H 2024 Legislative Preview Happy New Year. We enjoyed a brief respite for the holidays, but we’re back at it. The State Legislative session started in mid-January and runs through mid-May. Some of the issues we anticipate addressing during this session include: 1. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) recently released their 2023 Division of Banking Sunset Report. The second recommendation in the report would authorize a credit union to purchase the assets and liabilities of a state bank. This recommendation does not belong as part of the Sunset process. This is a significant change in policy and should be addressed separately from the sunset process. CBA, in partnership with Independent Community Bankers of Colorado (ICBC), sent a letter to DORA and Governor Polis advising of our opposition to the “Buy a Bank” recommendation in the Sunset Report. We will continue to educate and work with the bill sponsors to have the recommendation omitted from the final legislation. CBA has stated for the record that we will oppose Sunset if the recommendation remains. 2. A bill proposed to require a Right of First Refusal to local government/municipalities prior to the sale of a multi-family unit to preserve or expand affordable housing options. Working with the House bill sponsor, CBA was initially neutral on the legislation. Amendments added in the Senate impacted title insurance and lending opportunities on multi-family properties. CBA modified its neutral position to oppose it and requested a veto by the governor, which was granted. We do expect the bill to return in the 2024 session. We have an early draft of the bill — it has a Right of First Offer (ROFO) and Right of First Refusal (ROFR) component. CBA anticipates changes to the draft prior to introduction during the session. 3. As part of the state budget, Governor Polis has set aside $137 million for housing: more places to live near transit, affordable housing tax credits, development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and repurposing old infrastructure. ADUs would include incentives to municipalities to offset fees and loan loss reserves to help homeowners with financing costs. The governor’s office is trying to figure out the structure to include the PACE loan program as well. CBA has educated the governor’s staff on the limitations of PACE and lien priority. At the federal level, we will continue to work on the following issues: 1. Interchange: We have concerns about the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed reduction in debit card interchange fees from approximately 22 cents to 17.5 cents. CBA has written to Federal Reserve Bank President Schmid and is asking banks to submit comment letters. Comments are due by Feb. 12. The cuts in checking account revenue for covered banks would be significant, and many of those banks will have to increase consumer fees for checking accounts and ATM transactions. Merchants, on the other hand, will have no obligation to pass their cost savings on to consumers. MESSAGE FROM THE CEO By Jenifer Waller, President & CEO, Colorado Bankers Association Colorado Banker 4
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