Your Association’s Advocacy Team is busy tracking developments in our state capitols and how they will impact your credit union. Here’s a recap of this week!
Mississippi Legislative Session Update
Mississippi Legislative Update: Unclaimed Property Bill Advances
Mississippi lawmakers continue to move forward on significant changes to the state’s unclaimed property laws, as Senate Bill 2714 (SB 2714) progresses through the 2026 Regular Session. The bill—which updates multiple sections of the Mississippi Code related to abandoned and unclaimed property—has taken another key step in the legislative process.
As of March 6, 2026, the Mississippi House of Representatives has passed an amended version of SB 2714. Following the House vote, the bill was returned to the Senate for concurrence, meaning Senate lawmakers must now decide whether to agree to the House changes or invite conference negotiations.
SB 2714 is a wide-ranging update to the state’s unclaimed property statutes.
Key components include:
- New procedures for transferring canceled state warrants to the Unclaimed Property Division.
- Updated definitions in Mississippi Code Sections 89-12-3, 89-12-5, and others to modernize the handling of abandoned property.
- A formal escheatment process for safe deposit boxes, establishing conditions under which their contents are presumed abandoned.
- Clarified reporting requirements for financial institutions.
- Authorization for the State Treasurer to sell certain tangible property after appropriate holding periods.
These updates are intended to streamline state processes, enhance reporting clarity, and improve protections and transparency for both property holders and the public.
With the bill now back in the Senate, lawmakers will review the House’s amendments.
The Senate may:
- Concur with the changes, sending the bill to the Governor, or
- Decline to concur, which would send the bill to a conference committee for compromise.
More action is expected before the end of the 2026 Regular Session.
Financial Literacy
Mississippi lawmakers have considered several measures this session aimed at expanding financial literacy instruction for students across the state. While some proposals advanced early in the 2026 Regular Session, recent committee actions have halted their progress for now. Lawmakers have signaled that broader financial literacy measures will not progress this session.
Tennessee Legislative Session Update
It’s been a busy week in the Tennessee General Assembly, with several bills impacting credit unions and their members moving along the path towards law.
Crypto ATMs
HB2505/SB2251, a bill to ban crypto ATMs in TN, is heading to both the house and senate floors soon after passing out of both relevant committees in each chamber. Crypto ATMs are a magnet for fraud and taking advantage of consumers and we’ve been working since December with the bankers and county sheriffs to end the existence of these machines.
Private Deposit Insurance
HB2537/SB1870, a bill to introduce private deposit insurance as an option for state chartered credit unions as well as adding some additional exam length flexibility and a couple of other clean up items in the credit union portion of TN code, has one more stop before hitting the House floor on Monday morning March 16 in the Government Operations Committee. It has already passed in the Senate unanimously.
Celebrating Credit Unions for Supporting Financial Literacy
On Wednesday, March 11, Governor Bill Lee signed HJR0995, a resolution to commemorate Tennessee’s credit unions to both do the work of and fund the operations of the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission.
