March 5, 2024
Dear Credit Union Leaders,
Greetings from Washington, D.C.! Your MCUL Advocacy Team and joins over 170 Michigan credit union officials and volunteers, and thousands from around the whole country, this week at America’s Credit Unions GAC! As March begins, here are the updates you need.
Announcements
As noted in the last edition, our 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. The Senate Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection Committee will convene this week for a second hearing and likely vote on 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. In Washington D.C., we expect introduction this week of the Secure Payments Act by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a “stop and study” directive aimed at the Federal Reserve on their Reg II proposal to raise the three interchange components for debit. As mentioned previously, we continue to watch negotiations on budget measures and other must-pass legislation as U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and supporters of the Credit Card Competition Act continue their attempts to amend any related provisions into these. On the heels of the GAC, the Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing on regulatory overreach entitled, “Politicized Financial Regulation and its Impact on Consumer Credit and Community Development” on Thurs., March 7.
a full update on state and federal regulatory action, please see the “Reg Corner” update in this edition of MI League Minute. And, look for a recap of the America’s Credit Unions GAC in our next edition!
Grassroots and Advocacy Funding
For those 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 is off to a great start in Washington D.C.! Hill visits begin on Tuesday and will run through Wednesday of GAC week. As we return from our Washington D.C., keep an eye out for registration information on the MCUL State GAC. Our team is in the process of putting together another great line up of panels and speakers – this event is a great opportunity to network with your peers, learn about current issues, and advocate directly with your state lawmakers. We look forward to seeing you in Lansing on May 1 (and the evening of April 30, for “PAC the Pub!” at Lansing Brewing Company)!
Elections
Michigan’s Presidential Primary election has passed, with President Joe Biden winning the Democrat Primary easily with 81% of the vote, and Donald Trump defeating Nikki Haley by a margin of 68-27% in the Republican Primary. Turnout in the Republican Primary was about 200,000 voters lower than the open Primary in 2016, and Democratic turnout fell by over half from 2020’s open Primary. Both parties’ leading candidates performed below the level of past Presidents running for re-election. The turmoil surrounding the Michigan Republican Party has lessened now that courts have weighed in with a preliminary injunction validating internal Party faction efforts to remove embattled Chair Kristina Karamo. In the wake of the now-apparently successful efforts to replace her, former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra has been tapped as the next State Party Chair.
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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