Pittenger bill to create business board wins committee OK

Rep. Robert Pittenger's office said Wednesday a House committee has approved legislation he co-sponsored to create an advisory board allowing small businesses input on financial regulations that could negatively affect them.

The House Financial Services Committee unanimously approved the legislation Wednesday morning, according to Pittenger’s office. The other sponsor is Denny Heck, a Democrat from Washington state.

Pittenger, a Republican whose district includes part of Mecklenburg County, has said the board is designed to advise the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created by Congress in the wake of the financial crisis to strengthen protections for consumers.

The advisory board is needed because small businesses in the financial services sector have no “regular advocate” at the CFPB, Pittenger's office has said. That means new regulations "can be developed without considering how they negatively impact small business owners and employees."

On Wednesday, Pittenger's office said the legislation was amended to make permanent two existing advisory boards that report to the bureau. The two boards represent credit unions and community banks and were designed to weigh in on how proposed regulations would impact them, Pittenger's office said.

The legislation was introduced this year.

A vote by the full House is expected this summer.