Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 13 of chapter 171 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the fourth sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- It shall act upon all applications for membership and upon the expulsion of members, shall determine the rate of interest on loans subject to the limitations contained in this chapter, shall determine the rate of interest to be paid on deposits, may declare dividends as provided in section 29 and shall fill vacancies in the board of directors and committees until the next annual election.

SECTION 2. Section 15 of said chapter 171, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph.

SECTION 3. Section 17 of said chapter 171, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the credit committee may appoint 1 or more employees of the credit union, who need not be members of the board of directors or the credit committee, as loan officers and delegate to them the authority to approve applications for loans authorized by this chapter. The delegation of authority shall be in writing, shall be approved by the board of directors, shall define the term and scope of the authority, and shall include standards for approving loans to be secured by mortgages of real estate which are consistent with the written loan policies of the credit union. The delegation of authority shall be subject to annual review and approval by the board of directors. Not more than 1 member of the credit committee may be appointed as a loan officer. Applications for loans to be secured by a mortgage on real estate not approved by a loan officer shall be acted upon by the credit committee. Applications for loans to be secured by a mortgage on real estate approved by a loan officer or the credit committee shall require ratification by the board of directors.