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Legislative Update with Jay Kruse by Jay Kruse, Chief Advocacy Officer Good Morning! I hope everyone is enjoying this last week of February. I know it’s not quite spring yet, but it sure feels like it here in Sioux Falls with temperatures reaching above 50 degrees just a few days after we suffered through some ridiculously frigid lows! Things are also heating up in the South Dakota Legislature, with Crossover Day occurring tomorrow. “Crossover,” is the deadline for bills and resolutions to pass the house they were originally introduced in and move across the capitol into the other chamber. This also means that many of the one-sentence, empty vehicle bills, often referred to as “title bills,” are also being amended to populate the legislative language that was originally left blank. This process is known as “hoghousing” a bill. As a result, many House and Senate committees have begun to gavel in earlier than normal this week to tackle the increased workload. Many of the bills being “hoghoused” have to do with the topic of marijuana. Again, prior to this week, most of these bills had been left blank as discussions were occurring behind the scenes between legislators and lobbyists, with strong input from Governor Noem’s office. While as credit unions, we don’t take a stance regarding the legalization of cannabis, we do believe those legally engaging in business with the cannabis industry should have equal access to safe and secure banking options just as other legal business. However, legal uncertainty between state and federal law must be resolved to bring cannabis related businesses out of the black market and into mainstream financial services. This means legislation and guidance is still needed on the federal level. In addition to bills defining the rules and regulations surrounding the legalization of both recreational and medical marijuana, there is a bill, HB 1203, which aims to allow South Dakota’s state banking institutions to serve the cannabis industry. We continue to closely monitor this legislation and the associated conversations as it moves through the legislative process, however, we did not feel comfortable at this time testifying either in support or opposition to state legislation that only applies to banks. Federally chartered credit unions in the state of South Dakota are exempt from these proposed changes, and we continue to advocate for the needed changes on the federal level to open the door for expanded financial services to the cannabis industry. The Dakota Credit Union Association, along with the South Dakota Governmental Affairs Committee, continues to track and monitor multiple industry related bills. You can see the full list of bills, including links and details, on our website at: https://www.dakcu.org/bill-tracking.html. Be sure to select South Dakota in the “Key Legislation” drop down box to display the state-specific bills we are tracking. Spring Virtual Hike-the-Hill – North and South Dakota. I wanted to give everyone a quick update on our “spring” hike-the-hill meetings that normally occur in conjunction with the CUNA GAC, which is taking place next week. We are still in the process of scheduling and finalizing virtual meetings with the entire Dakota Congressional Delegation to occur during the middle to later part of March. This is typically a very busy time in Washington DC, especially after adding in the fact our elected officials are required to continue to try to navigate an ongoing pandemic. However, we do hope to have these meetings finalized and get the details out to you in the very near future, so please keep an eye on your email and The Memo for more details on how to register and take part in these Important virtual meetings with our federal lawmakers. North Dakota HB 1366 Passes House. Yesterday, the North Dakota House passed HB 1366 with the increased lien threshold amendments we opposed. As the Senate receives the bill, DakCU will continue to work to make this bill better for both consumers and credit unions. Watch for Kayla Pulvermacher’s ND Legislative Updates in The Memo on Mondays to continue to follow along with this bill. As always, feel free to contact me at jkruse@dakcu.org with any questions or comments.
Legislative Update with Jay Kruse
by Jay Kruse, Chief Advocacy Officer
Good Morning!
I hope everyone is enjoying this last week of February. I know it’s not quite spring yet, but it sure feels like it here in Sioux Falls with temperatures reaching above 50 degrees just a few days after we suffered through some ridiculously frigid lows! Things are also heating up in the South Dakota Legislature, with Crossover Day occurring tomorrow.
“Crossover,” is the deadline for bills and resolutions to pass the house they were originally introduced in and move across the capitol into the other chamber. This also means that many of the one-sentence, empty vehicle bills, often referred to as “title bills,” are also being amended to populate the legislative language that was originally left blank. This process is known as “hoghousing” a bill. As a result, many House and Senate committees have begun to gavel in earlier than normal this week to tackle the increased workload.
Many of the bills being “hoghoused” have to do with the topic of marijuana. Again, prior to this week, most of these bills had been left blank as discussions were occurring behind the scenes between legislators and lobbyists, with strong input from Governor Noem’s office. While as credit unions, we don’t take a stance regarding the legalization of cannabis, we do believe those legally engaging in business with the cannabis industry should have equal access to safe and secure banking options just as other legal business. However, legal uncertainty between state and federal law must be resolved to bring cannabis related businesses out of the black market and into mainstream financial services. This means legislation and guidance is still needed on the federal level.
In addition to bills defining the rules and regulations surrounding the legalization of both recreational and medical marijuana, there is a bill, HB 1203, which aims to allow South Dakota’s state banking institutions to serve the cannabis industry. We continue to closely monitor this legislation and the associated conversations as it moves through the legislative process, however, we did not feel comfortable at this time testifying either in support or opposition to state legislation that only applies to banks. Federally chartered credit unions in the state of South Dakota are exempt from these proposed changes, and we continue to advocate for the needed changes on the federal level to open the door for expanded financial services to the cannabis industry.
The Dakota Credit Union Association, along with the South Dakota Governmental Affairs Committee, continues to track and monitor multiple industry related bills. You can see the full list of bills, including links and details, on our website at: https://www.dakcu.org/bill-tracking.html. Be sure to select South Dakota in the “Key Legislation” drop down box to display the state-specific bills we are tracking.
Spring Virtual Hike-the-Hill – North and South Dakota.
I wanted to give everyone a quick update on our “spring” hike-the-hill meetings that normally occur in conjunction with the CUNA GAC, which is taking place next week. We are still in the process of scheduling and finalizing virtual meetings with the entire Dakota Congressional Delegation to occur during the middle to later part of March. This is typically a very busy time in Washington DC, especially after adding in the fact our elected officials are required to continue to try to navigate an ongoing pandemic. However, we do hope to have these meetings finalized and get the details out to you in the very near future, so please keep an eye on your email and The Memo for more details on how to register and take part in these Important virtual meetings with our federal lawmakers.
North Dakota HB 1366 Passes House.
Yesterday, the North Dakota House passed HB 1366 with the increased lien threshold amendments we opposed. As the Senate receives the bill, DakCU will continue to work to make this bill better for both consumers and credit unions. Watch for Kayla Pulvermacher’s ND Legislative Updates in The Memo on Mondays to continue to follow along with this bill.
As always, feel free to contact me at jkruse@dakcu.org with any questions or comments.