Disclosure Legislation Spreading: ELFA on the Front Lines

As the state disclosure map below indicates, there are many finance disclosure laws being introduced across the country. What the map does not depict is that those bills take three different approaches, all of which concern ELFA and its membership. A simple way to understand and keep this growing number of bills straight is to understand there are RED state bills, BLUE state bills and Virginia and Connecticut Merchant Cash Advance bills.

RED state bills (UT - passed, FL, GA, KS, MS and MO) include the complete suite of ELFA negotiated exemptions. Those exemptions cover all UCC 2A, 9 and captive governed transactions and a separate exemption for bank subsidiaries and affiliates. The bill in Texas appears different in form and ELFA is working to secure our suite of exemptions in the bill. These bills are being pushed by others as the non-APR alternative to the BLUE state bills (CA, CT, IL, NJ and NY) where ELFA has been fighting the hardest and is beginning to see the fruits of our labor.

BLUE State Movement

Connecticut became the first blue state to accept and pass out of their joint Banking Committee ELFA’s suite of exemptions! Maryland recently followed suit in a substitute amendment from the Senate floor before its Senate passage.

In the other blue states, ELFA is working with the original New York sponsor and hoping he will soon file legislation with our exemptions to amend the disclosure law he passed last year. In doing so New York would join Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey, which have provided ELFA assurances to do the same.