League issues 2018 Legislative Wrap-Ups for North and South Carolina

COLUMBIA, SC and RALEIGH, NC—Living out the mission to be credit unions’ strongest advocate in the Carolinas and Washington, DC, the Carolinas Credit Union League is pleased to share “proof” of these efforts in the 2018 Legislative Wrap-Ups for North and South Carolina. The reports look back at both general assemblies, activity relevant to credit unions and consumers, and the League’s broad scope of effort.

North Carolina

Having achieved last year’s advocacy agenda during the 2017 session, the League was vigilant during this short session to ensure that lawmakers “did no harm,” with constant monitoring and ongoing review of hundreds of bills and amendments.

"Many folks who are unfamiliar with advocacy assume that we’re always advancing bills,” said Evelyn Hawthorne, VP of governmental affairs for the League. "Some of the most important work we do is to make sure that legislation doesn’t happen."

Hawthorne goes on to share an example of how an issue arose from a member credit union around the use of NC drivers’ licenses as a means of verifying identity to comply with the US Patriot Act.

"Our advocacy and regulatory teams spent months working with the DMV to work out a process to address that issue rather than fixing the problem legislatively," Hawthorne added. "The end result not only fixed the credit union’s issue, it created a process that can be used by other credit unions and opened the lines of communications with the DMV. To me, that is as important if not more so than passing a bill."

South Carolina

Just as the previous legislative session was dominated by roads, this session focused on the V.C. Summer nuclear debacle. Meanwhile, the League remained committed to modernizing the South Carolina Credit Union Act via the S. 337 bill.

The League led a successful campaign for the passage of S. 337, which successfully crossed the finish line on May 15 when it was signed into law by Governor Henry McMasters.

"The passage of this bill provides state-chartered credit unions additional flexibility and relief from some antiquated regulations, and ultimately greater access and more value to South Carolina consumers,” said Billy Boylston, VP of governmental affairs for the League. “It was the culmination of hard work by the League, supportive lawmakers, and many credit unions that kept the momentum going and made it a success.”

Other top highlights for the year included: (1) the passage of the H. 4973 bill, which provided language to correct the SCDMV’s reinterpretation of a transport tag law in 2017 that made it illegal for credit unions to use transport tags; and (2) hosting a successful Financial Literacy Day at the State House, where Senate Banking & Insurance Committee Chairman Ronnie Cromer presented the governor’s signed proclamation of April as Financial Literacy Month.

What’s Next

With reviews complete, CCUL Advocacy now builds its state strategies to include valued measures not enacted in 2018. The League encourages credit unions to share ongoing concerns and perspective on particular issues with Evelyn Hawthorne (NC) and Billy Boylston (SC).

Resources

2018 NC Legislative Wrap-Up (PDF)

2018 SC Legislative Wrap-Up (PDF)