Effort on California Card Law Likely Multifaceted, CUNA Executive Says

WASHINGTON – Credit unions will probably launch a multifaceted effort to mitigate a California credit card disclosure law, according to Eric Richard, CUNA's general counsel. The effort could resemble, in approach, the industry's historic effort to overturn another court decision and which resulted in H.R. 1151, Richard said. The U.S District Court for the Eastern District of California found in late December that a pending California credit card disclosure law could not be applied to federally-chartered institutions. However, the law could still be applied to state-chartered institutions, whether from California or from other states which had card customers in California. "Just as in the HR 1151 effort," Richard said, "at the same time the industry mounted a litigation strategy it was also lining up sponsors for what became H.R. 1151." Richard suggested that the effort to mitigate the California law might also involve a litigation and legislative strategy. He also said the next phase of the fight against the law might involve other groups, such as state-chartered banks, which sat out the first phase of the fight. "We are talking to a lot of different players, including the California regulators," Richard said.