| Let’s talk about bills, bills, and bills!
As of Wednesday evening April 26, the House has introduced 309 bills and the Senate has introduced 302 bills; this includes budget bills. The past few days new bill introduction has been more a trickle than a flood. The General Assembly worked late last Friday evening, April 21, and did not work the weekend as expected. Floor work and committee work has lasted late each evening this week. With two weekends remaining this session and many bills remaining on the calendar, we will see what transpires in the coming days.
SB23-153 Concerning the Continuation of Regulation for Notaries: This is a high priority bill for CBA. The legislation continues the provisions for notarial services and remote notaries until 2032. The bill includes provisions for the use of interpreters when the notary does not speak the same language as the client signing the documents. The secretary of state’s office had implemented rules prohibiting the use of interpreters in notarial acts. This bill resolves that issue. The bill was heard in the House State Affairs Committee on April 24 and passed unanimously. The bill passed floor debate in the House chamber this week as well. Once the bill is signed by the governor, interpreters can be used effective September 1, 2023.
HB23-1115 Concerning the Repeal of Statutory Provisions Prohibiting Local Governments from Enacting Rent Control: CBA joined a coalition of business groups to oppose this legislation. It passed the House chamber with strong support. The bill was heard in Senate Local Government committee on Tuesday, April 25. There were numerous witnesses in support and opposition to the bill. Rent control is not an affordable housing tool. In fact, rent control stifles affordable housing development. After a long hearing, I am pleased to inform you the bill died in committee on a 3-4 vote.
HB23-1229 Concerning Consumer Lending: This was a high priority bill for CBA when introduced. The bill, as introduced, had 4 sections. The original sections 1 and 2 addressed supervised lenders providing loans over 12%. These 2 sections impacted FDIC insured banks, CU’s and other supervised lenders. CBA worked to amend Sections 1 and 2 out of the bill. Section 3 of the bill addresses the fees charged by supervised lenders and Section 4 is the DIDMCA opt-out or importation of interest rates. As a part of Section 4, it included credit cards. The only state to have implemented the opt out is Iowa, and Iowa does not include credit cards in their opt-out law. CBA is now neutral on the remaining sections of the bill.
When the bill was amended and sent to the Senate, we ended up with 2 sections- Section 1 addressing fees charged by supervised lenders and Section 2- DIDMCA opt-out. The bill was heard Tuesday, April 25 in Senate Business Affairs. There were a host of witnesses from out-of-state, state-chartered banks and supervised lenders to testify against the remaining 2 sections of the bill. The bill was amended to exclude general credit cards from the DIDMCA opt out but “designer” credit cards such as big box stores or department store cards remain in the bill. The bill passed Senate Business Affairs on a party line vote of 6-3. The bill has not been scheduled for floor debate in the Senate. This usually suggests that negotiations continue regarding additional amendments. The bill will have to return to the House for the House to concur with Senate amendments.
HB23-1078 Concerning the Creation of a Dependent Allowance for Individuals Receiving Unemployment Compensation: CBA joined the business community in opposition to the legislation. The unemployment trust fund remains insolvent. The fund was $100 billion deficit. In negotiations with the 2022 legislature, $600 million was restored to the trust fund, but the fund remains insolvent. The business community agrees that additional programs and added financial requirements on the trust fund are not financially prudent until solvency is restored. The hearing for this bill is scheduled in Senate Business Affairs on May 2.
A final thought: With long hours spent waiting - waiting for a committee hearing to start, waiting for floor debate to begin, waiting for a filibuster to end, waiting for a legislator to speak to you… lobbyists often feel the proverbial frustration of “banging your head against a wall”. So, while I was waiting around, I looked it up. One hour of head banging burns 150 calories. Then there is the whole bruised forehead, scraped skin, and concussion aspect. Hmmm, it could still be worth the brain cells.
Alison Morgan, Director of State Government Relations
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