WASHINGTON–With the nation’s restaurant industry in Washington next week, many are expecting the Durbin interchange bill—which is opposed by credit unions—to make its appearance next week in the Senate.
But credit unions should also be paying attention to bills at the state level that seek to put limits on interchange, according to one person who spoke to the Defense Matters meeting sponsored by the Defense Credit Union Council and held in conjunction with America’s Credit Unions GAC.
Fight at State Level
Larry Seyfried, managing director of federal legislative affairs with the Electronic Payments Coalition, and a former staffer with the House Financial Services Committee, said there are many organizations pushing for state-level versions of the Durbin bill, which would roll back interchange in a number of ways.
“As we saw last year in Illinois, where a bill passed prohibiting interchange to be charged on taxes and tips, a lawsuit was filed and a court said national banks and credit unions are exempt, but a local bank or credit union has to comply, which is absolutely insane.”
Seyfried said there are 37 states with bills on some sort of interchange, all of which his organization and others are working to fight.
The States to Watch
According to Seyfried, the states to watch include:
Arizona. “We do expect a hearing to be held (Wednesday) on the bill. We highly encourage you to reach out to legislature.”
- Colorado: “This is an uphill battle: The bill is the chairman’s bill and a hearing is scheduled for next week.”
- Washington & Idaho: “We feel like we’re in a much better position. Bills have been introduced but we have been able to beat those back or slow-walk those.”
- California: “We are going to continue to face uphill battles. The legislature is almost full-time, so we have to stay focused there.”
- Missouri: “The chairman of the Financial Institutions Committee is strongly encouraging people, especially credit unions, to reach out and express opposition.”
- Maryland: “This is the best news in the short term. A hearing has been postponed indefinitely.”