Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Jacksonville to sign a bill allowing the state to deposit money in credit unions. | News4Jax
Published on May 2, 2024 at 4:56 pm
Jacksonville’s financial services industry could benefit from a bill that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Thursday at VyStar Credit Union headquarters.
The law allows credit unions to hold up to 7% of public assets from either the state treasury or the State University System.
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VyStar CEO Brian Wolfburg said the law increases competition and allows for more Florida dollars to remain with in-state financial institutions.
“Each of us in this room has the opportunity to make our own personal choices about our hard earned dollars,” Wolfburg said. “Until today, the state and other agencies have not had that same flexibility. The price of this closed market and less competition has been borne by individuals, families, small businesses in our state.”
VyStar is the second-largest credit union in Florida with more than $13 billion in assets. Jacksonville-based Community First Credit Union and First Florida Credit Union are among 25 other credit unions in the state with more than 1 billion in assets.
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Credit unions and banks have waged lobbying battles in recent years about the issue, which involves being designated as what is known as a qualified public depository. The House voted 49-45 on the next-to-last day of the legislative session to approve an amendment allowing credit unions to receive deposits. The Senate gave final approval to the bill on the last day of the session.
The bill also seeks to prevent financial institutions from discriminating in providing services based on such things as customers’ political opinions or speech.
DeSantis also signed a bill that prohibits teaching what the state considers identity politics in teachers colleges throughout Florida.
The teacher-training bill (HB 1291) was one of the most controversial education issues of this year’s legislative session, which ended March 8.
DeSantis said the measure, which will take effect July 1, “prohibits the indoctrination” of prospective teachers.
“The Legislature looked at it and said, ‘We don’t want these teacher-preparation programs to become captive to some political agenda,’” DeSantis said.
The Southern Poverty Law Center issued a statement Thursday criticizing the bill, describing it as an “effort to silence educational programs that teach empathy and respect for all.”
“There is no greater threat to our democracy than efforts to scare Floridians out of exercising their right to free speech and to have open and honest discussions about the role racism and oppression played in the history of our country,” Sam Boyd, senior supervising attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in the statement. “Courts have already ruled that laws like these, which seek to impose censorship on higher education, are unconstitutional. This law is no different.”
Information from the News Service of Florida was used in this report.
