Pub. 8 2018-2019 Issue 4

16 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S F ederal law versus state law – a push and pull of the ages. The two can work side by side with no problems most days. Howev - er, when there is a conflict federal law does end up winning out. Though, the fact that federal law is the ultimate victor in instances of conflict does not take away from the fact that state-specific law and trends have the very real potential to impact: (1) the federal, regulatory tide and (2) other states’ laws. So, it behooves a banker to pay attention to state law shifts even when the state shifting is not the great state of Texas. Twomajor Acts have recently passed their re - spective state legislatures that will be discussed in this article: the Maryland Financial Con- Just Stating the Facts: State Law Shifts and the Impact On the Financial Community BY SARAH SAUCEDA, ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL sumer Protection Act of 2018 (“MFCPA”) and the California Consum- er Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). TheMFCPA it gives state regulators the ability to impose heftier fines for violations. Wh a t d o e s t h i s mean for other states? Maryland is pretty split down the middle of the political spectrum. So, it could be said to be a good litmus test for states that are not all red (generally, in favor of less regulations in the finan - cial institution context) nor riding the blue wave (generally, in favor of more regulations). A nd wh a t ab ou t federal regulators? Of course, we can only spec- ulate – but the more we see states imposing these expansions of UDAAP and state regulator y power, the more plausi- ble it would be for federal regulators to tighten the reigns despite the cur- rent administration’s stance on deregulation of the financial industry. And t he bur n i ng question–what does this mean for Texas banks? At the moment, there is not much talk of expanding either state regulatory power nor definitions within the current state equivalent of UDAAP. This is not to say that the Texas legislature will not consider either of these issues during its upcom- ing session. The other piece of state legislation we are keeping a close eye on is the CCPA. This Act is said by many to be a direct result of recent, public controversies in- volving the unintended disclosure of consumers’