Last week, Massachusetts signed Bill H.1338, An Act Allowing Fair Compensation of Massachusetts Credit Union Directors, into law. The new legislation allows members of state-chartered credit unions to decide at the credit union’s annual meeting whether or not to compensate their board members, and if so, how much. The bill went into effect immediately following its signing.

The Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA) was the leading supporter of the bill, and with credit union feedback and input, drafted, secured sponsors, and testified before the Joint Committee on Financial Services on behalf of the legislation, and worked closely with legislative leaders and staff to advance the bill. CCUA called the bill’s success an “important victory [that] demonstrates what our collective voice can accomplish,” and credited the outcome to credit unions’ engagement in advocacy work.

“This was more than a celebration of a bill’s passage,” wrote Adrian Velazquez, CCUA’s Chief Advocacy Officer, on LinkedIn. “It was a reminder of why we do this work—and of the impact that thoughtful legislation can have on the people and communities we serve.”

H. 1338 is the second law this year to tackle credit union board structures and procedures, following on the heels of the Credit Union Board Modernization Act, which was signed into law in July—though the latter was a Federal bill. It also makes Massachusetts the 23rd state to allow some form of board compensation.