US House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Credit Union Governance Modernization Act

​Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions of the US House Financial Services committee held a hearing that included H.R. 2311, the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act of 2021.

​HR 2311 was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Perlmutter (D-CO) and Rep. Emmer (R-MN) and has been a linchpin of CUNA and MnCUN’s advocacy work for the last three years.

​Under current law, a two-thirds vote of the full credit union membership is required to expel a member. Although extremely rare, some members prove to be a threat and engage in dangerous or illegal conduct. This can include physical damage to property, harassment, or fraud. In these cases, the time and resources required for a full vote are simply not practical nor effective.

H.R. 2311 would amend the Federal Credit Union Act to afford a more efficient process by requiring a majority vote of the board of directors of a credit union while at the same time providing a robust appeal process for the credit union member. The bill was modeled after legislation that was sponsored by MnCUN in 2018 that allowed for this change for state-chartered credit unions.

Senator Smith (D-MN) introduced the Senate version of the bill earlier this year. MnCUN, in conjunction with CUNA, continues to work to build bipartisan support for the bill in both bodies and hope to have the bill heard and passed this session of Congress.