Disclosure Bill Roundup

Kansas Disclosure Bill Signed into Law with ELFA Exemptions

Kansas Senate Bill 345 ENROLLED Commercial Financing Disclosure has been signed into law by Gov. Laura Kelly (D). On page 3, section 3, the legislation asserts “provisions of this act shall not apply to” and then goes on to include ELFA’s full suite of exemptions, Banks, Bank Subsidiaries and Affiliates, UCC 2A True Leases, UCC 9 Purchase Money Obligations and Captive transactions.

Florida Depository Institution Definition Changed

Florida HB 939, an update to last session’s Disclosure law, was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and is now law.  This Depository Institutions bill can be accessed as Chapter No. 2024-139 and revises the definition of “depository institution.” The updated definition is an improvement over the previous version because it now excludes all banks from the disclosure law. Previously, the exemption did not apply to institutions chartered in states other than Florida. Florida’s earlier disclosure law, similar to the current disclosure bill in Louisiana (which ELFA is working on), was an outlier compared to other states’ laws, as it limited the bank exemption to only state and U.S. banks. The new definition can be found at the bottom of page 3 and has an effective date of 7/1/2024:

“Depository institution” means a bank, a credit union, a savings bank, a savings and loan association, a savings or thrift association, or an industrial loan company doing business under the authority of a charter issued by the United States, this state, or any other state, district, territory, or commonwealth of the United States which is authorized to transact business in this state and whose deposits or share accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.

New Jersey Holds Finance Disclosure Bill Hearing

New Jersey Senate Bill 1397, which “requires certain providers of commercial financing to provide disclosures to recipients,” was heard in the Senate Commerce Committee on June 10. The hearing was informational and no votes were taken. Exemptions starting on page 14 of the bill presently lack Captive and Bank and Affiliate transactions, which ELFA is working with the sponsor and leadership to correct.

Maryland Disclosure Bill Dies, Failing to Include ELFA Exemptions

Maryland Senate Bill 509 regulating commercial financing transactions, including by establishing requirements related to disclosures, passed the State Senate unanimously and was sent to the House for consideration. ELFA opposed the legislation as it failed to contain our full suite of exemptions. ELFA continues to welcome working with the proponents should they accept our exemptions.

Illinois Commercial Financing Licensing Act(s) Stymied in the House

Illinois Senate Bill 2234 ENGROSSED was passed by the Senate 36-19 and was referred to the House Financial Institutions Committee. The House committee failed to provide the bill a hearing for failing to include ELFA’s uniform suite of exemptions. While the legislature has retired for the year, proponents are expected to try to resurrect the legislation during the November and December Veto Session. ELFA will continue to work with leadership and keep the door open to backing off the bill should proponents accept our uniformly accepted exemptions. Please review page 47 - Section 135, where you will see a first-in-the-nation watered-down UCC 2A exemption (does not exempt UCC 2A defined finance leases), a first-in-the-nation neutered Captives exemption that protects some, but not many, and no exemption for UCC 9 purchase money obligations. The bill does exempt banks and bank subsidiaries and affiliates.

State-by-State Lender License & Disclosure Regulation Tracker

To assist equipment finance companies in tracking financial lender license and disclosure regulations that will impact your businesses, ELFA has developed an interactive state-by-state lender license and disclosure map of legislative activity. This is the latest informational resource from ELFA’s State Advocacy team to help educate our members about what they need to know about these important topics.

For the first time the industry has an easy-to-use tool to see the activity and access the litany of information in each state. The interactive map continues ELFA’s nationwide efforts to protect and promote the industry’s interests while providing a running update on these state license and disclosure regulations sweeping the country.

To use the map, click on the link above and simply hover over a state to view legislation status and details. When users click on a state, the map opens to the state’s actual enacted or proposed financial license and disclosure legislation or regulation. There is currently one state with introduced lender license legislation and there are currently 16 states that have either passed or have financial disclosure legislation in progress. The map is updated regularly.

The State Advocacy team and members of ELFA’s State Legislative & Regulatory Subcommittee have worked successfully to exempt as many industry transactions as possible in order to reduce burdensome disclosure requirements on equipment finance companies, and we continue to do so. ELFA is the only association that advocates for the specific interests of the equipment leasing and finance industry, and we represent the industry at both the state and federal levels.

To meet the demand from and keep ELFA members informed on licensing and disclosure regulation updates, ELFA has become a one-stop source on the issue. More than 1,500 industry professionals registered for three previous in-depth webinars presented by ELFA.

To learn more, visit ELFA’s Industry Topics Disclosure page. The page also includes an issues overview; webinar recordings, slide decks and takeaways; comment letters and more.