The Cornerstone Credit Union League achieved legislative success recently in all three states it represents: Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The Arkansas Credit Union Association team was very involved a bill allowing financial institutions to delay transactions suspect might be financial abuse. The bill was signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill reducing the “privilege tax” paid by state-chartered credit unions in the state from 6% to 4%. Additionally, Stitt signed HB 2568 into law, which permits the conducting of certain savings promotion raffle contests to incentivize savings.

The Cornerstone League and Texas Credit Union Association also achieved a goal in the works since early 2020 with passage of a bill officially renewing the Texas Credit Union Department as the independent regulatory authority of state-chartered credit unions in Texas.

The department was reauthorized for an additional 12 years. Throughout the entire process, the League team worked to give the staff all the information and assistance they needed, resulting in a positive report from the Sunset Commission to the Legislature.

The Sunset Commission found the existing organizational structure to be the best option, enabling the Texas Credit Union Department to continue until 2033.

The bill also makes changes to complaint tracking, calls for a process for issuing guidance for federal regulatory actions that conflict with state law, and provides additional relief.