Legislative Update

March 19, 2004          A review of current developments from the Georgia Bankers Association

www.gabankers.com
Crossover Day a Long One for Legislature The all-important 33rd legislative day was Wednesday of this week.  Commonly referred to as "crossover day," this is the deadline a House or Senate bill must pass the chamber where the bill was originally introduced.  While it may be possible for some bills to later be tacked onto other bills, the vast majority of bills failing to pass at least one body by the 33rd day are considered dead for the session.  GBA continues to monitor a number of bills that could have an impact on the industry and will remain diligent at the Capitol for the six days remaining in the session.

Gift Card Bill Misses Deadline

The committee-amended version of S.B. 443, which would have required disclosure of all fees associated with gift cards, was put on the calendar on the important 33rd "crossover" day by the Senate Rules Committee.  However, the Senate adjourned prior to taking action on the bill, essentially killing the bill for this session.  Our thanks to Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman John Bulloch (R-Ochlocknee) who had prepared further clarifying amendments to offer on the floor.  We will be working with the legislative leadership to perfect a bill for an upcoming session.  The GBA opposed the original bill as it would have prohibited the imposition of a nonuse, handling, dormancy, or maintenance fee on gift cards and gift certificates issued by merchants or persons acting on behalf of merchants, including banks. 


Sen. Bulloch

Identity Theft Bill in Senate Committee

 H.B. 656, described by its author, Rep. Jill Chambers  (R-Atlanta), as an identity theft prevention measure, passed the House last week and has been assigned to the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.  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.  We have heard from several members concerned about the language added by the House Governmental Affairs Committee which could be interpreted as going further than the Federal FACT Act and GBA will be working to clarify the impact of the bill.


Rep. Chambers

Living (Minimum) Wage

The House has passed H.B. 1258 by Representatives Ehrhart, Watson, Post, Sailor and Bannister which would preempt local governments from enacting minimum wage and benefit levels for individuals employed by government vendors within their jurisdictions.  A similar bill, S.B. 495, by Senators Starr, Johnson and Balfour has also passed the Senate.  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 these bills, which would preempt local governments from enacting wage rates different from state and federal minimums.


Rep. Ehrhart
Housekeeping Bill Expected to Move Soon S.B. 405 is the annual housekeeping bill introduced at the request of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.  The House had taken up relatively few Senate-passed bills in order to meet the 33rd day deadline, so this bill should be on the full House calendar in the next few days.  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. 


Commissioner Sorrell

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.

State Legislative Issues l Georgia House of Representatives l Georgia Senate