The Nebraska Legislature passed several updates to the State Credit Union Act when it passed LB 1074 introduced by State Senator Julie Slama who is also chair of the Banking, Commerce, and Insurance Committee. The bill contained several banking related provisions including several provisions advocated for by the League and state-chartered credit unions. As originally introduced, LB 1074 was the Department of Banking & Finance’s omnibus bill which in part included the state-chartered credit union “wild card” or parity provision and an amendment to the State Credit Union Act allowing the Department to send examination reports to the credit union’s Manager/CEO in lieu of the chair of the board.
In 2023, State Senator George Dungan introduced LB 710 that proposed several updates to the State Credit Union Act. The bill had a public hearing in 2023 and was met with opposition from the banking trade groups. This year, the League and credit union advocates worked in good faith with Banking Committee members, the Department of Banking & Finance, key Senators, and Governor Pillen to amend several provisions of LB 710 into LB 1074. This effort was successful, and several provisions were included with the Committee’s amendment to LB 1074. The provisions amended included:
- Flexibility to schedule board meetings with no fewer than six board meetings annually and at least one per financial quarter.
- Ability to hold virtual annual meetings.
- Ability to appoint associate board directors.
- Ability to invest in insurance products for the purpose of funding employee benefit plans.
- Elimination of a membership vote requirement for the surviving credit union in a merger.
