Vermont CU Bill Resurfaces In a New Form

MONTPELIER, Vt. – The battle regarding modernization of Vermont’s credit union law isn’t over yet. State Sen. Ann Cummings (D-3), who chairs the Vermont Legislature’s Senate Finance Committee, has introduced an amendment to H.648 – an economic development bill that already has passed the House and is scheduled for action in the Senate – which could provide many of the same benefits to Vermont’s credit unions and their members as the original proposal written by the state’s Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities & Health Care Administration (BISHCA). Despite progress made on the BISHCA proposal, House Commerce Committee Chairman Mark Young announced recently his decision to table the legislation until the new session starts in January 2005. Learning about Sen. Cummings’ initiative, the Vermont Credit Union League wasted no time in taking action regarding H.648 including~producing radio ads with the help of CUNA about how Vermonters love their credit unions, running ads promoting credit unions and H.648 in various newspapers, and supplying their members with contact names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for their state senators, as well as talking points.