around residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans so credit unions and their members are shielded from murky lending practices that can jeopardize mortgage finance and housing affordability.
House Bill 440 was enacted into law by Governor Mike DeWine, updating the State Treasurer’s AG-LINK program with increased programmatic and funding thresholds so credit unions can more flexibly serve dynamic agribusinesses’ economic realities and financial needs.
The League is committed to driving credit union success through these current legislative initiatives in Congress and the Ohio General Assembly. Reach out to League Legislative Affairs Director Jared Weiser for more information or if your credit union would like to contribute to the legislative process.
