ALBANY, NY – The Credit Union Association of New York continues to advance this year’s State Legislative Agenda, and bills that address municipal deposits, robbery penalties and inclusion in the state’s banking development district program have all been introduced in the Legislature.
Municipal deposits: Companion bills that would allow New York municipalities to make deposits into credit unions and savings banks, up to the deposit insurance limit per deposit (currently $250,000), have been introduced in the Senate and the Assembly.
The Senate bill, S.3161, was introduced by Sen. Jack Martins (R-Long Island) and has been referred to the Senate Local Government Committee. The Assembly bill, A.4520, was introduced by Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Island) and has been reported to the Assembly Banks Committee. Both Martins and Weisenberg introduced similar bills in 2012.
An additional municipal deposits bill (A.1112) was introduced by Assemblyman Carl Heastie (D-Metropolitan) last month and referred to the Assembly Banks Committee.
Robbery penalties: Legislation that would increase the penalty for robbery of property from a financial institution and make the crime a class C felony has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Joseph Griffo (R-Utica-Rome) and referred to the Senate Banks Committee. The bill, S.3559, is the companion of A.2485, which was introduced last month by Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Long Island).
Additional legislation (S.3039) providing that the threat of the use of a firearm or explosive device during a robbery would constitute robbery in the second degree has also been introduced by Sen. John Bonacic (R-Catskill-Hudson/Southern Tier) and referred to the Senate Codes Committee.
Banking Development District Program: In the Senate, a bill (S.3569) that authorizes credit unions to participate in the Banking Development District Program has been introduced by Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Metropolitan) and referred to the Senate Banks Committee. In the Assembly, a similar bill (A.4555) has been introduced by Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak (D-Buffalo) and referred to the Assembly Banks Committee.
Additionally, companion bills that would enable low-income credit unions in cities with a population of 1 million or more to participate in the Banking Development District Program have been introduced in both the Senate and the Assembly.
The Credit Union Association of New York has served as the trade association for the state’s credit unions for 95 years. New York credit unions have assets of more than $61 billion and serve 4.7 million members. To learn more about the Association, visit www.cuany.org.