Legislature Convenes

The Georgia General Assembly kicked off their 2006 session on Monday of this week.  With the bang of gavels in the two bodies by Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor (D-Atlanta), the second year of the two-year annual session was quickly underway.  In the past three years, much of the debate centered around state revenues and the necessary cuts to balance the budget.  With revenues on the rise throughout most of last year, Governor Sonny Perdue was able to submit a more rosy revenue estimate.  The Governor proposed a teacher pay raise, hiring more teachers to reduce classroom size, freezing health insurance premiums for teachers and building more classroom space.  The Governor has also announced road infrastructure improvements for state roads apportioned equitably through out Georgia.  Speaker Richardson predicted a quick and orderly session for 2006 and even hinted the legislature may not need the full 40 days allowed by the Constitution.  Last year's session ended on the 39th day.  Senate President Protempore, Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), also predicted a session that would conclude "sooner rather than later."  The Senate has been vocal about their plans to work with the Governor to move his legislative agenda forward.

Legislative Reception a Hit

Almost a thousand bankers, legislators and other state dignitaries joined the Georgia Bankers Association for our annual tribute to state elected officials.  The Hyatt Regency-Atlanta was the scene of the gala event.  "The annual Legislative Reception is simply a time for the bankers in Georgia to say 'thanks' to our elected leaders for the time and personal sacrifices each makes to serve us all," said GBA Chairman Tom Wiley, CEO of Flag Bank in Atlanta.  "There will be plenty of time throughout the session for bankers to discuss specific issues with legislators.  Our goals for this event are simply to express our appreciation and show the strength of GBA's grassroots network.  The huge number of bankers attending helped us reach both goals," he concluded.
 

GBA Board, Public Affairs and BankPAC Committees Meet

A joint meeting of the GBA Board of Directors, Public Affairs Committee and BankPAC Board was held prior to the Legislative Reception.  The bankers heard presentations from Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville), chairman of the House Banks and Banking Committee, Sen. Casey Cagle (R-Chestnut Mountain), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and candidate for Lt. Governor and Banking Commissioner Rob Braswell.  Rep. Mills expressed the hope for a quiet legislative session and thanked the banking leadership for their role in economic development throughout Georgia.  The House is expected to focus first on changes to the title pawn industry resulting from a year-long study by a subcommittee.  GBA is working with Rep. Mills in a hearing he will be holding soon on emergency preparedness.  Sen. Cagle reported on a number of legislative issues he has been involved with over the years and thanked the banking leadership for their support of his initiatives.  Commissioner Braswell discussed the reorganization of the Department, discussed funding for the Department and reported the Department would not be presenting a housekeeping bill to the General Assembly this year.

GBA's Senior Vice President for Government Relations, Elizabeth Chandler, made a presentation on several bills we expect to see action on during the session:
 

• ATM Emergency PIN.  S.B. 379, pre-filed by Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta), would require owners of ATMs to program the ATMs to recognize a consumer's PIN entered in reverse as an emergency and automatically alert law enforcement of the emergency. GBA coordinated a meeting with Sen. Wiles to discuss the concept and explain the international process by which PIN numbers are handled today.  We appreciate Sen. Wiles listening to our views.  Although the bill was pre-filed, it has not yet been introduced.  We will continue to work with Sen. Wiles to help address his concerns about ATM safety.  GBA supported legislation passed by the General Assembly several years ago establishing lighting and other standards for ATMs.  The Georgia bill was used as a model as similar bills were enacted later by several other states.

• Credit Report File Freezing.  H.B. 966 was introduced by Rep. Rob Teilhet (D-Smyrna) and others that would allow consumers to place freezes on their credit reports with the credit reporting agencies.  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.

• Emergency Preparedness.  Legislation is not expected to be introduced, but we do expect hearings will be held to discuss how Georgia financial institutions are prepared for a Katrina-like disaster.  We will be working with disaster recovery experts as well as state and federal regulators to prepare testimony for the hearings.

• Partial Payments to Lockboxes.  We understand that legislation may be introduced requiring institutions offering lock-box services to give their customers a way to reject partial payments prior to being deposited.  Technology to provide this service is being developed, so most people believe mandatory legislation is premature.

• 3-Year Rule.  We understand legislation may be considered to drop the 3-year rule on the time a state-chartered bank must be in existence prior to being acquired.  The General Assembly reduced the time from 5 years to 3 years a couple of years ago.

• Title Pawn Lending.  Two bills were introduced last year, S.B. 198 and H.B. 675, dealing with title pawn lending.  While we are not directly involved in that business, we have been monitoring the hearings held this past year and will be closely following the legislation we expect to pass this year to ensure banks are not inadvertently covered by the provisions of the new statute.

• State Infrastructure Bank.  We have been asked by some of our members to monitor legislation introduced last year, H.B. 137 and H.B. 436, which would allow the state to create a financing mechanism to speed up certain construction projects.  There are a number of roadblocks to this kind of financing, but we will continue to watch the legislation if it begins to move this session.  We understand there seems to be a developing consensus that the bank would be limited to road construction projects.

Wiles

Teilhet

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 these 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