STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Bills to watch:
- Senate Bill 1 - Local government finance.
- House Bill 1001 - State budget.
- House Bill 1081 - Distributions to charitable beneficiaries.
- House Bill 1125 - Earned wage access services.
- House Bill 1523 - Public depositories.
New forecast shows nearly no state revenue growth next 2 years
The new state tax revenue forecast released Wednesday shows nearly no growth in collections over the next two years. The forecast presented to the State Budget Committee projected tax collections rising by $171 million, or 0.8%, during the first year of the biennium and only $30 million, or 0.1%, in the second year.
Read more from State Affairs (subscription required)
Senate sends IEDC transparency legislation to governor
Senate Enrolled Act 516 would require the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to notify local government officials of its intent to purchase land exceeding 100 acres within a community, a news release said.
Braun signs property tax overhaul after it clears Senate in narrow vote
Gov. Mike Braun signed into law the property tax overhaul deal he struck last week, acting just hours after it narrowly won final legislative approval in an early Tuesday vote. In a social media post Tuesday afternoon after signing the bill, Braun said, "Nearly every Hoosier, homeowner, farmer, and business owner will benefit from tax cuts, reforms and stronger taxpayer protections!"
Read more from State Affairs (subscription required)
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Memo outlines shifts in CFPB enforcement, supervision
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau aims for a 50% reduction in its inspections of financial services firms and a shift away from enforcement in areas such as student loans, consumer data, medical debt and digital payments, Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta wrote in a memo to staff. "The bureau will focus its enforcement and supervision resources on pressing threats to consumers, particularly service members and their families and veterans," Paoletta wrote.
Powell: Tariffs likely to challenge Fed goals
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has warned that President Donald Trump's tariffs could jeopardize the central bank's goals of controlling inflation and maintaining low unemployment. Powell notes that the tariffs are larger than expected, potentially leading to higher inflation and slower economic growth. "The effects of that are likely to move us away from our goals," Powell said
Read more from the Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
OCC to merge bank supervision units into one office
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will combine its community, large and midsize bank supervisory units into a unified office, in part to "allow for the seamless sharing of expertise and resources to address bank-specific issues or novel needs," the agency said. The OCC also will reinstate the Chief National Bank Examiner office, which will include the divisions of Bank Supervision Policy and Supervision Risk and Analysis.
Read more from American Banker
Trump ousts 2 Democratic members of NCUA board
The White House has fired two Democratic board members of the National Credit Union Administration, the officials said on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump expanded efforts to influence independent regulatory agencies. Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, who both served on the NCUA's board, said in separate statements that they had been removed by Trump. The removals leave the agency, which supervises the nation's $2.3 trillion credit union sector, with just one board member, Republican Chairman Kyle Hauptman.
CFPB seeks order to throw out credit card late fee rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and industry groups have requested that U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Texas issue a final order to vacate the agency's rule that would limit most credit card late fees to $8. The Consumer Bankers Association is among the groups challenging the rule in court.
GOP lawmakers urge Fed to forgo debit card fee proposal
House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, R-Ark., and 13 other Republican members of the committee are calling for the Federal Reserve to rescind a proposal for a reduction of about one-third in the base interchange fee rate that can be charged by banks with $10 billion or more in deposits. The lawmakers say the proposal would harm smaller institutions and hinder anti-fraud efforts, among other impacts.
GOP eyes swift action on budget bill amid splits
Republicans are racing to draft a sweeping budget bill, but internal divisions over spending cuts and Medicaid threaten its passage. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has promised to uphold the House's framework, while moderates push back against benefit reductions. GOP leaders acknowledge President Donald Trump may need to intervene to break the deadlock and unite the party.
CFPB to curb guidance, may eliminate nonbank registry
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will no longer "issue guidance documents that purport to create rights or obligations binding on persons or entities outside the Bureau," according to a memo from acting Director Russell Vought. The CFPB also is considering proposing a rule that would rescind or limit the scope of a registry that it launched in October to track nonbanks' violations of court orders or consumer protection laws at the federal, state and local levels.
D.C. Circuit lets some CFPB firings proceed
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously declined to grant a Justice Department request to lift a lower court's preliminary injunction aimed at preventing a shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. However, the panel stayed parts of the injunction, allowing CFPB leaders to proceed with a reduction in force that does not involve employees deemed necessary to handle the agency's statutorily required work.
Fintechs eye independence with banking charter moves
Stripe's application for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank, or MALPB, charter in Georgia is a strategic step aimed at gaining more control over its payment processing, and it follows a similar move by Fiserv. Fintech firms have been increasingly seeking bank charters to eliminate their reliance on bank partnerships. The MALPB charter would provide Stripe direct access to payment card networks, with the goals of reducing fees and boosting competitiveness.
Read more from Bloomberg (subscription required)
Scott highlights first 100 days as Senate banking chair
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., outlined his achievements during his first 100 days as chair of the Senate banking committee, including the passage of bills addressing stablecoin regulation and alleged debanking. "We must innovate before we regulate," Scott said. "That means allowing innovation to happen here at home in the digital asset space is critical to American economic dominance across the globe."