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HJM020.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
CONSUMER PROTECTION - Stating findings of the Legislature and stating the
commitment of the Legislature to maintain the role of the states in the
enforcement of consumer protection laws and in dual regulation of financial
institutions and opposing any federal rule that undermines this state
authority.
02/17 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/18 Rpt prt - to 2nd rdg
02/19 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/23 3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote
Floor Sponsor - Black
Title apvd - to Senate
02/24 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/15 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/18 10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Floor Sponsor - Little
Title apvd - to House
03/18 To enrol - Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/19 Pres signed - To Secretary of State
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 20
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS
3 ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
4 IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
5 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
6 State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-seventh
7 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
8 WHEREAS, state financial regulators and attorneys general have a long his-
9 tory of protecting consumers from predatory lending and other lending abuses;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, state financial regulators aggressively promote access to
12 healthy, comprehensive, and competitive financial services for their citizens;
13 and
14 WHEREAS, on January 7, 2004, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the
15 Currency (OCC) finalized rules that preempt most state consumer protection
16 laws and enforcement of those laws as they apply to national banks, their
17 operating subsidiaries and agents; and
18 WHEREAS, the sweeping OCC rules reach beyond preempting state laws and
19 enforcement for national banks, and also prohibit the states from licensing,
20 examining and otherwise regulating state-chartered corporations that are sub-
21 sidiaries of national banks, like mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders,
22 finance companies, and other nondepository lending companies; and
23 WHEREAS, the OCC has no office in Idaho, is not listed in Idaho telephone
24 books, and has no other local presence in Idaho, and under the OCC rules,
25 Idaho consumers with complaints regarding national banks and their subsidiar-
26 ies would be referred to one OCC office in Texas; and
27 WHEREAS, the OCC ignored calls from members of Congress, the National Gov-
28 ernors Association, National Association of Attorneys General, National Con-
29 ference of State Legislatures, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, North
30 American Securities Administrators Association, American Association of Resi-
31 dential Mortgage Regulators, major consumer groups and state financial
32 regulators, for congressional oversight and review of the impact of the rules,
33 and finalized the rules while Congress was in recess; and
34 WHEREAS, the OCC preemption threatens to undermine the unique American
35 dual banking system that promotes the strongest banking market in the world
36 and provides critical fuel to the economy of the United States; and
37 WHEREAS, the OCC's rules radically rewrite the time-honored standard for
38 federal preemption of state laws as interpreted by courts and intended by Con-
39 gress; and
40 WHEREAS, the federalist system is based upon belief in a decentralized
41 government, with authority given to the states and the federal government, and
42 the OCC's rules centralize regulatory power in the hands of a single individ-
43 ual - the Comptroller; and
44 WHEREAS, Congress has authority over this federal regulatory agency that
2
1 is not operating in the best interest of the nation's banking system and econ-
2 omy; and
3 WHEREAS, both houses of Congress have either held or scheduled oversight
4 hearings to address the OCC's preemption rules.
5 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
6 sion of the Fifty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
7 the Senate concurring therein, that the Idaho Legislature is committed to
8 maintaining the role of the states in enforcement of consumer protection laws
9 and in dual regulation of financial institutions, and it opposes any federal
10 rule that undermines this state authority, including the OCC's rules
11 preempting state consumer protection laws and enforcement that apply to
12 national banks, their operating subsidiaries and agents.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the State of Idaho urges
14 Congress to carefully review the actions of the OCC, reestablish a balance of
15 power between state and federal laws in a way that benefits consumers, all
16 financial institutions and our economy, restore the dual banking system, and
17 reassert its authority over federal banking policy.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
19 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this
20 Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre-
21 sentatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the
22 State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14111
The purpose of this House of Representatives Joint Memorial is to
notify the United States Senate and House of Representatives and
Idaho's congressional delegation that the Legislature of the
State of Idaho is opposed to the rules finalized by the Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that preempt most state
consumer protection laws and enforcement of those laws as they
apply to national banks, their operating subsidiaries and agents.
Both Houses of Congress have either held or scheduled oversight
hearings to address the OCC's preemption rules. The joint
memorial urges Congress to carefully review the rules, and act to
reassert its authority over federal banking policy.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no fiscal impact to the general fund.
Contact
Name: Rep. Max Black
Phone: 208/332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HJM 020