ALEXANDRIA, Va.-In what has become the brief style the NCUA Board has been known for over the past year, at its June Meeting the agency approved the publication of categories for regulatory burden relief and proposed bylaw changes. First, the two-member board issued a notice and request for comment on changes to the Federal Credit Union Bylaws. "The Proposal seeks to allow maximum flexibility for Federal Credit Unions and their boards of directors, while preserving the rights of credit union members to be informed about and participate in the governance of their credit unions and ensuring that all Federal Credit Unions will use essentially the same rules for governing themselves," the Board Action Memorandum read. The notice includes a number of modifications, but the agency highlighted a few: * Increasing the maximum number of member signatures required to call a special meeting from 500 to 750; * Adding section titles and further use of plain English to make the bylaws more user friendly; * Including staff commentary for the interpretations of the Office of General Counsel on common issues that arise; and * Writing the introduction to address the legal nature of the bylaws, the amendment process, and NCUA's position on internal bylaw disputes. Another change that NCUA Board Member Debbie Matz noted is that the proposal would permit any credit union member's motion to be recognized during a meeting. She said this was particularly important in light of the mutual savings bank conversions. The proposal was issued unanimously for a 90-day comment period. The NCUA Board also issued its fifth notice for regulatory review under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996. Categories of regulations up for review this time are directors, officers, and employees and rules of procedure. The public has 90 days to comment on whether statutory changes are necessary; if regulations suit the purposes of the laws; how and if regulations may impact competition; compliance, record-keeping, and disclosure costs; whether rules are inconsistent or redundant; and the need for clarifications. NCUA is conducting the EGRPRA review in conjunction with, but separate from, the other banking regulators due to credit unions' unique nature. The regulators have put out seven of the 10 regulatory categories for comment. Under EGRPRA, the banking agencies must review their regulations for unnecessary burden every 10 years. NCUA performs its own ongoing regulatory review process, studying all its rules every three years. Comments relating to EGRPRA have been posted at www.EGRPRA.gov under `Comments.' [email protected]