COLUMBUS, Ohio - Calling it the "first substantive modification"of the state's credit union act in 17 years, the Ohio Credit UnionLeague is monitoring the progress of credit union legislationintroduced in the state House of Representatives April 21 which onecredit union spokesman said "includes changes that give Ohio creditunions the regulatory flexibility they need to better serve theirmembers in the 21st century." House Bill 470, was introduced byRep. Geoffrey Smith (R-24), a second-term Republican. Thelegislation culminates a two-year process initiated by the OhioCredit Union League to review the laws and regulations affectingcredit unions in the state, an effort that was led by a 10-memberOhio Charter Task Force chaired by Jerry Guy, president/CEO, KembaFinancial CU, Columbus. Among the provisions of the measure, itwould: * authorize state and federal credit unions to act asdepositories for probate, guardianship, and public funds; * permitstudent credit unions in public schools for grades K-12; * allowcredit unions to offer limited financial services to people inunderserved areas, such as check-cashing and wire transfers; *clarify that joint account owners are eligible for loans; *establish a safety and soundness standard for membership approval;* provide additional authority to the Superintendent of FinancialInstitutions to adopt rules setting forth membership criteria; *permit electronic technology for meetings, record-keeping, anddocumentation; and * add the definition for low income creditunions, net worth, shares, deposits, and membership agreement. Inaddition to Guy, the other members of the Ohio Charter Task Forcewere: Gary Easterling, Wright-Patt CU; Catherine Herring,Communicating Arts CU; Mike Kurish, Associated Schools ECU; KarenMcNamara, Greater Cleveland Fire Fighters CU; Phil Meyer, OhioUniversity CU; Susie Preston, Buckeye State CU; Barry Shaner,Toledo Area Community CU; and Rose Bartolomucci, chair of the OCULand president/CEO of Kent CU who served as ex officio on the TaskForce. The Task Force surveyed Ohio credit unions over the two yearperiod to garner their feedback on changes and updates that wouldhelp them better serve their members. The Task Force eventuallydrafted a document from that input that became H.B. 470. There are231 state-chartered credit unions in Ohio and 295 federal CUs.According to OCUL General Counsel John Kozlowski, the last time theCredit Union Act was substantively modified was in 1987, and thosechanges were mostly promulgated by the state Division of FinancialInstitutions for the purposes of regulation. Since then there haveonly been minor changes made. The act was written in 1971. "Thepurpose of House Bill 470 is to provide credit unions withadditional flexibility and provide the quality products andservices credit unions need, as well as the ability of creditunions to perform certain functions that up until now have beenblocked by sections of the act," explained Kozlowski, who addedthat the League asked Smith to introduce the measure because he'sfamiliar with credit union issues and he's been a member of theHouse Banking Committee since he took office. "The financialservices industry has changed and credit unions need theflexibility to change with it," said Kozlowski. At press time,there were nine co-sponsors' names on H.B. 470. The House RulesCommittee hadn't yet assigned the measure to a committee, butKozlowski said the Rule Committee was scheduled to meet on May 4."Until then we will continue to work with our membership and statelegislators," he said. -

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