Banking Committee Holds Organizational Meeting
The House Banks and Banking Committee met this week to organize for the session and adopt the rules for the committee to abide by.  The Committee is being chaired again this year by Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville).  Vice Chair is Calvin Hill (R-Canton) and the Secretary is Rep. David Knight (R-Griffin).  Chairman Mills welcomed several new members to the committee and again reiterated his belief that legislation should be the last resort in solving problems.  He told the committee he would make every effort to ensure all views were heard and encouraged active participation.  Four subcommittees were announced:  Financial Institutions and Services chaired by Rep. Calvin Hill; Regulations and Oversight chaired by Rep. Mike Coan (R-Lawrenceville), Special chaired by Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), and Technology chaired by Rep. Johnny Floyd (R-Cordele).
 

Banking Commissioner Testifies
Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Finance, Rob Braswell, testified before the House Banks and Banking Committee this week giving an overview of the institutions under the department’s supervision.  About the state chartered banks, he reported Georgia had the second largest amount of assets with state charters following New York State.  He reported 21 new state chartered banks were formed in calendar year 2006, the third largest number of banks chartered – following California and Florida.  He also said the overall health of the banks was good and only 19 institutions were on the Special Attention list.  Mortgage fraud was reported to still be a top priority of the Department and the Commissioner related several statistics to show mortgage fraud dropping in the past year.
 

FHLB Letters of Credit Bill Reported out of Committee
H.B. 96 was introduced this week by Chairman James Mills with Reps. Johnny Floyd, Calvin Hill and David Knight signing on as cosponsors.  The bill adds Federal Home Loan Bank Letters of Credit to the authorized list of investments financial institutions may use to collateralize public deposits upon the approval of the director of the Office of Treasury and Fiscal Services.  At the House Banks and Banking Committee meeting this week, Chairman Mills explained the reasons behind the bill and said the bill was identical to legislation passed by the House in 2003.  Chris Kratzer and Reggie O’Shields from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta briefed the committee on the details of the legislation.  The bill was reported unanimously and could be considered by the full House as early as next week.
 

Garnishment Bill Introduced
Our thanks to House Judiciary Committee chairman Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs) for introducing H.B. 121 this week.  The bill was cosponsored by Reps. Roger Lane (R-Darien), Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross), Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta), James Mills and Johnny Floyd.  The bill clarifies existing law and provides for the service of a summons of garnishment that is non-continuing to be made upon the agent in charge of either the registered office or the principal place of business of a corporation.  Because banks must immediately freeze accounts upon the service of garnishment, the bill is needed to designate the specific place where a garnishment is to be served.  There have been a couple of recent court cases against banks regarding the banks’ failure to respond timely to garnishment notices.  The facts in each case have shown the notices were given to employees of the bank with little knowledge of the matter and the notices were simply not handled as expeditiously as called for in the statute. 
 

Session Off to a Fast Start
The General Assembly returned from their weeklong recess to recognize the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and to hold budget meetings.  A number of bills of interest to the banking industry were introduced this week: 

• Credit Report File Freeze
  H.B. 130 was introduced by Reps. Hill, Mills, Meadows, England and Benton.  The bill allows individuals to place and remove security freezes on credit reports.  The bill is similar to legislation enacted in other states that has been used successfully by the credit reporting agencies.  The bill is expected to be assigned to a House Banks and Banking Committee subcommittee for study this session.  Three other bills relating to file freezes have also been introduced.

• Bid & Performance Bonds
  H.B. 134 was introduced by Reps. England, Heard, Coan and Benton.  The bill raises the amount from $300,000 to $750,000 when any bid or performance bond is required giving the governmental entity the discretion to accept an irrevocable letter of credit issued by a bank or savings and loan association in lieu of a bond otherwise required. The bill is pending in the House Committee on Intergovernmental Cooperation.

• Payday Lending
  H.B. 163 was introduced by Reps. Tumlin, Williams, Wix, Franklin and Ehrhart.  The bill creates a regulatory structure for deferred presentment services (more commonly known as payday loans) to be overseen by the Department of Insurance.  The payday loan industry in Georgia was effectively eliminated several years ago.  This bill is designed to bring the industry back under a regulatory scheme that was not in place when the original bill passed.  The bill is already drawing opposition from advocacy groups such as AARP and a spirited debate is expected.  The bill has been assigned to the House Banks and Banking Committee. 

• Firearms
  H.B. 143 was introduced by Reps. Graves, Day, Ehrhart, Talton, Teilhet and Scott.  The bill prohibits certain employers from prohibiting employees from lawfully carrying and possessing firearms in locked motor vehicles. Similar legislation was introduced in the 2006 legislative session and was opposed by many in the business community.  The National Rifle Association is behind the bill and their lobbyist is reporting this new bill addresses many of the concerns raised by the business community.  The bill is under study and has been assigned to the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.

ATM Survey Underway
Members of the Georgia Bankers Association, Community Bankers Association and Georgia Credit Union Affiliates have been asked to participate in a joint survey by the three associations on ATM usage and incidents involving forced withdrawals.  The survey was requested by Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta) who chaired an ATM Safety Study Committee last year.  If your bank has not yet responded to the survey, please do so by the February 5 deadline.  Our thanks to Tim Keadle at Porter Keadle Moore, LLP, for volunteering to compile the results of the survey.

Bioprivacy Committee to Report
GBA testified last fall before a committee looking into the way businesses and governments were using biorecognition software to identify individuals.  The committee has announced a report of their findings will be presented on January 30.
 

GBA Adds Bills Daily to Our Monitoring List
The Georgia Bankers Association is already following a number of bills introduced in the 2007 session of the General Assembly and updates the Government Relations area of our website daily.  Please check this area frequently so you will be informed about issues affecting your industry.  Please click here to see the bills currently on our watch list.
 

GBA's Lobbyists
GBA is represented this year at the Capitol by our three lobbyists:  Joe Brannen, Elizabeth Chandler and Don Browne so give them a call if you have questions about any legislation.  Don’t forget to check the 2007 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