Legislative Update

January 17, 2003          A review of current developments from the Georgia Bankers Association

www.gabankers.com
General Assembly Convenes

The Georgia General Assembly convened this week with more changes in leadership than in any time in memory.  The House elected Rep. Terry Coleman of Eastman Speaker of the House and he quickly began to put together his leadership team and name committee chairs and members.  As for banking, we have some new faces in the leadership.  Former chairman Rep. Butch Parrish of Swainsboro is moving to chair the newly created Economic Development and Tourism Committee.  The Banking Committee will be chaired by Rep. Johnny Floyd of Cordele.  Rep. Floyd has been a longtime member of the committee and has chaired several critical subcommittees.  He is well-known to bankers as he serves on the board of ABC Bancorp., in Moultrie and on their affiliate, Central Bank & Trust in Cordele.  The vice chair will be Rep. Jay Shaw of Lakeland who, while not formerly on the committee, has been actively involved in banking legislation over the years.  He is on the board of Farmers & Merchants Bank in Lakeland.  The committee secretary will be Rep. Virgil Fludd, a newly elected legislator from Fairburn.  In the Senate, longtime Chairman Sen. Don Cheeks of Augusta will continue to head the Senate Banking Committee.  The committee vice chairman is also the Governor’s floor leader, Sen. Bill Stephens of Canton and the committee secretary is Sen. David Shafer of Duluth.

Governor Inaugurated/Gives First Budget Address In a stately ceremony at the Philips Arena, Sonny Perdue was sworn in on Monday as Georgia’s 81st Governor and the first Republican since reconstruction.  Georgia’s constitutional statewide officers were also sworn in during the ceremony.  An inaugural ball was held that same evening attended by more than 20,000.  In his budget address to the General Assembly, Gov. Perdue focused on the state of the Georgia economy and its impact on state revenues.  He proposed significant cuts to ongoing programs and some limited tax increases on cigarettes, wine and spirits.  He was candid with the legislators and encouraged alternative proposals for balancing the budget.  Also this week, the Governor outlined a series of initiatives designed to strengthen Georgia’s ethics laws.

Legislative Reception a Hit More than 800 bankers, legislators and other dignitaries gathered this week for GBA’s annual Legislative Reception in honor of our state elected officials.  We were especially glad to see a huge turnout of the newly elected members of the General Assembly.  Our thanks to our members for their great support of this event!

Georgia Fair Lending Act The GBA has been working with the Community Bankers Association and the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates to draft legislation to correct the unintended consequences contained in the Georgia Fair Lending Act.  The draft is almost complete and we expect the bill will be introduced when the General Assembly returns from their Budget Recess on January 27.

S&P Says “No” to Georgia Loans In a dramatic action, Standard and Poor’s, one of the three national rating services for securitizing mortgage loans, announced January 16 they will no longer rate securitizations if they contain a mortgage loan defined as a ‘home loan’ under the Georgia Fair Lending Act.  The press release sent shock waves throughout the investor community and several of the biggest names in the industry announced they would no longer buy any ‘home loans’ originated in Georgia.  We have briefed the Governor’s policy staff and key legislative leaders on the impact of this decision by S&P and told them our draft bill to correct the unintended consequences will contain language to address the problem.

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