March 19, 2024
Dear Credit Union Leaders,
Spring is almost here! Happy March Madness to those who participate (and Go Green!). As we close out March, here are the updates you need.
Announcements
For those planning on attending MCUL State GAC on May 1, the hotel block has sold out initially. Our team is working on an overflow hotel venue, and information should be available shortly. If you are planning on attending but have not yet registered or booked, please let our team know if you or your teams will be looking for rooms – that will help us plan locally as we make those arrangements. As a reminder, space for the GAC event is limited to what the venue can accommodate as well. Thank you in advance, and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks! And, we look forward to seeing our attendees that come in the night of April 30 at “PAC the Pub!” at Lansing Brewing Company!
The Q1 “Cheers! To Compliance” session will be a hybrid live and virtual event hosted from this year’s Marketing, Compliance, YOU & Lending Conference in Grand Rapids on March 20. For more information on either program, please contact Brad (Bradley.Willett@mcul.org).
Advocacy
In Lansing, the state legislature continues its work on the FY 2025 state budget. This process will continue to ramp up into April, and likely begin in earnest once the state House has filled its two vacancies and is up to full strength. The Senate last week passed a pair of measures dealing with payday lending – the first would require DIFS to conduct a study of the payday lending industry and its impacts, and the second would place a 36% APR cap on the existing payday product in the Deferred Presentment Service Transactions Act of 2005. The study measure passed unanimously and will be returned to the House for a concurrence vote, enrollment, and presentation to the Governor. The rate-capping bill was also transmitted to the House for original second-chamber consideration, and has been referred to the House Insurance and Financial Services Committee.
In Washington, D.C., H.R. 7531, the Secure Payments Act of 2024, was introduced by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer. As previously mentioned, this is a “stop and study” directive aimed at the Federal Reserve on their Reg II proposal to raise the three interchange components for debit transactions. No Michigan members have yet co-sponsored the legislation, but a letter to the agency advancing similar concerns was previously signed by U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga, Jack Bergman, and Lisa McClain. America’s Credit Unions joined a coalition of financial services trade associations and other organizations to write to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and U.S. House Financial Services Committee in support of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, S. 3502 introduced by U.S. Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN). U.S. Reps. John Rose (R-TN) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) introduced the House version, H.R. 7297. The legislation is billed to stop the abusive use of mortgage trigger leads by allowing their sale only in limited circumstances to certified purchasers.
For a full update on state and federal regulatory action, please see the “Reg Corner” update in this edition of MI League Minute.
Grassroots and Advocacy Funding
For those still looking for information, please visit Lapel Pin - Michigan Credit Union League (mcul.org). As a reminder, with regard to substantive or compliance questions on state PAC issues, or state PAC remittance questions, please contact DaeSean (DaeSean.Ashby@mcul.org); for federal PAC questions please contact Todd (Todd.Jorns@mcul.org). Kieran is also able to assist with these, as is Aria (Aria.Ottenbreit@mcul.org) on processing issues.
The America’s Credit Unions’ GAC was a huge success for Michigan’s credit unions! MCUL’s Advocacy Team was joined by over 160 Michigan attendees, combining with thousands of credit union officials and volunteers from around the country to make our industry’s voice resound in Washington D.C. We met with our federal lawmakers and their staff on Wednesday and Thursday of that week, and were pleased to hear strong support for our positions on interchange reform, FCUA modernizations, and “junk fee” rhetoric. Our group also met with new NCUA Board Member Tonya Otsuka for important dialogue on examinations, fees, and other hot topics. event was highlighted by a nighttime tour of the U.S. Capitol for our Michigan group led by our own U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga! Thank you to everyone that attended, and a special thank you to our young professionals and “first-timers” – great job all around and we hope to see you back with us soon!
Elections
With the Presidential Primaries behind us, our focus returns now to the upcoming U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and state House and Senate races. At the state level, the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission has put forth a newly adjust map for state House Districts in the wake of court rulings invalidating several in the Detroit/Southeast Michigan area. With the candidate filing deadline looming in April, the Courts are considering final challenges and concerns and should render a decision on moving forward with the new Districts soon. There have not been many new notable candidate additions in the open 7th and 8th U.S. House Districts, but former state Rep. and current Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters has filed signatures to join the Democratic Primary against incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar in the 13th District. Rep. Thanedar is also facing a likely challenge from former state Sen. Adam Hollier, but Ms. Waters is the first of the three to file petition signatures with the state.
As per our normal practice during election cycles, a full list of endorsed state and federal candidates will continue to be included at the bottom of this update and will be updated onto our website once our new site is unveiled early next year.
As always, thank you for all that you do for Michigan’s credit unions!
Sincerely,
2024 Election Endorsements:
U.S. Senate
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin
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