Home News  Members Staff BankPAC Regulators SAM Legislature Endorsements About Us
132 State Street     Augusta, ME    04332-0735                  phone: 207-622-6131    fax: 207-622-0314
   User: Visitor   mba@mainebankers.com 5/16/2008 11:13 am  

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – MARCH 23, 2000

  1. BANKERS DAY AT THE LEGISLATURE – A GREAT SUCCESS!
  2. UPDATE ON MBA BILLS
  3. COMMITTEE DEBATES PRIVATE ACTIVITY BOND ISSUES – CHANGES EXPECTED TO DELIVERY OF STUDENT LOANS IN MAINE
  4. LD 2591, AN ACT RELATING TO TELEMARKETING FRAUD
  5. OTHER BANKING BILLS
  1. BANKERS DAY AT THE LEGISLATURE – A GREAT SUCCESS!

    March 21st was Bankers Day at the State Legislature – and it was a complete and total success! More than 80 bankers "shadowed" local legislators. The day included all legislators receiving the book "Making a Difference For Kids And Communities"; Legislative Leadership each receiving the America’s Promise symbol – a little red wagon (some of which are displayed proudly on their desks!); all Legislators receiving the lapel pin version of the little red wagon (And many are still wearing them!); receiving Legislative Sentiment thanking the banking industry for their more than $6,000,000 contributions and thousands of hours of volunteer time; and even a Press Conference with the Governor, attended by nearly 30 bankers who formally presented the Governor with his copy of the book!

    This single event will no doubt be one of the most successful efforts to improve the public image of the banking industry. The Making a Difference For Kids And Communities book, prepared by a Joint Committee of the Maine Bankers Association and the Maine Association of Community Banks, includes 37 "stories" of banks helping in their communities as well as the literally thousands of organizations that received funding, time or both from Maine banks. This effort will be remembered by participants and legislators for months!

    Special thanks to the MBA/MACB Committee members, and especially to Pam Snow, MBA Administrative Assistant for preparing the book.

  2. UPDATE ON MBA BILLS

    LD 2259, AN ACT to Amend the Banking Code Pertaining to Interlocking Directors was passed by the full Legislature and signed as Public Law 546 by the Governor on March 6th. As Emergency Legislation the law took effect immediately upon its signing on March 6th.

    LD 2285, AN ACT to Amend the Maine Probate Code was passed by the full Legislature and signed by the Governor as Public Law 571. This Law will take effect in mid-July.

    LD 2400, AN ACT to Create Employment Opportunities by Clarifying Maine’s Tax Laws Regarding Mutual Fund Companies has passed the House, and awaits debate in the Senate. This LD has strong support, but is also coupled with another LD that applies similar tax treatment to other industries. This LD should be held until late in the Session.

  3. COMMITTEE DEBATES PRIVATE ACTIVITY BOND ALLOCATION

The Business & Economic Development Committee has held one Public Hearing and three separate work sessions on legislation implementing changes to the way Maine allocates private activity bond money. Several proposals will change the way Maine uses bond allocation money for student loans, and the market for student loans in general, will change dramatically. Committee action may include:

    1. Changing the Board of MELMAC so that the Governor appoints a majority of the Board members, and there are two Public Members on this Board.
    2. Requiring the State Planning Office to provide the Allocation Committee with local economic projections including interest rate information and availability of student loans.
    3. Recipients of bond allocation must demonstrate the benefits to the borrowers, proving the lower cost bond money is passed on to public by means of lower rates.
    4. No interlocking directors of any of the Boards receiving bond allocation.
    5. Create a successor to the Maine Education Loan Authority (MELA) that is under the supervision of FAME and is staffed by FAME. (MELA makes supplemental student loans, not Stafford Loans.)
    6. Return MELMAC to its original mission – serving only as a secondary market for student loans. There would be other restrictions on MELMAC as well.

The Committee has rejected the Commission’s recommendation that the State create a new Maine Student Loan Authority (somewhat like the Housing Authority or FAME). It appears that it also will not create a new Private Loans to Lenders Program. After considerable study and numerous opinions of bond counsel, the only way private lenders could access the private activity bonds is by serving as an agent for the issuing authority (FAME) and receive a referral fee for initiating a loan under the Program. After lengthy debate, the Committee is not expected to create this new program.

This is sweeping legislation, significantly changing the state’s involvement in student lending. The Maine Education Loan Authority, currently a State Authority managed and staffed by Dick Pierce’s Maine Education Services, would be moved from MES to FAME. It would continue to receive bond allocation and would make supplemental loans. MELA has today and will in the future have direct lending capability.

MELMAC would be more limited in its duties, serving only as a secondary loan market. MELMAC would not receive bond allocation for at least two years. It is unclear how significantly the final legislation will impact other operations of MELMAC. Of course, final Committee votes will be held next week, and positions could change then!

  1. LD 2591, AN ACT RELATING TO TELEMARKETING FRAUD

    The Utilities Committee held a final Work Session on LD 2591, and in reaching a compromise, agreed to adopt language from an existing Maine law, the Consumer Solicitation and Sales Act, into the Transient Sales Act. For MBA members and most telemarketers, this adds no additional legal burden. However, the provisions from the Consumer Solicitation and Sales Act, passed in 1969, have not been enforced evenly by the Attorney General’s office. There is concern that many telemarketing efforts are already in violation of existing law, which requires a written notice that the consumer has three days to rescind the contract.

  2. OTHER BANKING BILLS

LD 2574, AN ACT to Harmonize State Financial Services Law with Federal Law was introduced by the Dept of Professional and Financial Regulation and proposes to amend Maine’s Charitable Sales Solicitation Act so as to exempt financial institutions from the Act. MBA strongly supported this proposal, which was unanimously voted Ought-to-Pass by the Banking & Insurance Committee. It will be before the full Legislature next week and should pass without problem, and then signed by the Governor.

LD 2643, AN ACT Ensuring that Certain Land Transfers Accomplished through Stock Transfers are not Exempt from the Transfer Act would apply the Real Estate Transfer Tax to transactions when a company acquires another company. MBA will oppose this because Maine’s real estate transfer tax of $4.40 per $1,000 of value will be assessed on real estate transferred in any bank merger or acquisition.

 
(c) Maine Bankers Association 2003