2023 California Legislative Recap
California Credit Union League Wins, Victories, and Engaged Bills
The 2023 California Legislative Session was a grueling yet successful period for the California Credit Union League and its member credit unions. The California State Legislature introduced nearly 2,800 bills, the most seen in a decade.
The League was heavily engaged in more than 40 of these measures and successful on many high-profile pieces of legislation, such as stopping Senate Bill 278 (elder financial abuse) and securing a carve-out for Senate Bill 478 (junk fees).
THANK YOU for helping us foster a successful legislative session by attending the California Government Relations Rally (GRR) last April, as well as making important phone calls to our state lawmakers’ offices. Here’s to 2023!
The League is ready for any challenges 2024 may bring as we look forward to serving you and your credit union.
Assembly Wins & Engaged Bills
League position: Supported.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill would create a regulatory framework for digital asset companies. The League believed this measure was a strong consumer protection measure, especially in light of the collapse of several digital asset companies.
League position: Supported.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill provides credit unions additional flexibility to offer audio-visual or audio-only participation in board meetings until December 2025.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would have required credit unions to complete an impact assessment of automated decision tools being used. It was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee, meaning it did not advance this session. However, the League expects the issue of lending and artificial intelligence to remain a hot topic on the legislative and regulatory fronts going forward.
League position: Supported.
Status: Signed into law.
Summary: This bill originally would have allowed the state’s Adult Protective Services division to access specific financial records without a subpoena or search warrant. The League successfully amended this portion of the bill and was able to support the remaining facets. The bill would allow for access to more types of information while also extending the timelines for these records.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would prohibit a prohibited foreign actor from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding an interest in any land that is located within 50 miles of a U.S. military base or California National Guard base within California. The introduced version of the bill would have voided real property transactions with foreign governments, which would have wiped out the interests of legitimate lienholders. The League was successful at having this portion of the bill removed.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill prohibits the imposition of a regular assessment against an owner of a deed-restricted affordable housing unit that is more than 5 percent greater than the preceding regular assessment. This measure may result in owners who purchase homes within a common interest development at market rates (subsidizing deed-restricted affordable housing units) and may create financial hardship for those paying an unequal assessment.
League position: Supported.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would have allowed for remote online notaries in California. It was held on the suspense file. Another bill that authorized remote online notary (Senate Bill 666 — Portantino) was signed into law.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would require an owner of residential real property to offer the property to a tenant who is occupying the property before listing the property for sale.
League position: Support if amended.
Status: Failed (Assembly Bill 1757 — two-year bill).
Summary: This bill would provide a presumption of accessibility to businesses that model their websites in conformity with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA or above. While the goal of setting a standard for websites is laudable, the League was concerned this could lead to more litigation. The bill was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee, but the language was placed in AB 1757.
League position: Supported.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would have required high school students to take a one-semester course in personal finance as a high school graduation requirement. The League supported this bill, but unfortunately it was heavily amended and did not move forward. The League is looking forward to engaging with the ballot initiative when it qualifies for the November 2024 election.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill would authorize a local agency to adopt a local ordinance to allow separate conveyance of the primary dwelling unit and accessory dwelling units as condominiums. The League worked with the author and sponsors to secure amendments to protect the borrower, as well as require consent from all lienholders.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would have allowed recording of credit union employees by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department. The original language was removed from the bill; it no longer impacts credit unions.
League position: Watched, and oppose if amended.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would have established the 32-hour Workweek Pilot Program under the administration of the California Industrial Relations Department to provide grants to employers to provide a 32-hour workweek for employees. The bill did not proceed forward. If the bill was amended to require a 32-hour workweek, the League would have moved to an “oppose” position.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill establishes an alternative for judgment debtors in consumer actions to submit financial information concerning their claim of exemption, removing the ability of arrest upon a debtor’s failure to comply. Amendments were added, creating a mechanism by which a creditor can challenge a finding that a debtor is exempt.
League position: Supported.
Status: Two-year bill.
Summary: This bill would have amended Senate Bill 1311 from 2021, which prohibited the bundling of GAP waiver with an auto loan to members of the armed services. It would have allowed for the products to be bundled together while also offering protections to servicemembers. This bill was sponsored by the Defense Credit Union Council and faced opposition from the California Attorney General.
League position: Watched.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would enact the California Emergency Savings Account Option Act, which would require California’s treasurer to convene the Emergency Savings Account Commission and administer who would be on the commission. The bill would require the commission to deliver an analysis on the extent of the problem of Californians who do not have access to sufficient funds when faced with financial emergencies.
League position: Supported.
Status: Signed, but this is contingent on Assembly Bill 1757 being signed in 2024.
Summary: This bill would require an attorney — with each demand letter or complaint alleging an internet website-related accessibility claim — to provide the defendant with a copy of a written advisory notice pertaining to disability access laws.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill prohibits the use of common counts in actions for collection of consumer debt. The League was able to secure amendments to delay the implementation of this bill until July 1, 2024.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill deals with civil penalties for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity. It originally included a super-priority lien as the enforcement mechanism. The League worked with the author, sponsors, and committee staff to remove that provision.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would extend the statute of limitations for actions brought by the California Attorney General to enforce the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) from one year to five years after the accrual of the cause of action.
League position: Neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill would require (by July 2024) a payment card network to make the merchant category code (MCC) for firearms and ammunition business available for merchant acquirers that provide payment services for firearm merchants. It would also require the merchant acquirer to assign this MCC to appropriate businesses. The League worked with other stakeholders to ensure the onus did not fall on financial institutions.
League position: Supported.
Status: Two-year bill.
Summary: This bill would require the security breach notification — given to individuals whose social security number, or driver’s license, or California identification card number is exposed in a data breach at a state or local government agency — to include a) the websites of major credit reporting agencies; and b) the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s main website for identity theft victims. It also permits the security breach notification to include information about how to place a credit or security freeze by visiting the websites of the major credit reporting agencies.
League position: Support if amended.
Status: Two-year bill.
Summary: As noted above, the new “vehicle” for Assembly Bill 950 is AB 1757 (this bill).
League position: Sponsored and supported.
Status: Chaptered.
Summary: This assembly concurrent resolution designated the month of April as Financial Capability Month. California Assemblymember Phillip Chen’s floor presentation specifically mentioned the great work of credit unions and the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation’s (RMJ) “Bite of Reality” program.
Senate Victories & Engaged Bills
League position: Supported.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill revises and recasts California’s version of the Uniform Commercial Code to reflect recent updates developed by the Uniform Law Commission related to the treatment of digital assets.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would prohibit a foreign government from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding a controlling interest (as defined) in agricultural land within California. The introduced version of the bill would have voided real property transactions with foreign governments, which would have wiped out the interests of legitimate lienholders. The League was successful at having this portion of the bill removed.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Signed (expect clean-up legislation during the next legislative session).
Summary: This bill requires any business entity with total annual revenues in excess of $1 billion (and that does business in California) to publicly report their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions as specified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The League worked hard to oppose this bill over the past two legislative sessions and was successful in getting delayed implementation for reporting. Governor Gavin Newsom has indicated there will be clean-up legislation next year (what that entails is still to be determined).
League position: Opposed.
Status: Signed (expect clean-up legislation during the next legislative session).
Summary: This bill requires companies that do business in California and have gross revenues exceeding $500 million annually to report on their climate-related financial risk. It also requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to contract with a qualified climate reporting organization to review and publish an analysis of those reports. The League was successful in securing amendments to delay implementation and make reporting biennial, and to provide for alternative methods of compliance. This bill was a reintroduction of Senate Bill 449 from 2021, which the League successfully defeated.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Two-year bill.
Summary: This bill revises (as of January 1, 2025) procedures and standards for the recommendation and issuance of annuity products. The introduced version of the bill contained onerous requirements for the sale of credit life insurance, which would have made the sale of the product difficult. The League was successful in securing amendments to remove the requirements on credit life insurance.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Two-year bill.
Summary: This bill would hold credit unions liable for instances of elder financial abuse if they “should have known” that abuse was occurring. This bill was the League’s top priority during this session and the main talking point during the 2023 California Government Relations Rally (GRR). The League worked hard to show the efforts credit unions are currently taking to both identify and stop cases of elder financial abuse. The League was able to secure a “safe harbor” in the measure; however, the safe harbor would cause a great deal of angst for senior members of credit unions. The League is working throughout the fall on the issue.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill would enhance the data broker registry law, transferring most attendant duties from the California Attorney General to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA). It originally did not contain the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act exemption from the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), but that language was added at the end of session. Those amendments moved the League to “neutral.”
League position: Opposed.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill prohibits the automatic staying of civil legal proceedings during the pendency of an appeal of denial or dismissal of a petition to compel arbitration. This costly change in law could restrict the use of arbitration agreements.
League position: Supported.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would provide a tax credit to employers for their costs to comply with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) recently implemented COVID-19 Prevention/Non-Emergency Standard (CP/NES) regulation. This bill failed due to cost concerns.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Two-year bill.
Summary: This bill prohibits an employer from taking an adverse employment action against an employee because the employee declines to attend an employer-sponsored meeting regarding the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters. It defines “political matters” to mean matters relating to elections for political office, political parties, legislation, regulation, and the decision to join or support any political party or political or labor organization. The inclusion of regulations and legislation made this bill particularly concerning from the League’s perspective. If passed, a credit union could not mandate an employee to attend a meeting regarding an updated regulation.
League position: Watched, and neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill provides responsibilities for transferor and transferee mortgage servicers related to a mortgage secured by real property located within the geographic limits of a proclaimed state of emergency.
League position: Opposed, then neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill makes it an unlawful business practice to advertise, display, or offer a price for a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges. As the bill is drafted very broadly, the League was concerned that laws such as Truth in Savings or Truth in Lending would not be compliant with the bill. The League was able to secure a carve-out for financial institutions that are complying with a bevy of federal and state laws and regulations.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill expands paid sick leave in California from three to five days. The introduced version of the bill would have expanded paid sick leave to seven days. The League worked with other stakeholders to lower the number of days to five.
League position: Watched, then opposed, and then neutral.
Status: Amended.
Summary: The introduced version of this bill would prohibit a state agency from entering into a contract with, depositing state funds with, or receiving a loan from a financial institution investing in or making loans to a company that manufactures firearms or ammunition. The bill did not have a hearing and has since been gutted and amended.
League position: Supported.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill establishes a framework for licensed California notaries to conduct remote online notarizations, including provisions for the licensure of remote online notarization platforms by the California Secretary of State and requirements relating to data security and privacy in online notarial transactions. The bill was amended late in session to add a delayed implementation of seven years. While the League does not agree with this lengthy delay, we are glad to not have to lobby on the issue every year.
League position: Watched, then neutral.
Status: Signed.
Summary: This bill authorizes a plaintiff in an action arising from human trafficking to seek a finding that specific debts were incurred as the result of the trafficking and without the consent of the plaintiff. Late amendments from the committee and supporters brought into question if this bill could impact the validity of a lien. The League worked to secure amendments to clarify that the bill will not affect the priority of any lien or security interest.
League position: Opposed.
Status: Failed.
Summary: This bill would have made sweeping changes to the background check process for businesses in California trying to hire an employee. The League worked hard to stop this measure.
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