Banking Committee Hears Two Bills
The House Banks and Banking Committee met this week and considered two issues of interest to our members.  Several bills have been introduced that will allow individuals to place a freeze on their credit files with the credit reporting company.  The most recent bill, H.B. 130 by Reps. Hill, Mills, Meadows, England and Benton, is modeled after legislation in other states that has been reported to be more workable that other proposals.  The bills were assigned to both the Financial Institutions and Services subcommittee and the Regulations and Oversight subcommittee. This joint effort will be chaired by Rep. Calvin Hill.  In other action, the committee considered legislation that would regulate the payday loan industry.  H.B. 163 was introduced by Rep. Steve "Thunder" Tumlin (R-Marietta) and a number of legislators.  The bill was assigned to the same two subcommittees and will be chaired by Rep. Mike Coan (R-Lawrenceville) for consideration.
 

Banking Commissioner Testifies at Senate Banking Committee
Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Finance, Rob Braswell, testified before the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee this week giving an overview of the Department's housekeeping bill, S.B. 70.  The bill was introduced by committee chairman, Sen. Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton), and most of the committee signed on as cosponsors.  Among the provisions of interest to bankers: 

• provides parity between state and federally chartered banks by removing certain limits on real estate loans for state banks

• statutory capital base is redefined to limit the impact of goodwill and other intangibles after a merger to prevent artificial increases in loan limits, investments and fixed assets

• clarifies that proxy voting by electronic means is allowed, and

• eliminates the need to form an interim bank when a share exchange transaction occurs

Another provision applying to mortgage bankers would require disclosure from third parties which use mortgage related information to solicit business.  A number of our members over the years have expressed concern about third parties using publicly available mortgage information to solicit business.  Many of these solicitations confuse bank customers as it has appeared these mailings were from their bank.  Other customers who mistakenly believed the bank had given or sold their personal information to a marketing firm have also expressed concern.  The Department of Banking and Finance has been diligent in communicating with those abusing this information in the past and have gone so far as to issue cease and desist orders.  This provision in the housekeeping bill will strengthen their hand in communicating with companies marketing their products with this information.  Click here for a summary of the Department of Banking & Finance's Housekeeping Bill.
 

FHLB Letters of Credit Bill Passed by House
H.B. 96 was reported out of the House Rules Committee this week and then passed unanimously by the House - the first bill to get that far through the legislative process so far this session.  The bill, introduced by House Banks and Banking Committee Chairman James Mills (R-Gainesville), adds Federal Home Loan Bank Letters of Credit to the authorized list of investments financial institutions may use to collateralize public deposits upon the approval of the director of the Office of Treasury and Fiscal Services.  Our thanks to Chairman Mills for working with the industry to get the bill through the House.  The bill now goes to the Senate where it is assigned to the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee. 
 

Bioprivacy Committee Reports
GBA's Elizabeth Chandler testified last fall before a committee looking into the way businesses and governments were using biorecognition software to identify individuals.  The committee released its findings this week and discussed several areas of concern.  Our thanks to the study committee chairman, Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth), for his understanding of how financial institutions need to rely on technology to help identify customers and prevent identity theft.  The committee is not planning to pursue legislation that would limit a bank's ability to use biorecognition software.
 

Phishing Bill Passes Senate
One of the first bills to pass the state Senate this year was S.B. 24 by Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon) and others.  The bill 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.  Any person who intentionally violates the Act would be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, would be sentenced to serve not less than one year and up to 20 years in prison or to pay a fine of up to $500,000, or both.  The bill is now pending in the House Committee on Judiciary - Non-Civil.
 

Several Real Estate Lien Bills Introduced This Week
Senator Mitch Seabaugh introduced three bills this week dealing with real estate liens filed against real estate.  S.B. 63 removes the ability of mechanics and materialmen from being able to put special liens on single family residences.  S.B. 64 creates a procedure for liens filed in error to be so noted in the real estate records maintained by the Superior Court clerks.  And, S.B. 65 adds a new definition of single family residential real estate.  All three bills were assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee where no action has yet been scheduled.
 

ATM Survey Ends February 5
If your bank has not yet participated in the joint ATM usage survey being conducted among the members of the Georgia Bankers Association, Community Bankers Association and Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, the deadline to participate is February 5.  The survey was requested by Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta) who chaired an ATM Safety Study Committee last year.  Our thanks to Tim Keadle at Porter Keadle Moore, LLP for volunteering to compile the results of the survey.

Legislature in Recess Part of Next Week
The General Assembly will be in recess Monday through Wednesday of next week in order to give house members time to work on the supplemental budget.  The legislature will reconvene Thursday and meet through Saturday which has been designated as Family Day at the Capitol.
 

GBA Adds Bills Daily to Our Monitoring List
The Georgia Bankers Association is already following a number of bills introduced in the 2007 session of the General Assembly and updates the Government Relations area of our website daily.  Please check this area frequently so you will be informed about issues affecting your industry.  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 2007 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