KEY WEST, Fla. – State chartered credit unions will try again to get legislative approval to accept government deposits, a lucrative and low-risk business for banks and thrifts.
The credit union’s effort was given urgency last year when several credit unions in the western part of the state were forced to halt collecting local property tax payments because credit unions are not listed as municipal depositories. The credit unions were allowed to continue collecting local taxes payments only after a legal opinion stating that state law does not explicitly prohibit them as municipal depositories.
Now the credit unions want to clarify the law, according to Mike Beall, president of the Maryland and District of Columbia CU Association. Beall, during the Pennsylvania CU Association’s CEO Summit, said a bill to establish credit unions are depositories for municipal funds has been introduced in the state Senate and is about to be introduced in the House.
