BEAVERTON, Ore. — Credit unions in Oregon are following the progress of a number of financial services related bills progressing through the state legislature sponsored by the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities.
Oregon House Bill 2202 would limit check cashing fees to 2% or $5 on checks issued by the federal, state or municipality government where the check is cashed and 3% or $5 for payroll checks and all other government checks. Fees for personal checks could be up to 10%. The total fee for cashing any check cannot exceed $100. It has passed the Oregon House and Senate.
"For someone without a bank account, using a check-cashing service may be the only feasible way to cash a check," a DFCS summary read. "Oregon does not currently regulate the business of check-cashing, and fees charged by check-cashing services can range up to eight percent of the check's face value even for low-risk government and payroll checks–just to get access to the consumer's own funds."
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HB 2203, which has passed the House, would expand the state payday lending laws to all loans, including those closed online, made to borrowers in Oregon. In addition, the bill would require payday and vehicle title lenders sign up on a database similar to that used in five other states, designed to help ensure compliance with the rollover and seven-day wait limitations.
A Senate work session was scheduled at press time.
Another piece of legislation working its way through the process, HB 2204, would cap interest rates and fees on vehicle title loans equal to those of payday loans, require a minimum term of 31 days, and limit loans to two rollovers. A Senate work session was slated for May 23; the bill has already passed the House.
HB 2205 sets out to limit the types of lending that can be done under a "conventional" license. Regulations have already been adopted and the bill would codify those in statute. It has passed the House and a Senate work
session was scheduled for last week.
There is also a bill, HB 2220, to modernize the state's Pawnbroker Act without reducing consumer protections; the bill has passed the Oregon House and Senate.
Additionally, the Credit Union Association of Oregon announced that a financial education bill it has backed, HB 2584, has made it through the state House. The bill would create a task force within the Department of Education, made up of administrators, educators, school board members, students and other stakeholders, to study and make recommendations about how to increase and improve civics and financial education in K-12 public schools.
The carrier of the bill, Representative Gene Whisnant is a long-time credit union friend and mentioned Oregon credit unions on the House floor. The CUAO along with several Oregon credit unions provided testimony in support of HB 2584.
"Credit unions have been ardently pursuing legislation to support financial education because each year studies continue to show that many Americans do not have the knowledge or skills to make sound financial decisions," said CUAO Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs and Public Relations Pamela Leavitt.
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