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S 821

Relates to assessment relief for victims of a local or major disaster

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Robert Jackson and 1 co-sponsor

Massachusetts state-chartered credit unions may pay directors for board/committee service, with pay levels and terms set by members at annual meetings.

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Bill Summary · S 821

Summary — S 821: An Act allowing fair compensation of Massachusetts credit union directors

Overview / Purpose

S 821 would amend Massachusetts law to permit state-chartered credit unions to pay their board members for service. The bill’s stated aim is to allow “fair compensation” of credit union directors by enabling members to set director pay at annual meetings.

Key provisions

  • Amends Section 20 of Chapter 171 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
  • Replaces the first sentence of that section with the following provision (verbatim): "Any credit union may compensate each of the members of the board of directors for his or her services as a member of the board or any committee thereof a sum that may, from time to time, be fixed by the members at an annual meeting."
  • Effective date: the act takes effect upon passage.

Key consequence: compensation for directors (including for committee service) would be allowed only to the extent and in the amounts fixed by the credit union’s members at the credit union’s annual meeting.

Who would be affected

  • State-chartered credit unions in Massachusetts (not federal-chartered credit unions, unless separately governed).
  • Credit union boards and individual directors (who could receive compensation).
  • Credit union members — they would have the authority to set director compensation at annual meetings and would likely bear any indirect costs through the credit union’s expense structure.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Governance: allowing member-approved compensation may help recruit and retain qualified directors and recognize their time/effort.
  • Costs: increased operating costs if boards choose to compensate directors; members would ultimately approve amounts.
  • Conflicts of interest / oversight: member control of compensation could mitigate some governance concerns, but credit unions may need to adopt policies to manage compensation-related conflicts.
  • Implementation is straightforward (statutory change) and requires internal member votes to set compensation amounts.

Legislative status and timeline (as provided)

  • Filed: 1/16/2025 (Senate Docket No. 1270)
  • Introduced in Senate: 3/03/2025; read twice and referred to Committee on Foreign Relations (3/03/2025) — subsequently referred to the Committee on Financial Services (2/27/2025) per timeline entries.
  • Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar (General Orders), Calendar No. 52: 4/28/2025.
  • Reported favorably with an amendment in the nature of a substitute: committee actions noted 3/27/2025 and 4/28/2025.
  • Hearing scheduled/rescheduled multiple times for 10/30/2025 (various listed times and end-time updates).

Sponsors and related bills

  • Primary sponsor (per bill text): Senator Pavel M. Payano (First Essex).
  • Additional sponsor metadata lists other names (Michael Bennet, Christopher Coons, John Cornyn, Pete Ricketts) that appear inconsistent with a Massachusetts state bill and may reflect metadata errors.
  • Related/companion: HR 1512 (companion); SD 1270 (docket number / replacement reference).

Notes / caveats

  • The document contains some inconsistent procedural and sponsor metadata (e.g., references to U.S. Senators and committees such as "Foreign Relations") that appear out of place for a Massachusetts state statute; the bill text itself identifies Senator Pavel M. Payano as the presenter and the statutory change described above.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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