Legislative Update with Jay Kruse

​It’s been some very busy weeks for Dakota state advocacy. Follow the bills we are tracking for both states here! 

by Jay Kruse, Chief Advocacy Officer

It has certainly been a busy few weeks for Dakota Credit Union state legislative advocacy! As of today, the final deadline for the introduction of bills has come and gone in both North and South Dakota. North Dakota legislators have essentially double the workload as their South Dakota counterparts, but this has come to be expected when session is only held once every two years.

Let’s dig into the numbers. In North Dakota, a total of 960 bills and resolutions have been introduced this session – that breaks down to 553 in the House and 407 in the Senate. In South Dakota, 490 bills and resolutions have been introduced in total, breaking down to 264 in the House and 226 in the Senate.

Now begins the countdown to “Crossover,” which is the last day to pass a bill/resolution by its house of origin. In South Dakota that day is February 22, and February 24th is “Crossover” in ND. Legislators will be very busy between now and then ensuring every bill in both chambers receives a fair committee hearing. Let me remind you, every bill in North Dakota receives a floor vote regardless of committee recommendation, which is not the case in South Dakota, where bills can and do die in committee. Be sure to follow along with all the bills we are tracking in both states here:: https://www.dakcu.org/bill-tracking.html

Spotlight Bills

North Dakota
SB 2217: Relating to the calculation of interchange fees for electronic payment transactions; and to provide a penalty.

• Passed Senate Committee/Senate Floor – We will fight this in the House following crossover in late February.
• We are working with CUNA, the Electronic Payments Coalition, and the bankers to bring in some expert witnesses to testify in the House following “Crossover” to help correct some of the inaccuracies being pushed by proponents of the legislation.
• Our 1st Action Alert generated 124 Messages to ND Senators in less than one week!

SB 2266: Relating to credit union membership. This is our FOM Modernization Bill!

• Senate Committee 1/31 with a follow-up on 2/7 – No committee action has been taken at this time.
• Our 1st Action Alert generated 124 messages to ND Senators!
• Stay tuned for our next Action Alert when SB 2266 heads to the Senate Floor!

South Dakota
HB 1207: Prevent financial services providers from denying service based on certain grounds.
HB 1208: Prevent government entities from entering contracts with companies that promote certain economic boycotts.
 
These are two “Anti-ESG” or Anti-Environmental, Social, and Governance Standards. While we have been very open and on the record about our dislike for anything to do with ESG scoring, the way these bills are broadly written cause concern over the unintended consequences.
 
South Dakota Credit Union Legislative Day
After running the numbers, we welcomed 55 legislators and/or elected officials in addition to our nearly 30 credit union advocates for our annual SD CU Legislative Day and Social in Pierre last week. Thank you once again to everyone who joined us; check out the recap and some additional pictures from the day here! As always, don't hesitate to contact me with any advocacy questions or concerns.