Legislative
Update |
March
2, 2001 A review of current developments from the Georgia
Bankers Association |
| Predatory Lending
Sen. Fort |
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S.B.
70 as amended by the Senate
Banking
and Financial Institutions Committee
awaits to be called for a vote by the Senate Rules
Committee. We fully expect
the bill to be considered by the full Senate sometime next week. The GBA continues to work to educate members of the General
Assembly on the need to pass a predatory lending bill that goes after the
predatory lenders and not mainstream banks.
The revised bill is much improved as reported in last week’s LegisFAX
and its restrictions are aimed squarely at the abuses.
GBA President Joe
Brannen wrote a guest editorial in last week’s Atlanta Business Chronicle. Although
the bill’s author, Senator
Vincent Fort, initially agreed to the committee substitute, he is
now working hard to change the bill to include many of it’s original
provisions. GBA will be
opposing these efforts because of their severe and negative effect on
every reputable bank operating in Georgia.
Stay tuned to this important issue as the session progresses. |
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| Loss
Payee on Auto Insurance Claims
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Representatives
Alan
Powell and Bobby
Parham have introduced H.B.
706 which would require insurance companies to make claims checks
payable to both the lender and body shop repairing a financed, wrecked
auto. The bill is supported
by the GBA and those representing other lenders financing automobiles such
as the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association and the Georgia Independent
Auto Dealers Association. The
bill is pending in the House
Insurance Committee and we understand the bill will be held for
study this summer. Please let
us know if you have any thoughts on the legislation. |
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Tax
Lien Sales
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Rep. Richardson
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H.B.
337 by Representative
Glenn Richardson requires interest be accrued if the excess from a
tax lien sale is not transferred within 30 days. The bill also
reduces the premium for tax lien sales from 20 to 10 percent. The
bill originally provided that any excess in the sale of the tax liens be
authorized to go to the defendant in fi.fa.
After discussing our concerns with Rep. Richardson about how the
original may be interpreted, he agreed to modify the bill to address our
concerns. Our thanks to Rep.
Richardson for his consideration. The bill was reported out of the House
Judiciary Committee and is pending in the House
Rules Committee. |
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| The
33rd Day is Almost Here
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Today was the 30th
legislative day for this session of the General
Assembly. Bills not
being acted upon by either the House
or Senate
by the 33rd day will remain in the body where the bill was introduced
until next year. This next
week gets hectic and the calendars of both the House and Senate get long
in anticipation of this deadline looming. |
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Higher Education Savings Accounts
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Rep. Smith
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H.B.
417 by Representatives Smith, McBee, Turnquest, Dukes,
Porter and Jamison. Provides for tax benefits through establishing
school tuition accounts to pay for qualified higher education expenses and
introduced at the request of Governor Barnes.
GBA supports the legislation which has passed the House and is
pending in the Senate Higher
Education Committee. |
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Historic
Property Tax Credits
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Rep. Jamieson
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H.B.
118
by Representatives Jamieson, Ashe and McClinton. The GBA has joined
with The Georgia Trust, the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources and other preservation
organizations to support legislation to further encourage the
revitalization of historic neighborhoods and central business districts.
The bill provides a 30% state tax credit for a certified
rehabilitation of residential properties, a 25% state tax credit for a
certified rehabilitation of income-producing properties, a mortgage
certificate program targeted to low-to-moderate-income residents who may
not benefit from a state tax credit and a pass-through provision for
developers. GBA supports.
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Uniform
Fraudulent Transfer Act
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Rep. Allen
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H.B.
84 by
Representatives Martin, Allen, Reichert and Campbell creates the Uniform
Fraudulent Transfer Act to update the Georgia Code to conform with
national standards. This same
bill was almost adopted last year but got caught up in the last minute
rush to adjournment. The bill
has passed the House and is pending in the Senate
Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.
GBA supports.
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UCC Article 9 Revisions
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Rep. Martin
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H.B.
191 by Representative Martin remains in the House
Rules Committee. The GBA
has worked with the State
Bar of Georgia to perfect the bill over the last several months,
and we hope the bill will be enacted this year.
Almost 30 other states have adopted the uniform bill all using July
1, 2001 as the effective date. While
the bill primarily addresses complete multi-state credit transactions, the
bill also maintains current law as it applies to agriculture loans and the
priority of lenders over mechanics and materialmen.
Please see GBA’s educational calendar for more details of the two
seminars we have scheduled April 10 and 12 in Macon and Gainesville.
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Bond Registration
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Rep. Jenkins
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H.B.
542 by Representatives Jenkins and Irvin would require
bonds to be registered in the name of the individual and paper copies be
provided upon request. A
similar bill was introduced last session, which GBA opposed. The bill was scheduled to be heard by the House
Judiciary Committee this week but was removed from consideration
by the author.
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Database Protection
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Sen. Polak
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S.B.
214 by
Senators Polak and Lamut creates a new statute designed to protect the
owners of databases. The bill
originally contained language which may have been interpreted to violate
the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act. This language was removed in a floor amendment in the Senate
which passed the bill. GBA
monitoring.
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| For More Information
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Contact GBA’s
lobbying team for information about these or other bills pending in the
General Assembly:
Joe
Brannen (404) 420-2026
Elizabeth Way (404) 420-2027
Don Browne
(404) 522-1501
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| Follow All
Banking Legislation
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GBA's
Legislative Update is intended to keep you apprised of key
legislation GBA is tracking on the industry's behalf. The above
bills are the ones of most interest that received action this week.
Click here for a list of all bills GBA
is following this session.
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| The
electronic version of GBA's Legislative Update will be published regularly
during the 2001 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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