Legislative Update

March 12, 2004          A review of current developments from the Georgia Bankers Association

www.gabankers.com

Gift Card Bill Reported out of Committee

Our thanks to Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman, John Bulloch (R-Ochlocknee) for offering a substitute bill to Sen. David Adelman’s (D-Decatur) bill, S.B. 443, which would have prohibited the imposition of a nonuse, handling, dormancy, or maintenance fees on gift cards and gift certificates issued by merchants or persons acting on behalf of merchants.  Negotiations to change the focus of the bill to full disclosure of any fees with Sen. Adelman broke down during the week.  However, the Committee felt the Chairman’s approach, similar to a disclosure law passed in California, was more appropriate.  Industry practice has already moved to including any dormancy fees on all communications to the purchaser and the holder of the card as well as on the card itself.  The amended bill was reported out of committee and is pending before the Senate Rules Committee. 


Sen. Bulloch

Identity Theft Bill Slated for Floor Vote

 H.B. 656, described by its author, Rep. Jill Chambers  (R-Atlanta), as an identity theft prevention measure, was slated for Floor action today in the House.  The bill is in a substantially different form than originally introduced and now closely tracks the same provisions in the federal FACT Act.  Essentially the bill will require credit grantors to notify consumers who respond to unsolicited offers giving an address different from the address where the creditor solicited the credit.  The notification would go to the original address unless the credit grantor has an existing account relationship at the new, verified address.  Most banks will be now be unaffected by the bill since banks seldom use lists provided by credit bureaus for solicitation, but as originally introduced, the impact could have been significant.  Since the bill was amended as a result of GBA’s concerns and testimony before the House Governmental Affairs Committee, GBA no longer opposes the amended bill.


Rep. Chambers

Mortgage Loan Originator
Licensing Bill Reported
out of Subcommittee

H.B. 1385 by Representatives Fludd, Sailor, Ehrhart, Sinkfield and Stoner creates a licensing scheme for mortgage loan originators within the Department of Banking and Finance.  Bank loan officers would not be required to be licensed.  A House Banks and Banking Subcommittee held a hearing this week on the bill and received testimony from the principal author and others.  The Mortgage Bankers Association is opposing the bill.  The subcommittee reported the bill to the full committee with a recommendation that the bill be further studied and no further action is anticipated this session.  GBA has been monitoring to ensure bank and bank subsidiary employees would not have a new licensing requirement and sufficient revenues were collected from the intended licensees so bank fees would not be used.


Rep. Fludd

Living (Minimum) Wage

H.B. 1258 by Representatives Ehrhart, Watson, Post, Sailor and Bannister and S.B. 495 by Senators Starr, Johnson and Balfour preempt local governments from enacting minimum wage and benefit levels for individuals employed within their jurisdictions.  An ordinance is pending before the City of Atlanta City Council that specifies a minimum salary for anyone working with City contractors.  The GBA has opposed that ordinance and supports this legislation which would preempt local governments from enacting wage rates different from state and federal minimums.  Both bills have been reported out the original committees of jurisdiction and are pending before the respective Rules Committees.


Rep. Ehrhart
Deposit Account Fraud H.B. 1301 by Representatives Moraitakis, Dodson and Oliver removes the requirement that a “present consideration” be present when an individual gives a check the individual knows to be fraudulent.  The bill should help prosecutors with cases of individuals giving fraudulent checks for debts incurred at an earlier time.  The bill was reported out of the House Banks and Banking Committee and is pending before the House Rules Committee.


Rep. Moraitakis
Housekeeping Bill Pending
in Rules Committee		 S.B. 405 is the annual housekeeping bill introduced at the request of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.  The only provision of significant interest to banks deals with dropping the requirement for prior approval for third party service contracts.  Other provisions apply to other DBF regulated entities:  credit unions, money transmitters, mortgage lenders and brokers.  A bill summary prepared by the Department is on GBA’s website.  The bill has passed the Senate, reported out of the House Banking Committee and is pending before the House Rules Committee.


Commissioner Sorrell
Securities Revision S.B. 488 by Senators Tanksley, Shafer, Adelman and Meyer Von Bremen is a total rewrite of the Georgia securities law and is sponsored at the request of Secretary of State Cathy Cox.  Of interest to bankers are the provisions in Section 10-5-2 (a)(8) and (26).  The effect of the new language, required by the Gramm-Leach-Blylie Act, is to require banks and trust companies to register as dealers if they fall under the federal definitions of broker or dealer contained in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Also, under the proposed amendments, a variable annuity would be an exempt security for registration purposes.  However the entities selling the variable annuities would be required to be registered as dealers and salespersons.  The bill was amended in the Senate Banking and Finance Committee to allow all banks to participate in certain bonding requirements for securities issues rather than just those banks which are Fed members.  Click here for a summary of the bill.  GBA monitoring.


Sen. Tanksley
Identity Theft H.B. 1285 by Representatives Randall and Richardson prohibits any person from using a minor’s social security number to open or establish an account for the extension of credit.  Prior to passing the House, language which would have extended the prohibition to deposit accounts was deleted.  GBA monitoring.


Rep. Randall

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 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 2004 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, Direct phone, (404) 522-1501

The electronic version of GBA's Legislative Update will be published regularly during the 2004 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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