Friday's News

March 15, 2019

In Albany, lawmakers continued to work State Budget-related proposals from each of the legislative houses.  In Washington, flood insurance was the subject of a hearing.

State Legislative Developments

• The Senate and Assembly each released their respective One House budget bills this week and passed their proposals. Joint committee meetings were also held to facilitate budget negotiations between the Senate and Assembly. The Assembly largely removed non-budget items from its One House budget bills and included three additional tax rates for those who make more than $5 million, while the Senate included some revisions and new proposals which differed from the Governor’s Executive Budget language. State Budget discussions will continue next week, as the budget is due April 1.

Federal Legislative Developments

• NYBA’s statement on cannabis previously sent to the NYS legislature, which highlighted the need for Congressional action, was sent to the members of Congress that participated in the Washington D.C. visit last week. The SAFE Banking Act of 2019, introduced last week by Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, currently has several NYS Representatives signed on as initial co-sponsors.
• The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the future of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Committee Chair Maxine Waters said her priorities would be addressing premium affordability for low-income homeowners and the need for improved mapping and floodplain management. The Committee also considered a proposal by U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) that would ensure greater accountability and oversight in the fair and efficient processing of claims.

Federal Regulatory Developments

• Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard hinted at the progress of CRA reform by saying the financial regulators are considering making adjustments to the assessment area definition that would allow banks to receive CRA consideration for activities in a wider area by creating two different assessment areas for retail activities and community development activities.

Resources

Questions?
Contact Mike Smith at (212) 297-1699 or msmith@nyba.com, or Clare Cusack at (212) 297-1664 or ccusack@nyba.com.
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