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The 2023 Utah Legislative Session has come to an end, and it was a busy one for lawmakers and credit union advocates.
Here is a look at the bills we monitored and worked on during the session.
SB0177 Financial Institutions and Creditor Amendments
(Sen. Bramble, Curtis S.)
This bill represents the first direct credit union attack bill in the last 18 years. It essentially prohibits a bank from selling its assets to a credit union. There have been none of these transactions in Utah and none in the near future of which we are aware.
We were able to keep this bill from having a hearing in committee, which was a very tall order given the bill sponsor chaired the committee to which this bill was assigned. This was a very big win for credit unions.
We’ve likely not seen the last of this topic.
HB0281S01 Social Credit Score Amendments
(Rep. Acton, Cheryl K.)
We worked to stop this bill last year because it would’ve threated a CU’s ability to use an alpha-numeric code to evaluate the behavior of CU members (like FICO scores). We were able to get carve outs for financial institutions in this year’s bill.
HB0449S04 Business Services Amendments
(Rep. Ivory, Ken)
We were able to get the sponsor of this bill to move the language out of the financial services chapter and placed in the criminal collusion section of the code. Still not a great bill but we got it further away from CU operations.
SB0096S02 Fiduciary Duty Modifications
(Sen. Wilson, Chris H.)
We monitored this anti-ESG bill but it didn’t develop into a threat to CUs.
SB0097S02 Public Contract Requirements
(Sen. Wilson, Chris H.)
This bill had the most concern for us. It was clear that Senate leadership was interested in passing an anti-ESG bill. They did work with us to carve away several areas of concern. You can see the adjustments through the substitute bill thread.
HB0519 Consumer Credit Protection Amendments
(Rep. Birkeland, Kera)
This bill sprung up very late in the session. It called for what we would consider disruption and unnecessary disclosure around the use of credit report data use. We asked for a chance to work with her on our concerns with this bill. It did not get through the session but we do expect to see it next year.
SB0184S01 Prescription Cost Amendments
(Sen. Bramble, Curtis S.)
Many CU HR departments were looped into this bill when it was in the Senate committee. The bill sailed through the senate but died in the house.
HB0206 Airport Land Use Amendments
(Rep. Ballard, Melissa G.)
We monitored this bill as we have a few credit unions with property near airports.
HB0325 Court Debt Collection Amendments
(Rep. Judkins, Marsha)
We, along with other lenders, opposed this bill. It did not move after introduction.
HB0455 Service Member Lending Protections
(Rep. Burton, Jefferson S.)
Rep. Burton is the former Adjutant General of the Utah National Guard. The bill attempts to implement several provisions of the Military Lending Act as well as several others aggressive provisions. We suggested we would be willing to work with him but his bill in current form was problematic. He agreed to pull his bill and work through solutions during the summer.
HB0309S02 County Recorder Amendments
(Rep. Judkins, Marsha)
SB0118S05 Water Efficient Landscaping Incentives
(Sen. Sandall, Scott D.)
This bill in its original form created a lien super-priority for irrigations companies that put them in front of lenders. We got the sponsor to agree to amend out that portion of his bill.
HB0015 Board of Credit Union Advisors Sunset Amendments
(Rep. Maloy, A. Cory)
This bill extended the DFI’s board of CU advisors for another 10 years. Not controversial, just a routine review of the board.
HB0035 Unfair Practices Act Amendments
(Rep. Thurston, Norman K)
This bill removed Unfair Practices Act language. We monitored this to see if this enforcement power would land somewhere else. It didn’t. The Division of Consumer Protection determined it was unnecessary.
Overall, the 2023 Utah Legislative Session was a productive one for the state’s credit unions. We worked tirelessly to advocate for credit unions and the session ended mostly in our favor. Onward and upward!
