Legislature Reaches Half-Way Point

Senate Committee Considers Title Pawn Bill

The Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee met twice this week to consider S.B. 535 introduced by committee Chairman Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton) and others.  The bill is designed to add more consumer protections for people who choose to pawn the title their vehicle for short term cash needs.  Among other things, the bill would require a title pawn dealer to return to the individual, any proceeds in excess of the amount owed if the vehicle is sold to satisfy the debt.  Testifying in support of the bill were the AARP and Georgia Watch, a public interest group.  Both groups asked the committee to go further and reduce the interest rate title pawn dealers may charge their customers.  No one from the title pawn industry testified.  The bill is still being perfected and another meeting of the committee is expected soon.  Similar legislation has been reported out of the House Banks and Banking Committee and is pending before the House Rules Committee.
 

ATM Bill Awaiting Hearing

GBA met again this week with  Senator John Wiles (R-Marietta) to discuss his bill, S.B. 513, legislation that would mandate every outside ATM be equipped with a button to be used in an emergency to call the local 911 office.  Sen. Wiles told us he is determined to get his bill passed and had asked for a hearing.  We have told Sen. Wiles we cannot support his bill for three reasons:

• Emergency 911 ATM buttons could actually create an unsafe environment for bank customers.

• There is no evidence to support the notion 911 emergency buttons serve as a deterrence.

• The legislation would most likely only apply to ATMs owned by state-chartered banks.

Our thanks to our members who responded to our request this week to learn more about robberies at existing ATMs.  The vast majority of CEOs responding reported no robberies.  In the few instances where robberies were reported, the 911 emergency buttons would not have been helpful in most of the incidents due to the nature of the crime.  We expect to be asked to testify on the bill soon.  If you have not shared your own bank's experience with the 911 call buttons or about any incidents involving your ATMs, please contact GBA President Joe Brannen at (404) 420-2026 or Elizabeth Chandler at (404) 420-2027.  We need to hear from you even if your bank has had no robberies so we can develop an accurate record for our testimony; we will not report on any individual bank experiences; but instead, will used compiled data.
 

House Passes Wire Transfer Bill

The House of Representatives voted 106 to 60 to pass H.B. 1238 by Representative Tom Rice (R-Peachtree Corners ) and others.  The bill requires money transmitters sending wires out of the country to collect a 5% fee from anyone wiring money who cannot show they are in the U.S. legally. When the bill was first being discussed in draft form, the language would have also covered banks and the wire transfers our members were initiating for customers.  We appreciate Rep. Rice understanding the difference between wires generated by bank customers versus wires generated by companies such as MoneyGram and Western Union for people who are transient customers.  The bill as passed does not include wires initiated by our members.  The bill is now pending in the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.
 

Four New Bills Added to GBA Watch List

We have added four new bills to our Watch List:

• H.B. 1323 was introduced by Representative Larry O'Neal (R-Warner Robbins) and a bipartisan group of others and is entitled the Georgia Smart Infrastructure Growth Act of 2006.  The bill creates infrastructure development districts throughout the state and provides for financing alternatives to fund various programs.  Several of our members have been involved in the development of this concept and have asked us to monitor this bill.  A similar bill, S.B. 414 by Senator Cecil Staton (R-Macon) and others, entitled the Rural Georgia Economic Development Act of 2006, is pending in Senate Economic Development Committee. 

• H.B. 1356 by Representative Dan Lakly (R-Peachtree City) and others would prohibit anyone other than a Georgia-licensed attorney from being authorized to act as an agent for a title insurance company for the purpose of issuing title insurance.  The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

• S.B. 558 by Senator Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton) and others amends the Credit Card Bank Act to clarify some of the terms in the original act.  The bill also provides an exemption from the pay-day lending restrictions passed two years ago for any credit card transaction where the credit card issuer is a domestic lender or credit card bank.  The bill is pending in the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.

O'Neal

Lakly

Staton

Hamrick

GBA Monitoring More Than Three Dozen Bills

The Georgia Bankers Association is following a number of bills carried over from the 2005 legislative session all those introduced in the 2006 session.  All the 2005 bills are eligible for consideration at any time and many are of serious concern.  We have substantially revised GBA's website and particularly the Government Relations area.  Please check this area frequently as we update the State Government Relations page daily while the General Assembly is in session.  Please click here to see the bills currently on our watch list.
 

GBA's Lobbyists

GBA is represented this year at the Capitol by our three lobbyists:  Joe Brannen, Elizabeth Chandler and Don Browne so give them a call if you have questions about any legislation.  Don’t forget to check the 2006 State Issues link on GBA’s website for up-to-the-minute status of bills being followed this session.

Joe Brannen, Direct phone, (404) 420-2026
Elizabeth Chandler, Direct phone, (404) 420-2027
Don Browne, Phone, (404) 522-1501

GBA Keeps You Informed

GBA’s e-Legislative Update is intended to keep you apprised of the bills that the GBA is tracking on the industry’s behalf and is sent on Fridays during the session.  On Fridays when the Update is not mailed, it will be sent electronically to those who have provided us with their email addresses.  The ‘State Issues’ section of GBA’s website, is linked to the website maintained by the General Assembly and assures that you will have the latest version of any bill being tracked by the GBA.

The e-version of GBA's Legislative Update will be published regularly during the 2006 session of the Georgia General Assembly.  Please let GBA's Lydia Thomas know of others you would like added to our distribution list.
 

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Georgia Bankers Association - 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 1050, Atlanta, GA 30303 • Phone 404.522.1501 • Fax 404.522.9848