Feb. 11, 2011

Legislature in Session Three Days This Week
It’s hard to believe the General Assembly has used one-third of the annual allotment of days to be in session, but they passed that milestone this week. New legislators were happy to finally vote on actual bills as this week was the first time those were before the Legislature. The supplemental budget took up much of the floor time and committees were meeting frequently getting other legislation ready for floor consideration.

Olens Follows Through on Foreclosure Promise
Newly-elected Attorney General Sam Olens said during his campaign that one of the first bills he asked the General Assembly to consider was one to extend the mortgage fraud statutes through the foreclosure process. We’ve had many members working with the Attorney General’s office over the years on mortgage fraud issues, and Georgia was one of the first states to adopt a statute a comprehensive mortgage fraud statute. On behalf of the Attorney General, Rep. Rich Golick (R-Smyrna) has introduced HB 237 that would accomplish General Olens’ commitment. We’ve already given some feedback on the language, but would appreciate our members taking a look at the bill and letting us know if you have concerns.

Olens	Golick

Subcommittee Meets on Foreclosed/Vacant Property Registries
We’ve told you about the various local ordinances that are being adopted across the state requiring the registration of foreclosed properties. The ordinances are all unique to the jurisdiction adopting them and there are significant inconsistencies and costs associated with them. We’ve asked the General Assembly to weigh in and create a consistent structure for these ordinances that would preempt local ordinances that didn’t meet state requirements. While we expect the Legislature will approve maximum fees for these ordinances, local governments are already complaining about losing money. For example, DeKalb County has set a fee of $175 to register a foreclosed property. That may not sound like much to some people, but when one considers the State of Georgia is expected to have around 130,000 foreclosures this year, the statewide cost to lenders could be over $27 million. A discussion bill, HB 110, was introduced by Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-DeKalb) and he’s asked us to be part of a coalition of lenders, realtors, attorneys and local governments working on a compromise bill. We’ve met several times this week, but no consensus has been reached on several issues. We’ll update you as this issue matures.

Certificate of Insurance Update
 An Insurance Subcommittee met this week and discussed the Certificate of Insurance issue we’ve mentioned before. HB 66 by Rep. Maxwell (R-Dallas) creates a process for the Insurance Commissioner to create or approve forms to be used to provide evidence of an insurance policy being in existence on a date certain. Several people spoke for and against the concept and the subcommittee took no action. However, since this committee is comprised of insurance professionals and agents who understand the pressures some are under to change or amend forms that they're uncomfortable doing, we can expect to see this legislation move forward. We haven't heard from many members that there are concerns with the language in the bill, but if we're missing something here, please be sure and let us know.

New Bills Added to our Tracking List
We continue to update the online tracking page on our website with bills of interest to the banking industry. This week, we’ve added the following bills to the list: 

• Reconveyance Rights. Rep. Doug McKillip (R-Athens) has introduced HB 129 designed to prevent certain fees to be assessed on property that would be collected every time the property is sold. We understand the bill was introduced at the request of the State Bar of Georgia and mirrors legislation passed in other states.

• Abandoned Motor Vehicles. HB 113 and HB 114 by Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) provide additional lien rights to, and fee limitations on, those who tow and store abandoned motor vehicles. HB 113 gives lien rights on both the vehicle and its contents with some exceptions. HB 114 clarifies that a fee beyond the existing $10 fee to assert lien rights shall not be charged unless the matter goes to court. In that case, normal court fees would apply.

• Medical ID Fraud. SB 19 by Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) creates a new criminal offense of Medical Identity Fraud when an individual obtains information from medical records willfully and fraudulently for the purpose of obtaining medical care, prescription drugs, or other heath care services for money or other financial gain.

• Seizure of Property. HB 56 by Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta). Provides certain new restrictions on the seizure of property by governmental entities for non-payment of taxes.

McKillip	Powell	Hill	Franklin

Please take a look at these bills and let Elizabeth Chandler, 404.420.2027, know if you have any questions or concerns.

GBA Briefs Cong. Westmoreland
Georgia’s newest member of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA-3), took time this week to visit with a number of bankers in his district. We also appreciated the opportunity GBA staffers Joe Brannen and Elizabeth Chandler had to spend time with him and Ellen Johnson, his staff member who monitors banking issues. Westmoreland has been one of the most outspoken supporters of the need to have a competitive, robust banking industry in order to get the economy back on track. He was especially interested in ways he could help reduce bankers’ growing regulatory burden, work with regulators to get back to a more reasonable supervisory environment, and find ways for credit to be more readily available to small businesses. He sits on the subcommittee that will be holding the hearings we asked be held on these issues and we can expect his voice to be heard frequently in questioning witnesses. Again, our thanks to Cong. Westmoreland for being open to our concerns.

GBA at the Capitol
Stay tuned and follow our updates on the GBA’s State Issues Page on our website as it’s updated daily. If you Tweet – follow us on Twitter – we’ll be Tweeting significant events as they occur. GBA will be well-represented again this year at the Capitol with Elizabeth Chandler, GBA’s Senior Vice President of Government Relations, coordinating our lobbying efforts. With questions about the session, bills of interest or anything related to the process, just give her a call at 404.420.2027.