Legislative Update

February 22, 2002          A review of current developments from the Georgia Bankers Association

www.gabankers.com
Department Bill Reported S.B. 353, the Banking Department's annual housekeeping bill, was passed out of the House Banks and Banking Committee this week.  Committee Chairman Rep. Butch Parrish (D-Swainsboro) will be handling the bill on the floor.   The bill addresses a number of areas of interest to bankers such as allowing the Department to assess fees via ACH transactions, share examination information with other regulators of new services banks are offering such as securities, and strengthen the   Department’s policy on employee gifts and how the employees handle potential conflicts of interest when they own bank stock.  The bill is now pending in the House Banks and Banking Committee.  GBA supports.


Rep. Parrish

UCC 9 & UCC 5 Bill Reported H.B. 1253 by Rep. Robert Reichert (D-Macon) and others was reported out of the House Judiciary Committee this week.  The bill simply cleans up language from the UCC 9 bill passed last session and calls for the adoption of the newly revised Article 5 dealing with Letters of Credit.  GBA supports.


Rep. Reichert

Predatory Lending Bill in Committee

H.B. 1361, introduced at the request of Governor Roy Barnes by his floor leader Rep. Charlie Smith (D-St. Marys), is pending in a subcommittee of the House Banks and Banking Committee.  We expect the subcommittee to hold their first hearing on the bill next week.  As reported in our Legislative Update last week, there are a number of positive provisions in the bill such as the interest rates that would trigger a home mortgage loan as a high-cost loan and the preemption of the ability of local governments to enact predatory lending ordinances.  However, there are also a number of other provisions that apply to all home loans and a careful reading of the bill as introduced will give lenders serious concern.  For example, if a mortgage loan is refinanced and eventually goes into foreclosure, the borrower could have the foreclosure enjoined by alleging the lender did not consider his entire circumstances when the loan was made.  Also, standard loan terms such as arbitration clauses would be precluded.  Lenders making loans for manufactured houses or home improvement projects would be subject to claims and defenses to the same extent as the seller of the manufactured home or the home improvement contractor.  The GBA is working with Rep. Smith and the Governor’s staff to explain these and other negative provisions in the bill.


Rep. Smith

Trust Equity Bill Passes House H.B. 1176 by Rep. Butch Parrish (D-Swainsboro) and others was passed by the House of Representatives this week.  The bill allows Georgia banks with trust powers to provide their services outside the adjacent states.  The bill now goes to the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee for consideration.  GBA supports.

Mobile Home Foreclosure S.B. 422 by Senators Mullis, Dean, Marable, Williams and Cable.  Creates a lien for back rent due to mobile home park and requires the lender in foreclosure of a mobile home to pay back rent prior to taking possession of mobile home.  GBA is opposing several provisions in the bill and is working with the author to amend.  We appreciate the courtesies Sen. Mullis extended us this week when the bill was on the Senate floor to have consideration of the bill postponed until Monday.  Sen. Don Cheeks (D-Augusta) has drawn a number of amendments that will be offered and we expect most will be adopted.  More work may be necessary on the bill when it reaches the House of Representatives.


Sen. Mullis

GBA Keeps You Informed

GBA’s Legislative Update is intended to keep you apprised of the bills that the GBA is tracking on the industry’s behalf.  Subsequent issues will be mailed on alternate Fridays except when the legislature is in recess.  On Fridays that the Update is not mailed, GBA’s LegisFAX will be sent via fax to all CEO’s and those interested in tracking issues on a weekly basis. The electronic version of both the Legislative Update and the LegisFAX will be sent by e-mail to those on our e-mail list.  The ‘State Issues’ section of GBA Online, GBA’s home page, 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.

GBA’s Lobbyists at the Capitol

The lobbying team for the GBA will be at the Capitol full-time throughout the session.  If you need to get in touch with any of them on a particular issue, several ways are available. Call the main number at the GBA, (404) 522-1501, or leave a message on their direct voice mail, or send them an e-mail. They will get back to you at the earliest opportunity.

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

The electronic version of GBA's Legislative Update will be published regularly during the 2002 session of the Georgia General Assembly.  Let GBA's Lydia Thomas know of others you would like to add to our distribution list.

State Legislative Issues l Georgia House of Representatives l Georgia State Senate l Governor

Federal Legislative Issues l Georgia Members of Congress