Legislative
Update |
January
12, 2001 A review of current developments from the Georgia
Bankers Association |
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Legislative Reception a Hit
Gov. Roy Barnes & Jud Vann,
GBA Chairman |
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Thanks
to almost 800 people for making the GBA’s 2001 Legislative Reception a
tremendous success this week.
Bankers from across Georgia descended on Atlanta to meet with their
legislative representatives and other state dignitaries at this exciting
event.
The Legislative Reception is a decades-long tradition by Georgia
bankers to show their appreciation to these state leaders for their
dedication, hard work and support for a strong business climate in
Georgia.
The event is known as one of the “don’t miss” receptions by
these policy-makers, and they turned out in record numbers.
Thank you to our members for making it such a nice event and for
your support of our legislative activities. |
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GBA Board, Public Affairs Committee and
BankPAC Board Meet
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Sen. Fort
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The annual meeting of
GBA’s policy and legislative committees met prior to this week’s Legislative
Reception to review several pieces of legislation of interest to
Georgia bankers. A
presentation was made about the substantial update for UCC
Article 9, the secured transactions section of the UCC.
GBA has worked with the State Bar of Georgia to perfect the bill
and will support its passage. Predatory
lending was also discussed. Sen.
Vincent Fort is expected to introduce a bill to restrict certain
practices and products when a real estate loan is triggered as a “high
cost loan.” Based on the
parameters set by the GBA policy group, it is unlikely the GBA will be
able to support the bill. Banking
Commissioner Steve Bridges and his staff presented a summary of the
Department’s Housekeeping Bill, S.B.
16.
The bill continues the process of updating the Georgia banking code
to make it compatible with many provisions contained in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
federal legislation. Discussion
was held on a number of other issues such as the Education Savings Account
bill, historic tax credit legislation and changes to the deed cancellation
procedures. The 2001 Session will be busy! |
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Housekeeping Bill Introduced |
Sen.
Don Cheeks introduced the Banking Department’s annual
housekeeping bill, S.B.
16. Among the
provisions in the bill: adding
investments banks may make in the Federal Home Loan Bank, expedited notice
provisions of new activities, the ability to continue certain activities
not specifically authorized by state law after an acquisition, and allow a
limited number of non-US citizens to serve on a bank board.
GBA supports the bill. |
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Tuition Plan Bill Introduced
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Rep. McBee
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H.B.
83 by Rep.
Louise McBee was introduced this week.
The bill establishes a mechanism for tax-advantaged accounts to be
opened for individuals pursuing education beyond high school. The bill
allows individuals to contribute up to $5,000 per year into the account up
to a maximum of $100,000. Students
may use the funds for a variety of qualified higher education
expenses. |
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Leadership Announced |
Rep.
Butch Parrish and Sen.
Don Cheeks will continue to chair the respective House and Senate
banking committees during the 2001 session.
A number of new committee chairs were announced. Among those we work closely with are House Agriculture, Robert
Ray, and Senate Insurance, Robert
Brown. Nathan
Dean, Carol
Jackson and Charlie
Tanksley are new members of the Senate Banking & Financial
Institutions Committee. New
members of the House Banks & Banking Committee are Warren
Massey, Ron
Sailor, Valencia
Seay and Georganna
Sinkfield.
Sen. Cheeks |
Rep. Parrish |
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Payday Loans |
Legislation
to create a criminal offense of unlicensed commercial loan sharking, S.B.
17, was introduced this week by Sen.
Don Cheeks. The bill
is designed to prevent people from being taken advantage of by so-called
‘pay day’ lenders and other unregulated people and individuals making
loans. |
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| Stay in the Know
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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, Contact Bankers, Bank Counsel
Section members 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
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.
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electronic version of GBA's Legislative Update will be published regularly
during the 2001 session of the Georgia General Assembly. Let GBA's Lydia
Thomas know of others you would like to add to our distribution list.
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