​Hike the Hill provides credit union representatives with an exciting opportunity to meet with federal legislators and talk about top issues that credit unions in Minnesota are facing. During the virtual Hike the Hill visits, credit union professionals and volunteers will meet with the entire Minnesota Congressional Delegation.

​Meetings will be scheduled on various days during the week of September 20th to allow for maximum flexibility for members of Congress to able to attend. Once meetings have been scheduled, attendees will receive a calendar invitation from Network staff with the exact date and time.

Please contact Ryan Smith, MnCUN Director of Governmental Affairs with any questions.

The Minnesota legislature ended a special session last week to pass the final bills that will complete state’s biennial budget and avoid a government shutdown. To keep you informed of developments of interest to credit unions at the State Capitol, we have put together a summary of relevant legislative actions.

​In mid-May, the Minnesota state legislature adjourned their regular session with an agreement between the House and Senate leaders on the overall state budget numbers and tasked committee chairs with working out the details of their respective budgets.

U.S. Senator Smith, in partnership with Senator Sasse (R-NE), introduced the Senate companion to the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act in the House. This bill creates a pathway for federal credit unions to expel members without a full vote of their membership. 

​​“This bill is an important update of the federal credit union charter and prioritizes the safety of credit union members and the staff that serve them,” said Mark Cummins, President and CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network. “We appreciate Senator Smith’s commitment to strengthening the security of Minnesota credit unions.”

​“We thank Sens. Smith and Sasse for their bipartisan bill that would modernize the Federal Credit Union Act to support staff and member safety,” said Jim Nussle, President and CEO of the Credit Union National Association. “We look forward to working with them to advance this bipartisan legislation so that we can bring credit union governance into the 21st century.”
 
You can access bill text here.

Yesterday, Governor Tim Walz signed into law a bill to bring parity to state-chartered financial institutions and allow them to offer checking accounts to people that have had accounts forcibly closed within the preceding 12 months, just like federal charters are able to now. The bill passed the House unanimously on May 14. MnCUN thanks the bill's authors, Representative Jim Davnie and Senator Karin Housley, for their support of credit unions. 

​Work Remains on the 2-Year State Budget
Last week, the Minnesota Legislative leaders came to an initial agreement on the two-year budget, but not before the constitutional deadline for adjournment.

Legislative leaders have laid out a timeline laid that committees will have budgets set by May 28 and bills completed by June 4. To try to avoid any collapse of this deal, any policy changes included in the bills must be signed off on by the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader and the Governor.

The plan is to convene for the special session on June 14 and be done within a day or so. If legislative leaders are unable to draft legislative language around the top-level budget targets they’ve agreed to by that date, Minnesota state government will go into a partial shutdown, which hasn’t happened since 2011. 

​The Minnesota state legislature adjourned its regular session on Monday. As this was the first year of the biennium, the main task in front of the legislators when they convened in January was to determine a two-year budget.

In order to sustain and increase the political prominence and influence of Minnesota credit unions, it is imperative to have a strong and sustainable fundraising program for our state and federal political action committees. To achieve this objective, MnCUN’s Political Involvement Committee (PIC) has endorsed the Fair Share plan, which challenges each credit union in the state to financially support political fundraising initiatives. Earlier this year, the Network’s Political Involvement Committee (PIC) voted to keep the Fair Share goal for our member credit unions at $30 a person.

“The Fair Share program was developed to encourage every credit union employee to help protect their industry in the halls of government and has resulted in contributions from hundreds of people across the state,” MnCUN Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Mara Humphrey said. “The small dollars raised from so many people demonstrate the depth and breadth of support from credit union staff and we want to thank each and every one that contributed to helping to further the mission of Minnesota’s credit unions.”

The following credit unions have met, or are projected to meet, their Fair Share as of May 1:

• City & County Credit Union
• Co-Op Credit Union of Montevideo
• Embarrass Vermillion Federal Credit Union
• First Alliance Credit Union
• HBI Employees Credit Union
• Hiway Credit Union
• Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union
• Minnco Credit Union
• Minnesota Credit Union Network
• North Memorial Federal Credit Union
• Red Wing Credit Union
• Riverview Credit Union
• United Employees Credit Union

Contact Ryan Smith, MnCUN Director of Governmental Affairs by email with questions.

​CUNA’s political action committee, CULAC, temporarily paused contributions to candidates in January, allowing for time to reflect, listen to donors and stakeholders, and review contribution policies.