110+ Take in Busy Agenda at 2008 MCUL GAC (Monitor: April 21, 2008)
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From left, NCUA Supervisory Examiners Jeffery Pike and Andrew Healy, joined by OFIR Commissioner Ken Ross, participate in Thursday’s Regulatory Roundtable.
MCUL State Lawmaker of the Year State Rep. Andy Coulouris, D-Saginaw, and MCUL State Staffer of the Year Teri Ambs, legislative director to State Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe.
At left, State Rep. Darwin Booher, R-Evart, chats with Members CU (PB) President/CEO Dan Witkowski at the MCUL GAC Legislative Luncheon.
Emily Kolinski Morris shares her analysis of Michigan’s near-term economic future, a prediction she describes as “not the most positive.”
Keynote speaker Matt Cooper, right, participates in an on-camera interview with MCUL Public Affairs Director Mike Bridges.
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis, left, and Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer, provide MCUL GAC attendees with two very different views of the state and national political scenes.
State Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, responds to audience queries regarding his views on the economy, the mortgage foreclosure crisis and the need to improve Michigan’s regulatory and business climate.
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The mortgage foreclosure crisis, Michigan’s struggling economy, upcoming state and national elections — and the usual host of the current year’s regulatory and legislative issues and concerns — made for a busy and information-filled agenda at the 2008 MCUL Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC).
More than 110 Michigan credit union leaders participated in the annual event, held Wednesday and Thursday, April 16-17, at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Lansing.
“In terms of content, it’s hard to imagine a more substantive and informative Michigan League GAC,” said MCUL President/CEO David Adams. “There was a lot to take in, and a lot of feedback and participation by the participants. I think all the attendees would concur that this was a very worthwhile event.”
Adams opened the GAC Wednesday morning with “Issues, Initiatives and Solutions,” a presentation detailing the continuing work of the MCUL and its affiliates in protecting and promoting credit union interests and providing valuable products and services. Adams touched on a wide range of topics, including regulatory relief legislation, the mortgage crisis, strengthening the credit union charter, credit union cooperative advertising and the MCUL Community Reinvestment Initiative (CRI).
Adams was followed on the program by keynote speaker Matthew Cooper, former TIME magazine deputy Washington bureau chief and now Washington Editor at Condé Nast Portfolio, a new business magazine which debuted in May 2007.
Cooper, a long-time observer of the national political scene, offered his analysis of the ongoing presidential contest. The Democrats are out-polling and out-fund raising Republicans in the primaries, he noted, adding that history makes a third straight GOP presidential victory unlikely. But, likely Republican nominee John McCain still has a chance to prevail in a national contest with either Democrat hopeful Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, he said.
Commenting on the economy and the possibility of a national recession, he opined that the country faced “difficult” economic times and that “the ‘R’ word is almost an academic question. Generally, (economists) don’t even know we’ve had a recession until after we’ve had one.”
The economy was exclusively in the spotlight during the Wednesday Michigan Economics Issues Luncheon, as Ford Motor Company Senior Economist Emily Kolinski Morris delivered a report on the state’s economic condition and prospects — an assessment that she candidly described as “not the most positive.”
A confluence of events — lagging auto sales, rising unemployment, spiraling energy costs and rising consumer debt and interest expenses relative to income — will make for another down year in 2008, with the earliest possible improvement coming in 2009, she said.
While Michigan’s economy is becoming more diverse, she noted, the state remains heavily reliant on manufacturing and the auto industry. Twenty-three percent of the nation’s automobile production occurs in Michigan and manufacturing contributes 15 percent of Michigan’s non-farm employment and 22 percent of its total payroll.
Given those facts, and that 2008 is projected to be a lean year for U.S. vehicle sales, Michigan will continue to struggle, Kolinski Morris said. “There’s no way to ignore the fact that manufacturing will continue to exert a strong influence over our near-term performance,” she said.
Following the luncheon, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis and Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer squared off in a spirited and pointed — but civil and entertaining — discussion of the state and national political scenes, moderated by Detroit’s WWJ-AM 950 Senior Capitol Correspondent Tim Skubick.
The two party chairs offered starkly different viewpoints on everything from the presidential, congressional and legislative races to the need for term limits and proposals to bring back a part-time Michigan Legislature.
Next on the Wednesday agenda, MCUL Legislative Affairs Director Andrew Doerr and MCUL Regulatory Affairs Director Mike DeFors provided a detailed update of the League’s legislative and regulatory agendas, respectively. The next event, the State Financial Services Issues Panel discussion featuring four prominent state lawmakers, took on a very different look when legislative conflicts made it impossible for three of the legislators to participate.
The lone participant, State Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, gamely provided a solo presentation, talking about his background and experience in business and his views on the legislative issues of the day. Walking among the audience, he fielded questions on the economy, the mortgage foreclosure crisis and Michigan’s regulatory and business climate.
Following a hot breakfast on Thursday morning, MCUL GAC participants had a chance to get updated on the credit union response to Michigan’s foreclosure crisis. Adams and La Pine explained the details of the new “Save the Dream” program recently signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and how credit unions can become involved, and touched on federal legislation that could positively impact many Michigan homeowners.
Jodi Morris of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Division of Homeownership also provided details on how and why to become a MSHDA approved lender.
Next on the agenda was the Regulator Roundtable, which gave attendees a summary of current issues and events within the NCUA and the newly named Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR). Newly appointed OFIR Commissioner Ken Ross provided a brief update, followed by NCUA Supervisory Examiners Andrew Healy and Jeffery Pike.
Ross said he is always appreciative of the opportunity to speak at events such as the MCUL GAC. “In fact, you won’t be able to get rid of me, since I’ll be doing a lot of credit union outreach this summer,” he joked.
Ross also said an advantage of working with a state agency like OFIR is the ability to meet face-to-face with credit union people and discuss their concerns.
Following a brief session presented by MCUL staff on the importance of becoming involved in grassroots lobbying efforts during an election year, participants then hiked over to the Anderson House Office Building to conclude the MCUL GAC with a Legislative Luncheon. During the event, credit union leaders shared an informal meal with lawmakers and their staffers and presented them with the 2008 CRI Aggregate Report, which details the commitment of Michigan credit unions to the credit union social mission.
“Although the Senate didn’t recess until almost 1 p.m., many lawmakers were still present or were represented by staff who could talk to credit union people and carry the new CRI Report back to their offices,” La Pine said. “It was a very positive event and there was comfortable dialogue between GAC participants and legislators.”
The MCUL GAC agenda also included a presentation of 2007 PAC fund-raising awards to recognize outstanding efforts by credit unions and chapters in raising funds for the MCUL state and federal PACs, MCULAF and MCULLAF. A special awards ceremony was also held to officially honor the MCUL’s 2007 State Lawmakers of the Year, State Rep. Andy Coulouris, D-Saginaw, and the MCUL State Staffer of the Year, Teri Ambs, legislative director for State Sen. Richardville.
For the CUTV video wrap up of the 2008 MCULGAC, visit http://mcul.cutvonline.com. Technical questions or assistance in accessing CU TV may be directed to MCUL Public Affairs Director Mike Bridges at Ext. 246 or mjb@mcul.org. Credit union leaders are urged to mark their calendars for both the 2008 Hike the Hill grassroots lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, June 11-12; and for the 2009 MCUL GAC, slated for Wednesday and Thursday, April 29-30, 2009, at the Radisson Hotel in Lansing.
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Regulatory Affairs
