State legislators made up for lost time as the California Legislative Session drew nearer all month long, finally closing out at midnight on Aug. 31. Lawmakers introduced over 2,000 bills during the session, many of which impacted credit unions.

This year’s session kicked off with a massive legislative credit union victory when the California Credit Union League defeated Senate Bill 1176, the State CRA (Community Reinvestment Act).

The League and credit unions also stopped a 32-hour work week proposal (Assembly Bill 2932) and defeated a climate reporting requirement bill (SB 449) for the second year in a row. These victories were made possible by the groundwork laid during the League's California Government Relations Rally (GRR) this past April.

From there, the League shifted its focus to over 30 other measures — some positive and some negative:

• Toward the end of session, the League was able to amend a bill dealing with economic coercion (SB 975), removing secured debts and ensuring perpetrators of crimes are held responsible.
• The League also stopped SB 1323 with the help of credit union supporters and advocates. This bill would have made non-judicial foreclosure nearly impossible.
• Credit unions and the League were also successful in amending two major employer bills. SB 1044 (emergency conditions and retaliation) was amended to exempt depository institutions, and SB 1162 (pay transparency bill) was amended to remove the publication of pay data.
• Finally, the League worked to get bills passed to help expedite background checks for employees, as well as regulate digital asset companies.
  
  

In light of these victories, some bills passed that will impact credit unions in California, namely those dealing with GAP waivers.

The League will be providing a legislative recap after Gov. Gavin Newsom takes action within the next 30 days, as well as compliance updates for bills impacting credit unions.

"A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who participated in all our calls-to-action this year," said Robert Wilson, senior vice president of state government affairs for the League. "Now it’s time to shift our focus to an election cycle that will most likely see over one-quarter of legislators replaced for various reasons."

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