H.R. 5817, the bill that would provide an exemption to Gramm-Leach-Bliley annual privacy notificationrequirements, passed the House as expected by voice vote onWednesday.

Should the bill become law, credit unions would only be requiredto provide privacy disclosures to members when they first opentheir account, and again only when the policy changes.

Currently, financial institutions are required to send thedisclosure annual via mail, regardless of whether it haschanged.

“This legislation eliminates an unnecessary, redundant andcostly annual privacy policy notice requirement. It will savecredit unions valuable staff resources, lower the cost of financialservices, and reverse the negative environmental impact caused bysuch a requirement, while not harming consumers,” said NAFCUExecutive Vice President of Government Affairs Dan Berger.

The bill now awaits consideration by the Senate. Credit unionlobbyists have said that while the bill is not controversial, itdoes lack familiarity in the Senate, so the upper chamber wouldhave to be educated on the issue.

“Since there has been no companion bill introduced in theSenate, it hasn't made a lot of sense to talk about thelegislation, especially given the other things we have been workingon in Senate,” said CUNA Senior Vice President of LegislativeAffairs Ryan Donovan. “We will reach out and see what appetite theSenate has for one more piece of regulatory legislation.”

CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney agreed. He said the bill “wouldeliminate a costly and unnecessary compliance burden by eliminatingrepetitive notices that are often ignored by consumers. Further, itenhances consumer protection by ensuring that when a consumerreceives a privacy notification, it has significance and is notredundant.”