Fourth Quarter 2007
State Legislature concludes veto session
As this issue of Indepth was going to press, the Illinois General Assembly had concluded its fall veto session, held October 2 – 4 and 10 – 12, about one month earlier than its normal November timeframe.
The veto session is reserved for acting on unfinished business and legislation vetoed by the governor during the Spring, and in that regard, ICUL successfully orchestrated the override of the Governor's amendatory veto of SB 229.
S.B. 229 codifies several technical amendments to the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, which will help credit unions in their collection efforts to reduce loan losses. Consistent with other amendments passed in recent years to ensure provisions relating to post-judgment remedies fairly balance the interests of creditors and debtors, S.B. 229 further amends the Code to provide additional clarity by eliminating ambiguities that have arisen regarding those remedies. The amendments range from clarification of the non-exempt amount of wages subject to collection under a post-judgment wage-deduction order (and fees payable to an employer), to service of replevin orders on defendants.
The measure also addresses registration of federal judgment orders entered in Illinois, recovery of a corporate judgment debtor's property and recovery of expenses in citation proceedings. The bill also amends the Illinois Credit Union Act (ICUA) and other financial institution enabling acts to clarify that financial institutions must disclose financial records under a lawful citation to discover assets.
S.B. 229 overwhelmingly passed both chambers of the General Assembly (Senate: 55-0-0 on May 10, 2007; House: 112-0-3 on May 31, 2007). On August 28, 2007, the Governor amendatorily vetoed the bill. The amendatory veto focused on one provision in the measure that clarifies the non-exempt amount of wages subject to collection under a wage-deduction order. On October 3, 2007, Ira Silverstein, the Senate sponsor of the bill, filed a motion to override the amendatory veto. During the final week of the veto session, both chambers of the IGA voted to override the Governor's veto.
In other news regarding ICUL legislative involvement, SB 546 (mortgage fraud working group initiative in which the League played a key leadership role in drafting a proposed measure acceptable to credit unions and other financial institutions) is poised to become law the next time the legislature convenes.
Also as previously reported, all three bills initiated by the League amending the ICUA have been signed by the governor. They include:
- H.B. 352 (P.A. 95-0052, effective 01/01/08: credit union option of "one member, one vote" for election of directors);
- H.B. 623 (P.A. 95-0124, effective 08/13/07: credit union employee benefit plan investment options not subject to ICUA Section 59 limitations); and
- H.B. 1288 (P.A. 95-0098, effective 08/13/07: ICUA technical amendment, including authorization to purchase non-member loans from other credit unions and delegate to management the setting of loan and share account dividend rates.
The details of these bills can be found via the League's Web site by clicking here.
On the regulatory fee litigation front, ICUL and its co-plaintiffs appear to still be very close to a settlement with the Governor's office. As you may recall, an injunction has been in place since March 2005 to prevent the State from "sweeping" funds from the Credit Union Fund (and other financial institutions funds) for purposes unrelated to the administration and oversight of our industry. As a result of the injunction, the balance of the funds in question is now over $72 million.
A tentative settlement that would provide a significant fee reduction as well as a credit for surplus fees already paid by state-chartered credit unions is "on the table" for consideration. A settlement of the fee case would require both legislative and judicial action. Watch for future Judicial Action Alerts as events warrant.
Credit unions are urged to sign up to receive the Weekly Government News as a way to stay up to date and receive regular updates regarding the status of ICUL's state and federal legislative agendas. A sign up form is available by contacting William Wille, ICUL PR Coordinator or via ICUL's Web site. In addition, credit unions should also refer to ICUL's web site for the updated status of a complete list of bills impacting Illinois' credit unions.