Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1266 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 850 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1266
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Frank A. Moran
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act enhancing the mission of credit unions and promoting fair competition among financial
13	13	institutions.
14	14	_______________
15	15	PETITION OF:
16	16	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Frank A. Moran17th Essex1/13/2025 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 850 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1266
19	19	By Representative Moran of Lawrence, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1266) of
20	20	Frank A. Moran relative to the mission of credit unions and promoting competition among
21	21	financial institutions. Financial Services.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act enhancing the mission of credit unions and promoting fair competition among financial
28	28	institutions.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. Section 14 of said chapter 167 of the General Laws, as appearing in the
32	32	22018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the sixth paragraph the following two
33	33	3paragraphs:- If a person is eligible for membership in a credit union on the basis of living in a
34	34	4geographic area specified in the by-laws then the examination of its record of performance under
35	35	5this section shall assess its compliance with community reinvestment throughout the entire
36	36	6geographic area specified in the by-law.
37	37	7 A foreign credit union applying to establish a branch office in the Commonwealth
38	38	8pursuant to section 8A of chapter 171 shall file with the Division of Banks the credit union’s
39	39	9assessment area for compliance with this section or a strategic plan for satisfying its continuing
40	40	10and affirmative obligation to help meet the credit needs of the communities in the
41	41	11Commonwealth it states it will serve. 2 of 3
42	42	12 SECTION 2. Chapter 171 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
43	43	13striking out section 10, as most recently amended by section 26 of chapter 338 of the Acts of
44	44	142020, and inserting in place thereof the following two sections:–
45	45	15 Section 10. The by-laws may be amended at any annual meeting, or at a special meeting
46	46	16called for the purpose, by a majority vote of all of the members present and entitled to vote;
47	47	17provided, however, that the notice of the meeting and of the proposed amendment is given each
48	48	18member in the manner prescribed in said by-laws. .
49	49	19 The by-laws containing the conditions of residence, occupation, or association that
50	50	20qualify persons for membership may be amended by a three-fourths vote of all of the members
51	51	21present and entitled to vote. The membership vote may only be held at the annual meeting;
52	52	22provided, that it may be held at a special meeting called for the purpose of a merger if the
53	53	23membership by-law amendment is a necessary component of the merger, as determined by the
54	54	24commissioner. No such amendment shall become operative until an application is submitted to
55	55	25and approved in writing by the commissioner. The vote of the credit union’s members must
56	56	26occur prior to the submission of an application and a certified copy of the vote shall be submitted
57	57	27with the application.  In order to be a valid vote on the amendment to the membership by-law,
58	58	28the number of members voting on the date set for the vote or voting by mail, if authorized in the
59	59	29by-laws, and received by that date must represent five per cent of the total number of members of
60	60	30the credit union as listed in the most recent call report filed with the National Credit Union
61	61	31Administration. It is prohibited for a member to vote by proxy.
62	62	32 Section 10A. A credit union shall establish a written policy that the credit union will
63	63	33follow to verify that a person meets the qualifications for membership. The policy must identify 3 of 3
64	64	34the specific documents the credit union will accept for verification of residency, occupation,
65	65	35association, work location, family relationship or other membership criteria specified in the by-
66	66	36law. For each new member, a credit union shall retain a copy of the document used to verify a
67	67	37person’s qualification for membership. Such documentation shall be maintained and segregated
68	68	38on a calendar quarter and annual basis for review by examiners.
69	69	39 SECTION 3. The second paragraph of section 11 of said chapter 171 , as most recently
70	70	40amended by section 27 of chapter 338 of the Acts of 2020, is herby amended by adding the
71	71	41following sentence:- A credit union that has more than 25,000 members as reported in its most
72	72	42recent quarterly report to the National Credit Union Administration shall provide its members
73	73	43with the option to vote by electronic means at any annual meeting or special meeting.
74	74	44 SECTION 4. Section 3 of this act shall apply to any an annual meeting or special meeting
75	75	45held on or after two years from the effective date of this act.