adminCredit unions received two victories in the Florida legislative session on Tuesday. SB 912 by Sen. Anitere Flores (R-Miami) and Rep. Dana Young (R-Tampa) and SB 1104 by Sen. Flores and Rep. Charlie Stone (R-Ocala) passed the House Tuesday. Each had passed the Senate last week.
SB 912, which passed 111-1, requires owners and operators of fuel pumps to ensure that their card readers have not been compromised through the placement of a card skimmer. The gas station will need to use pressure sensitive tape to show that the card reader hasn’t been breached. Additionally, this legislation updates laws regarding the possession of fraudulent credit cards. Current law allows a person to hold up to 10 fraudulent credit cards before being guilty of a felony. SB 912 originally changed that to five, but after working with stakeholders, the sponsors agreed to take away any number and make it a felony to posses any fraudulent credit cards. Once signed by the governor, this law will become effective on Oct. 1, 2016.
SB 1104, which passed unanimously, allows credit unions to register a principal agent and location for the service of process on any legal proceeding. After registering, that will be the sole location for service of process. This will protect credit unions from improper service, whether purposeful or not. Once signed by the governor, this law will become effective on Jan. 1, 2017. Both bills must be signed by each chamber’s presiding officer before being presented to the Governor for his signature.
Another priority bill, SB 1490 by Sen. Rene Garcia (R-Hialeah), was placed on the calendar for final passage today. This bill would require the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) to enter into an information sharing agreement with the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) Atlanta. The agreement would allow OFR to share state chartered credit unions examination reports with FHLBank Atlanta so that these credit unions can participate in their secondary market mortgage program.
Monitor the League Action Center’s Facebook timeline, Twitter feed, and mobile app for updates on SB 1490.
