TOPEKA, Kan. – A bill that could lead to substantial restrictions on fields of membership for state chartered credit unions in Kansas passed the State Senate by a 35-2 vote Wednesday.
The Kansas Bankers Association introduced the legislation, which would limit the geographic area served by credit unions as well as create new regulatory standards for branching, mergers and field of membership changes. The bill has been extensively amended and approved by the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee to reflect language agreed upon by the Kansas CU Association.
If the bill becomes law, nine state chartered credit unions would be affected immediately by having to restrict their current geographic fields of membership.
Marla Marsh, president of the Kansas CU Association, said she expects the legislation will have a hearing in the Kansas House Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee next week. “We are in the process of looking at what will happen next,” she told the Credit Union Journal immediately after the Senate vote. “The House has to act upon it, so it has not been accepted by both chambers yet.”
Asked if the KCUA expects the governor to sign the bill if it passes the Kansas House, Marsh said it is too early to know. “We have not gotten that far yet. We have met with the governor’s office, but the bill has changed drastically since that meeting.”
