Legislative Update

February 28, 2003          A review of current developments from the Georgia Bankers Association

www.gabankers.com
GAFLA Vote Set for Monday

The House of Representatives is slated to vote Monday on amendments to the Georgia Fair Lending Act, and we need every member bank to contact your House member immediately in support of the bill as reported from the House Banks and Banking Committee.  The committee used a much narrower bill passed earlier in the Senate, S.B. 53, and substituted language from the industry-endorsed bill that has earlier passed the House unanimously, H.B. 142.  The original House bill is being held in the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, and the House felt the narrow Senate bill before them did not address all the problems with GAFLA.  Concerns were raised about certain provisions and the House leadership tried to strike a compromise with the advocates and the Legislative Black Caucus throughout a marathon negotiating session.  A proposed substitute bill was presented to the committee which dramatically changed several provisions in the bill.  However, a substitute was offered by Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) and it passed 16 to 7 with Republican, Democrat and African American support.  The substitute is essentially the original bill which passed the House with two changes in the flipping section.  The first change deleted the presumptive benefits of a ‘reasonable, tangible net benefit’ and the second change moved flipping so that it would only apply to ‘high-cost’ home loans.  There is intense opposition to the bill primarily from members of the Legislative Black Caucus and advocacy groups like AARP.  They are being actively supported by the editorial board of the Atlanta Constitution.  Because the bill was reported with bipartisan support, it stands a good chance of passage in the House.  Sen. Don Cheeks (R-Augusta) is not pleased with the House decision to change his legislation to address issues not contained in his original bill.  He has vowed to strip everything from the bill when it goes back to the Senate other than the S&P fix and the FHA/VA fix.  We need our members to also call your State Senator and ask him or her to support the House-passed bill when it gets to the Senate.  We do not foresee any amendments that would cause us to drop our support for S.B. 53 as reported from Committee, but we will immediately notify you by fax and email should that occur.  There is a chance the House-passed bill could be accepted by the Senate, so your call to your Senator is important immediately.  When you call your Representative and Senator, the message is simply this:  for House members ask that they support S.B. 53 on Monday as reported out of the House Banks and Banking Committee; for Senate members ask that they support the House version of S.B. 53 rather than the narrow bill that does not address all the problems in GAFLA.

Housekeeping Bill

No action has been taken in the full Senate on S.B. 78, the annual housekeeping bill from the Department of Banking and Finance.  The most significant feature affecting banks is the ability for banks to adopt a LLC corporate structure.  Further details are on GBA’s website. The bill was reported out of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee last week.  GBA supports.

Budget Dominates The debate over the state budget continues to take center stage in almost every legislator’s mind.  The ball is in the court of the Senate as they are grappling with the need to find additional revenues in order to avoid a tax increase.  State agencies, including the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, have been asked to cut costs and the agencies are struggling to come up with the $90 million in cuts needed.  We expect an extended recess during March to give the legislature time to address this critical issue.

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 sent on alternate Fridays except when the legislature is in recess.  On Fridays that the Update is not sent, 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 2003 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 Senate