ATM Bill Introduced

We have reported in previous Bulletins about legislation that had been pre-filed by Senator John Wiles (R-Marietta) that contemplated requiring ATMs to accept Personal Identification Numbers entered in reverse to be recognized as an emergency alert to the local 911 service.  Sen. Wiles introduced legislation this week, S.B. 513, that takes a different approach.  His legislation would mandate that every outside ATM be equipped with a 911 call button tied directly to the local 911 offices which would be used in emergency situations.  We have met with Sen. Wiles on several occasions to discuss his concept and to let him know the impracticality of his concept.  His bill is assigned to the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee where we expect a hearing will be held soon.  We have been able to find only one of our members who has such an emergency button installed on one of their ATMs.  The vendor selling this product says he has installed his device on more than 2,000 ATMs in the country.  If your bank has such a button, please let us know about your experience with it.  You may contact GBA President Joe Brannen at (404) 420-2026 or Elizabeth Chandler at (404) 420-2027.
 

House Committee Hears File Freeze Bill

The House Banks and Banking Committee met this week to consider H.B. 966 by Representative Rob Teilhet (D-Smyrna) and others that would allow consumers to place freezes on their credit reports with the credit reporting agencies.  Rep. Tielhet told the committee his intent is to assist people prevent becoming victims of identity theft.  He talked about the number of identity theft victims nationwide each year and how his legislation would put consumers in control of their credit files.  Similar legislation has been considered by other states and consumers have found some difficulty in enjoying both the protections the concept provides while still having access to a variety of financing options. Also testifying in support of the bill were representatives from Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group - Georgia.  Kirby Thompson representing Equifax and Brenda Jones representing CheckFree both testified against the concept.  Thompson relayed to the Committee the federal requirements the credit reporting agencies must follow including allowing consumers to place fraud alerts on their credit reports for free.  Federal and state laws also mandate free credit reports which give consumers the ability to frequently check their reports for suspicious activity.  Committee Chairman James Mills (R-Gainesville) assigned the bill to a subcommittee chaired by committee Vice Chairman Calvin Hill (R-Woodstock) for further study.
 

Stop Payment Bill Taken Off Subcommittee Agenda

In last week's e-Bulletin, we told you about legislation H.B. 1043, introduced, by Representative Mike Barnes (D-Hampton) dealing with stop payment orders would be on a subcommittee agenda of the House Judiciary, Non-Civil, Committee this week.  The chairman of the Subcommittee, Representative Tom Knox (R-Cumming) decided to remove the bill from the agenda.  The bill adds the intentional filing of a stop-payment order on an instrument the filer knows would not be paid due to insufficient funds to the types of actions deemed to be deposit account fraud.  Similar legislation has been passed in other states; however, this bill goes further and requires financial institutions to inform the holder of the instrument whether there were sufficient funds in the account to process the payment at the time the stop payment order was issued and when the instrument was presented for payment.  This provision would seem to apply to each and every stop payment order an institution received.  We have spoken with Rep. Barnes to let him know our concerns about how his legislation radically changes the current system for what appears to be few instances of occurrence.
 

Banking Commissioner Testifies on Emergency Preparedness

At the House Banks and Banking Committee meeting this week, Rob Braswell, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance gave an interesting presentation about the emergency preparedness of the state chartered banks in Georgia and how they are prepared to deal with disasters like the hurricanes last year.  He also discussed how the Department handles their own data and explained their data is maintained at a remote facility in their College Park field office.  Braswell reported the Department has tested the backup system recently and will continue to monitor its effectiveness.  This was Commissioner Braswell's first appearance before the committee since being named to the position by Governor Sonny Perdue.  Accompanying the commissioner at the hearing were his chief deputy, George Reynolds and the deputy for consumer and legal affairs, Leslie Bechtel.
 

Braswell

Electronic Signatures

S.B. 241 by Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth) and a number of others, creates a procedure for electronically filed documents to be accepted which have notarization required.  The legislation also eliminates competitive advantages among electronic providers and allows for the acceptance of a printed copy of an electronic document to serve in lieu of an original printed document. The bill had been reported out of committee late last session, but got tied up in the last minute efforts to adjourn.  The bill was reported out of the Science and Technology Committee, which Senator Shafer chairs, and was passed by the Senate this week.

GBA Monitoring More Than Two Dozen Bills

The Georgia Bankers Association is following a number of bills carried over from the 2005 legislative session all those introduced in teh 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 every day at the Capitol by our three lobbyists:  Joe Brannen, Elizabeth Chandler and Don Browne.  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