Senators introduce bipartisan CU board governance update

A bipartisan group of Senators today introduced a bill to update credit union board meeting requirements, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. The bill has a bipartisan House companion, introduced in March. 

The Credit Union Board Modernization Act would modify the Federal Credit Union Act requirement that credit union boards meet no less than six times per year (from the current once per month).

“This legislation will give credit unions flexibility when setting board meeting schedules, allowing additional time and resources to go toward serving members,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “Thank you to Sens. Sinema, Hagerty, Padilla, and Tillis for their bipartisan leadership on this important issue.”

Credit union Leagues engaged with policymakers on this bill in recent weeks.

“Credit unions, and our 130 million members nationally, benefit from the strong dual chartering system. As state legislatures have advanced and enhanced their state charters, the federal charter has fallen behind,” said Diana Dykstra, president/CEO of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues. “Both the legislatures in California and Nevada, for example have updated their charters several times in the past decade to make necessary adjustments such as the legislation you have introduced. State chartered credit unions with these authorities have been working successfully, proving your legislation is more than justified.”

Sarah Waters, chief advocacy officer for the Tennessee Credit Union League thanked Hagerty.

"The Tennessee League is grateful to Senator Hagerty for his leadership on this important legislation.  We're glad to see Congress modernize this outdated requirement to reduce the unnecessary burden on credit unions, especially small credit unions and those in rural areas,” she said.

“We thank Senator Sinema for her leadership introducing legislation to modernize the Federal Credit Union Act, and we look forward to working with her team to help advance this legislation through Congress” said Austin DeBey vice president of legislative affairs at the Mountain West Credit Union Association.  “By allowing credit unions the ability to reduce the number of board meetings they must hold, they can dedicate more time and resources to serving their members and making an impact in their communities. We appreciate the partnership of Arizona credit unions for their advocacy efforts to help advance this priority bill.”

Carolinas Credit Union President/CEO Dan Schline said credit unions could use the flexibility provided by the bill.

“Senator Tillis shares our ongoing focus on efficiency and common-sense regulation, and he has worked with us to update antiquated board governance provisions in the Federal Credit Union Act, providing needed flexibility to credit unions and boards,” he said. “We appreciate Senator Tillis and his efforts to ensure credit unions can rightly focus on what they do best: serving their members and communities.”