Legislative Update with Jay Kruse

​It’s appropriations season in Washington as Congress continues negotiations; and there are a number of financial services related bills that we will be monitoring. 

Good Morning!

It is appropriations season in Washington as Congress continues negotiations to fund the government. Appropriation bills, also known as spending bills, are proposed law that authorizes the expenditure of government funds. Every fiscal year, the president submits a budget to Congress, which then must pass appropriation bills to fund government programs and other vital government functions. Appropriation bills are typically separated into a few different categories, but they can be grouped together into larger legislative packages.

Late last week, the House passed what it calls its “minibus” appropriations bill, which focused on the Financial Services and General Government funding including some very important credit union priorities:

• $336 million for the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The fund makes capital grants, equity investments and awards for technical assistance to certified CDFIs.
• $4 million for NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF). The CDRLF funds a revolving loan program and a technical assistance program

The House has already begun consideration of a number of financial services related bills that will continue throughout the week that we will continue to keep a close eye on.

• H.R. 3962 – SECURE Notarization Act of 2022
• H.R. 7734 – Timely Delivery of Bank Secrecy Act Reports Act, as amended  
• H.R. 5128 – Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act
• H.R. 7733 – CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act of 2022, as amended
• H.R. 4586 – Risk-Based Credit Examination Act, as amended
•  H.R. 4590 – Promoting New and Diverse Depository Institutions Act, as amended
• H.R. 4227 – Developing and Empowering our Aspiring Leaders Act of 2022, as amended

The Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic (SECURE) Notarization Act of 2021 (H.R. 3962) would authorize the use of remote online notarization and create national standards and protections for its use, which is something we have been working on and advocating for since the start of the pandemic. In addition to the passage of the SECURE Notarization Act, minor changes to state law may be needed in the Dakotas to fully utilize true remote notary services.
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As always, feel free to contact me with any advocacy concerns. 

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