BEAVERTON, Ore. — Three bills targeting credit unions that were introduced in the Oregon state legislature in January were squashed, but the Northwest Credit Union Association continues to gear up its advocacy efforts.
Lynn Heider, VP public relations and communications, said all three bills died in committee without getting a hearing "because the legislators knew that was just a bank attack and the bills were without merit."
"As credit unions continue to grow market share and gain popularity, they will continue to see bank attacks," she said. "Our advocates have been very supportive, led by Pamela Leavitt, our legislative affairs director for Oregon. She has a tremendous, respectful relationship with legislators."
Three Bills, Three Attacks
As Credit Union Journal reported in January, the three bills, known as House Bill 2484, 2485 and 2486, attacked different subjects:
- HB 2484 tried to require credit unions to file periodic reports with Oregon's Director of Department of Consumer and Business Services, summarizing the number and amount of member business loans and certain other loans, and describing the services a CU provides to people with low and moderate incomes. It also would require credit unions to list the total amount of deposits they hold at their main office and at locations where the CU accepts deposits.
- HB 2485 stated credit unions have "a continuing and affirmative obligation to help meet credit needs of the community in which the credit union has offices or branches." It tried to require the director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services to adopt rules to govern the nature and scope of this obligation, and said the director must consider federal regulations that implement federal Community Reinvestment Act rules.
- HB 2486 attempted to impose corporate excise tax on state chartered and interstate CUs holding one or more deposits of public funds that exceed $250,000, or holding commercial loans that in aggregate exceed 10% of assets.
Don't Tax My CU
With the anti-credit union bills dead, Heider said the NWCUA's lobbyists in both Oregon and Washington are united in backing on CUNA's federal initiative, Don't Tax My CU. "We had an online signature campaign from March through May that drew 8,000 signatures," she recalled. "We really appreciated all that grass-roots success. Awareness here in the Northwest is stronger than other parts of the country. When we put the word out there was anti-credit union bills in the Oregon legislature, people stepped up and told their lawmakers they wanted the choice."
State lawmakers in Oregon and Washington go into session in early 2014 for a short time. Heider said the NWCUA's governmental affairs people have been "proactively" involved with legislators to get ready.
The association will be hosting a Credit Union Day in the Evergreen State's capital, Olympia, Wash., on Feb. 6. Heider expects more than 100 credit union members, directors and/or staffers to be present to advocate. "Our goal in Washington is to have every state lawmaker be visited by a credit union delegation that day," she said. "We also are getting ready to send a large delegation to GAC in Washington, D.C."
