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Bank Taxation
H.B. 441 by Reps. Floyd, Mills, Parrish, Royal and Knight. Would revert to the language in existence prior to 2005 to revise provisions relative to the adjustment of taxable income with respect to income from federal obligations and certain other obligations.  Please click here to read the issue brief we shared with legislators.  GBA supported.  VETOED by Governor Perdue. House overrode Veto.

H.B. 1151 by Reps. Knight, Tumlin and Mosby. A bill primarily dealing with non-profit taxation but amended in committee by Rep. Knight to delete the prescriptive formula contained in H.B. 441 above.  The Department of Revenue has maintained the formula could not be adjusted by regulation to provide a more favorable outcome.  Rep. Knight has been working with the Administration to consider other formula options than the single formula described in the previous legislation and which has been adopted by regulation.

S.R. 796 by Sen. Rogers, Williams, Mullis, Pearson, Moody and Shafer.  A constitutional amendment which would freeze the value of property and provide a mechanism for exceeding the frozen values.  This is the version of the constitutional amendment the House considered to go to the voters, but feel 10 votes short of the super majority needed.

H.R. 979 by Speaker Richardson and Reps. Burkhalter and Keen.  Implements the GREAT plan which proposes to replace certain ad valorem taxes with a statewide 4% sales tax on services, including banking services. This bill was not considered as the constitutional amendment, S.R. 796, failed to garner enough votes for passage.

H.R. 1246 by Speaker Richardson and Reps. O'Neal and Ehrhart.  The constitutional amendment that would implement the GREAT plan.  This version was not considered in favor of S.B. 796 above.

H.R. 1153 by Reps. Knight, Tumlin and Mosby.  Amends the Sub S statute to require non-Georgia resident consent agreements to pay Georgia income tax to be filed with the Sub S corporate tax returns the year the non-Georgian becomes a shareholder in the corporation.

H.R. 1155 by Reps. Knight, Tumlin and Mosby.  Relates to Sub S taxation and reduces the penalty for failing to withhold a mandatory payment 100% to 25% of the amount that should have been withheld.  The bill further clarifies the rules of filing returns and remitting taxes for non-Georgia shareholders.

H.B. 446 by Reps. Royal and Floyd. Amends the statute applying to tax filers who file on an accrual basis to receive a refund in addition to a deduction for bad debt and authorizes an assignee of credit card debt or a credit card bank which extends credit may have its deduction or refund for bad debts claimed on a return filed by a member of an affiliated group.

Mortgage Closing Exemptions
S.B. 355 by Sens. Smith, Hamrick, Cowsert, Harp, Meyer Von Bremen, and others.  As introduced, would have removed the special status official bank checks are given in real estate settlements.  Current law requires settlement agents to use collected funds to disburse settlement proceeds.  The law provides four classes of checks can be used in lieu of collected funds:  1) official checks issued by federally insured financial institutions, 2) checks issued by HUD-approved lenders, 3) checks issued by a lender approved to do business in Georgia, or 4) checks issued from lawyers trust accounts.  As introduced, the bill would have eliminated the first three categories of checks and required the checks to have cleared if they are to be used to disburse settlement proceeds. GBA supported amendments in committee that clarified official bank checks will remain authorized.  The full Senate added additional language ensuring these checks could not be held up in the clearing process and passed the bill.  The House Judiciary Committee further amended the bill to restrict bank checks to only cashiers checks.  The Committee also clarified that in the case of a refinancing, the disbursement would not take place until after the rescission period had ended.  GBA supports the bill in its current form. 

H.B. 918 by Rep. R. Lane.  Similar to S.B. 355 above as originally introduced.  A committee substitute was considered which clarified that in the case of a refinancing, the disbursement of funds would not take place until after the rescission period had ended.  That language was used by the House Judiciary Committee to amend the Senate bill.  We do not expect further action on this version of the bill.

Foreclosure/Other Mortgage Issues
S.B. 465 by Sens. Jones, Adelman, Reed, Seay, Brown and others.  Extends the foreclosure process to 90 days and requires a new notice which would give the borrower information about the loan balance and the name of an individual with whom the borrower can negotiate a settlement to avoid foreclosure.

S.B. 459 by Sens. Reed, Johnston, Brown and Shafer. Provides that real estate sales made under power of sale contained in mortgages, deeds, or other lien contracts shall be advertised weekly for ten weeks.

S.B. 519 by Sen. Hamrick, Orrock, Reed and Shafer.  Requires a notice of foreclosure to be sent to the borrower 2 weeks prior to beginning the 4-week advertisement period. A 90-day notice is required on any loans having a prepayment penalty.

S.B. 531 Hamrick, Orrock, Brown, Chance, Thompson and others.  Requires an advertisement of foreclosure to include the name of the security holder as well as the name and contact information for the servicer.

H.B. 1317 by Reps. Holmes, Thomas and Gordon.  Allows local governments to set standards for public nuisance of neglected properties, clean or repair the property and bill the owner.

H.B. 1319 by Reps. Holmes.  Extends the time for notification of foreclosure from 14 days to 90 days and gives the borrower the right to cure the foreclosure prior to sale.

H.B. 1320 by Rep Holmes.  Provides that a tenant with an unexpired lease on property that is sold at foreclosure will be considered a tenant at will.

H.R. 1153 by Reps. Mitchell, Williams, Watson, Mangham and Stevenson.  Calls on Congress to pass the Homeowners and Bank Protection Act which would create a new agency to protect banks from bankruptcy, put a moratorium on foreclosures and convert existing mortgage interest rates so that payments would equal an effective rental rate.

S.B. 475 by Sens. Fort, Thompson, Reed, Orrock, Jones and Brown.  Amends the Georgia Fair Lending Act to return the bill to the pre-2003 version.  GBA opposes.

S.B. 496 by Sens. Tate, Hooks, Thompson, Shafer, Orrock and Jones.  Amends the appraisal statute to prohibit certain acts by persons involved in transacting a mortgage business, so as to provide that it shall be prohibited to solicit or otherwise facilitate the fraudulent appraisal of the value of property offered as security for a mortgage or loan.

H.B. 1413 by Reps. Mitchell and Williams.  Would include in the criminal offense of residential mortgage fraud an act of fraud committed upon homeowners during or threatened with foreclosure.

Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System
H.B. 921 by Reps. Mills and Peake.  Would allow Georgia to participate in a nationwide system of mortgage lender and broker licensing.  The system was a project of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the bill was introduced at the request of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.  GBA supports.

S.B. 375 by Sens. Hamrick, Hudgens, Murphy and Tarver.  Identical to H.B. 921 above.

Uniform Securities Act
S.B. 358 by Sen. Hamrick.  Repeals the current Act and enacts an entirely new Act governing the sale of securities in Georgia.  GBA is concerned the current exemptions for financial institutions is not included in the version as introduced and will be working to perfect the bill.

Security Deed Cancellations
H.B. 1093 by Reps. Willard, Mills, Coan, Fleming, O'Neal and Lindsey.  Clarifies the notification provisions for liquidated damages resulting from the failure to cancel a security deed within the current 60 day period.  GBA supports.

Credit Reports & File Freeze
H.B. 130 by Reps. Hill, Mills, Meadows, England and Benton.  Allows individuals to place and remove security freezes on credit reports.  The bill is similar to legislation enacted in other states that has been used successfully by the credit reporting agencies.

S.B. 361 by Sens. Rogers, Hamrick, Shafer, Grant, Goggins and Staton.  Similar to H.B. 130 above.

H.B. 35 by Reps. Benton, Teilhet, Collins, England, Kaiser and Meadows.  Allows individuals to place and remove security freezes on credit reports. 

H.B. 38 by Reps. Teilhet, Benton, Reese, Barnard, Manning and Cox.  Similar to H.B. 35 above.

H.B. 196 by Reps. Bob Smith, Roberts and Rogers.  Requires credit reporting agencies to provide a consumer an exact copy of any credit report provided a creditor.

Watercraft Titling
H.B. 1000 by Reps. Heard, Parsons and Harbin.  Creates a new titling procedure for certain watercraft.

Home Inspector Licensing
S.B. 485 by Sens. Wiles, Staton, Chance, Jackson and Murphy.  Creates a state licensing board and licensing procedures for home inspectors.

Financial Service Licensee
S.B. 489 by Sens. Chance, Staton, Tarver, Thompson and Rogers.  Create a new licensed entity within the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance that would cater to individuals who may not have a traditional bank account. 

Identity Theft
S.B. 388 by Sens. Carter, Chance, Heath, Rogers, Balfour and Mullis.  Introduced at the request of Governor Perdue, the bill would establish an identity theft task force within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  ID fraud investigations will be moved from the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to the GBI.

S.B. 24 by Sens. Staton, Shafer, Carter, Chance, Rogers and Harp.  Prohibits persons from using the Internet or electronic mail to induce another to provide identifying information by falsely representing themselves to be a business without the authority or approval of the business.

Infrastructure Bank
H.B. 1019 by Reps. Lunsford, Smith, Mills, Sheldon, Graves and Shaw.  Introduced at the request of Governor Perdue, the bill establishes an infrastructure bank to fund local transportation projects through a revolving loan fund.

Liens
S.B. 374 by Sens. Weber and Seabaugh revises certain time periods of filing materialmen's/mechanic liens and provides for certain notices regarding waiver of liens or claim upon bond.  The bill was introduced following a study committee's work between the 2007 and 2008 sessions.  GBA monitored the committee's work and it appears there is no change to bank lien status.

H.B. 1147 by Reps. Ramsey, Burkhalter, Jacobs, Lindsey and Tumlim.  Similar to S.B. 374 above.

Filing Fees
H.B. 1018 by Reps. Lane and Willard.  Adds a new $2.00 filing fee for any document filed with the Superior Court Clerk that would require a cross-reference to any other previously recorded document.

Wire Transfers
H.B. 1028 by Reps. Rice, Fleming, Keen, Mills and Hill.  Requires money transmitters to collect a 2% fee on wire transmissions and provides a tax credit equal to the fee on the individual's following year tax return.  Language is also included which expresses the intent is to use the net revenue collected to help fund trauma care.

Refund Anticipation Loans
H.B. 1030 by Reps. Tilhet, Tumlin, Williams, Jamieson, Oliver and Gordon.  Requires additional disclosure by the firms providing refund anticipation loans from tax filings.  GBA is asking for clarifying language that refunds pledged against traditional bank loans be excluded.

Trust
H.B. 972 by Reps. Tumlin, R. Lane, and Lindsey. Would adopt the "Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act" which provide standards for charities to use in managing investments and spending from endowments and other rules regarding the management institutional funds.  Banks or bank trust departments are not currently covered by the language in the bill; however, we are monitoring the legislation.

Recording of Deeds/Indexes
H.B. 974 by Reps. Scott and Jacobs.  Would require any deeds recorded after July 1, 2008 to indicate whether mineral rights were included with the conveyance.

H.B. 1069 by Reps. Williams and Frazier.  Would require that future recordings in the grantor-grantee indexes include the name and address of the grantee and if the street address was not available, then the mailing address of the grantee will be recorded.

Firearms
H.B. 89 by Reps. Bearden, Horne, Hatfield, Maddox and Smith would allow motorists to store handguns anywhere in their cars, instead of keeping them in plain sight, a glove compartment or front-seat console, as required under current law.  The bill was amended with an NRA-backed bill that prohibits businesses from adopting policies that would not allow employees to keep firearms in their cars while the vehicles were parked on company lots (from H.B. 143 below).

H.B. 143 by Reps. Graves, Day, Ehrhart, Talton, Teilhet and Scott.  Prohibits certain employers from from prohibiting employees from lawfully carrying and possessing firearms in locked motor vehicles. 

S.B. 43 by Sens. Rogers, Whitehead, Williams, Johnson, Heath and Mullis. Similar to H.B. 143 above.

Retraining Tax Credits
H.B. 361 by Rep. O'Neal (introduced at the request of the Revenue Department).  The original bill changed the definition of the industries and types of technology that would be eligible for retraining tax credits.  Banks would no longer have had access to these credits.  GBA opposed the original bill.  Our thanks to Chairman O'Neal for working with us and others to amend the bill.  The bill now applies only to credits available to the Ports Authority and is supported by them.

Bank Data Match for Taxes
H.B. 353 by Rep. O'Neal (introduced at the request of the Revenue Department).  Sets up a new data match program for financial institutions to use in responding to summons of garnishment issued by the Department.  The program attempts to follow a similar program financial institutions are already required to use as part of the parent locator service. 

Real Estate Investment Trusts
H.B. 447 by Rep. O'Neal.  Intended to clarify state conformity with the federal treatment of dividends received from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies and to provide for an addition to federal taxable income for any amount deducted to the extent it is attributable to a dividend received directly or indirectly from a real estate investment trust or a regulated investment company.

Biometrics
H.B. 276 by Reps. Setzler, Hill, Brooks and Loudermilk.  Defines biometrics and the ways governments, businesses and others can use biometric identifying information.  Also establishes penalties for misuse of the information.  Note:  Although banks are exempted to allow for the collection of fingerprints in conjunction with cashing checks or the use of other biometrics to access certain areas of the bank such as the safe deposit box area, there are a number of provisions that could be problematic in terms of recordkeeping and other operational details.

Payday/Alternative Lending
H.B. 163 by Reps. Tumlin, Williams, Wix, Franklin and Ehrhart.  Creates a regulatory structure for deferred presentment services (more commonly known as payday loans) to be overseen by the Department of Insurance.

H.B. 393 by Reps. Oliver, Hugley, Thomas, Fludd and Stephenson.  Sets up a new regulatory and fee structure for Title Pawn lenders.H.B. 562 by Reps. Dollar, Cheokas and Roberts.  Amends the Georgia Fair Lending Act to create a new type loan called a Temporary Loan, a short term loan designed to become a mortgage loan.

H.B. 420 by Reps. Ehrhart, Tumlin and Williams.  Creates a new regulatory scheme for loans under $3,000 and moves the supervision of Georgia Industrial Loan Act licensees to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.

H.B. 663 by Reps. Harbin, Fludd, Mosby, Smith, Brooks and Willard.  Creates a new type of lender licensed by the Banking Department that would make loans under $3,000.  The loans would be highly regulated with limits on rates and fees with the lender required to report credit history to the credit bureaus.

H.B. 718 by Rep. Holmes.  Amends the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act to extend the licensing of mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers to include mortgage loan officers, a new term being defined in the Act.

H.B. 720 by Reps. Holmes and Brooks.  Creates a regulatory structure for automobile Title Pawns by defining the pawns as loan transactions and subjecting the pawns to the state's 60 percent usury cap.

Health Savings Accounts
H.B. 977 by Rep. Knox.  Provides a $250 per person tax credit to companies with 50 or fewer employees who offer health savings accounts.

H.B. 27 by Rep. Knox.  Provides that the taxable net income of any taxpayer of this state shall not include premiums paid for high deductible health plans established and used with a health savings account.

Loans/Investments in Sudan
S.B. 370 by Sens. Shafer, Hill, Reed, Williams, Adelman and Moody.  Prohibits the investment of state retirement funds in companies identified as doing business with the Republic of Sudan.

H.B. 160 by Reps. Brooks, Benfield, Williams, Abdul-Salaam, Thomas and Mangham.  Would prohibit the Office of Treasury and Fiscal Services from making certain deposits in certain financial institutions unless the financial institution has certified that it does not have any direct loans or knowledge of any indirect loans to certain entities connected with the Republic of Sudan.

H.B. 256 by Reps. Brooks, Benfield, Williams, Mosby, Stevenson and Hensen.  Provides that that no Georgia public retirement system shall invest funds in public obligations of companies doing business with or in the Republic of Sudan.

Real Estate Liens
S.B. 63 by Sens. Seabaugh and Weber.  Removes the ability of mechanics and materialmen from being able to put special liens on single family residences.

S.B. 64 by Sens. Seabaugh and Weber.  Creates a procedure for liens filed in error to be so noted in the real estate records maintained by the Superior Court clerks.

S.B. 65 by Sens. Seabaugh and Weber.  Adds a new definition of single family residential real estate.

Motor Vehicles
H.B. 17 by Rep. Golick.  Requires an individual entering into a lease of an automobile to sign a statement of understanding if the lease requires coverage of insurance.

H.B. 978 by Rep. James Mills.  Allows for the seizure and forfeiture of an automobile the driver of which was involved in an accident and is not in the country legally.  Lienholder interests are superceded.

H.B. 470 by Reps. Parrish, Rice, Parham and Powell.  Creates a new state lemon law for vehicles.  Provisions relating to lease arrangements would be of most interest to our members.

Lottery Annuity Assignment
H.B. 515 by Reps. Freeman, Hill, Knight, Mitchell, Jerguson and others.  Allows an individual, upon approval by the Superior Court, to assign winnings from a lottery annuity.

Deposit Account Fraud
H.B. 564 by Reps. Dollar, Cheokas and Roberts.  Creates a new crime within the deposit account fraud statute when someone had insufficient funds in their account at the time they passed a check and the person immediately stopped payment on the check, but retained the item or services.  An additional provision deals with starter checks used to pay rent for a residence.

Bankruptcy
S.B. 133 by Sens. Tarver, Brown, Ramsey, Fort and Thomas.  Increases the homestead exemption in Georgia bankruptcy filings from $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for couples to $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples.

S.R. 1289 by Sens. Tarver and Wiles.  Creates a study committee to review the current bankruptcy exemptions for real or personal property that are available to consumers.  The study committee will be composed of five senators and they are authorized to meet up to five days.  Their report to the Senate is due December 1, 2008 and is to recommend any action or legislation deemed necessary from their study.

Mobile/Manufactured Homes
H.B. 579 by Rep. Scott.  Provides for an assessment of storage charges on manufactured or mobile homes under certain circumstances and grants lien rights for such storage charges.

Real Estate Transfer Tax
H.R. 421 by Rep. Holmes.  A proposed amendment to the Constitution so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide for increases in the state real estate transfer tax and the state intangible recording tax to allocate the revenue from such increases to the Georgia Housing Trust Fund for the specified purpose of assisting low and moderate income citizens of this state in obtaining and maintaining affordable housing.

Home Inspector Licensing
S.B. 334 by Sen. Shafer.  Creates the State Licensing Board of Home Inspectors and establishes the requirements that home inspectors must meet in order to be licensed.

Pawnbrokers
S.B. 393 by Sens. Chance, Thompson, Tarver and Staton restricts local governments´ power to require the payment of any fee for pawnbroker transactions or restrict the hours of operation of pawnbrokers.

Asset Protection Waivers
S.B. 541 by Sens. Chance, Staton, Rogers and Shafer.  Defines Asset Protection Waivers such that they are not considered insurance products.

Bank Employees and Directors
S.B. 551 by Sens. Hamrick and Tolleson.  Would prohibit an employee or director of a financial institution from transacting business, other than regular banking transactions that any customer could access, with any person, appraiser, mortgage broker, or other loan valuation expert to whom they are related.

Morgan G. Murphy Resolution
S.R. 709 by Sens. Meyer von Bremen and Hooks.  A resolution honoring the life of GBA past Chairman, Morgan G. Murphy, and expressing condolences to his family in his passing.

Tom Gilliland Resolution
S.R. 707 by Sens. Pearson and Schaefer.  A resolution honoring Tom Gilliland on his retirement from United Community Banks, Inc. and congratulating him on his election to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board.

Kessell Stelling Resolution
S.R. 985 by Sens. Hill, Wiles and Rogers.  A resolution recognizing Kessell Stelling, CEO of Bank of North Georgia, for his many years of civic involvement and for most recently being named by Governor Sonny Perdue to the Board of Regents. 

Study Committees
H.R. 828 by Rep. Harbin.  Creates the House Study Committee on Unbanked and Unbanked Consumers.

S.R. 636 by Sens. Seabaugh and Weber.  Creates the Senate Comprehensive Lien Law Study Committee and the Lien Law Advisory Committee.

Questions?  Email the Webmaster.

GBA's professional staff represents the membership at the both the state and federal levels.  Contact any of them with questions about issues:

Joe Brannen, President
Elizabeth Chandler, Senior Vice President - Government Relations
Don Browne, Legislative Consultant