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Finance committee approves H 648 with technical edits, extends virtual-currency kiosk moratorium
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Summary
The committee approved H 648, a Department of Financial Regulation housekeeping bill, adopting four amendments: changing 'registration' to 'license' for certain firms, deleting a contested Community Reinvestment Act substitution, extending a virtual-currency kiosk moratorium one year, and narrowing a securities notice-filing exemption. The amended bill passed 7-0.
The Finance committee voted to amend and approve H 648, the Department of Financial Regulation’s annual housekeeping bill addressing banks and securities, adopting four changes and passing the amended bill 7-0.
Maria Rowe, who identified herself at the start of the meeting, outlined the package and its goals. She said the first change replaces the word “registration” with “license” for certain consumer-litigation companies to “make the language of the statute a bit more consistent.”
The committee also reviewed proposed clarifying definitions for the term “financial institution.” Rowe said one section tied to the federal Community Reinvestment Act posed terminology problems: lawmakers debated whether to replace “financial institution” with the broader term “person” but concluded federal language controls. The committee removed that substitution and left the federal-referenced language unchanged for now.
On virtual currency, the panel extended an existing moratorium on virtual-currency kiosks for one year. Rowe said the moratorium was set to expire in July and will now expire the following July, describing the extension as a compromise between an outright ban and immediate implementation. One member added for the record they would prefer a ban, but the committee opted to extend the moratorium and return to the issue next year.
The bill’s fourth amendment narrowed the exemption in Title 9, section 5202 for notice filings tied to certain federally covered securities transactions. Rowe said the Department recommended tightening an exception that had been drafted too broadly so that only specific categories would still require state notice filings.
After discussion, the committee moved to amend H 648 as presented (draft 1.1). A voice vote on the amendment was announced as 7-0-0 in favor, and the committee then approved the amended bill on a roll call. The clerk recorded Senators Chitnick, Beck, Cardi, Brock, Buellick, (Moe’s/Moes), and Kynes as voting yes; the chair reported the final tally as 7-0-0.
The committee did not adopt additional substantive policy changes at the meeting; members said they would revisit federal/state terminology conflicts and the kiosk policy in future sessions. The committee proceeded to other agenda items after the vote.
