<p>AUSTIN, Texas – Three years after Texas became the first state to have a member business lending rule approved by NCUA, the state's legislative advisory committee has scheduled discussion and a possible vote at its February 15 meeting, of amendments to the state's MBL rule. Commissioner Harold Feeney of the Credit Union Department said the changes being considered are "technical in nature" and concern making the rule clear that member business lending loans are secured loans with collateral. Feeney said the credit union commission was under the impression when the MBL rule was drafted in 1999, that it was clear in this matter. However he said, "We've gone through the process and some credit unions notified us they weren't clear on what they could and couldn't do regarding member business loans. The issue of whether a member business loan is a secured loan is a topic of concern for them, and we want to be sure we address the questions being raised before credit unions make member business loans." In that same Feb. 15 meeting, the legislative advisory committee plans to also discuss proposed revisions to the state's Standard Bylaws for State Chartered Credit Unions. The bylaws were last updated in 1986. At that time Feeney said most of the changes were "parental" in nature, that is they required credit unions to receive a lot of approvals for things, based on safety and soundness reasons. "Today, many of those things are not considered safety and soundness related," said Feeney. "We want to streamline the bylaws and make them as simple as possible."</p>