Legislative
Update |
March
23, 2001 A review of current developments from the Georgia
Bankers Association |
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Sine
Die!
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Speaker Murphy
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The Georgia
General Assembly adjourned near midnight on Wednesday, March 21,
bringing to close a session filled with high drama.
Governor
Roy Barnes has to be pleased with another year of successes.
The administration convinced the legislature to change the Georgia
flag, adopt major changes to the state’s water policy, eliminate social
promotions in schools and restrict teen driving.
The Governor did not get everything he wanted, such as a ban on
16-year-olds driving in metro Atlanta, but his overall track record
remains strong. Our thanks to
the leadership of Speaker
Tom Murphy, Lt.
Governor Taylor and banking committee chairs Sen.
Don Cheeks and Rep.
Butch Parrish. The
essential banking legislation was adopted and bills which would have had a
negative impact were either defeated or held in committee. |
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| Banking
legislation enacted
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GBA followed 44 bills
on a daily basis and was asked to testify on many of them.
Fifteen bills of significant interest to Georgia bankers passed
during the 2001 session. We have updated the GBA website to highlight these bills and
there are links to the final version of the actual language in the bills.
The website has also been updated to list the bills which will be
carried over to the 2002 session.
Dozens more bills were of peripheral interest, but we have chosen
not to list those in the interest of focusing on the most important
legislation. Please call
GBA’s Elizabeth Way at
(404) 420-2027 if you have any difficulty navigating the site or if you
need help in getting copies of any legislation. |
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| UCC 9 contains
significant changes
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Our thanks to the many
bankers and bank attorneys who worked closely with the GBA this year as we
tackled some complex and controversial issues.
The UCC 9 secured transactions rewrite was especially
time-consuming. GBA worked
closely with the State
Bar of Georgia and others to perfect the bill so it would have as
little impact as possible on our members while bringing our laws current.
Enclosed is a registration form for the two UCC
9 Seminars GBA is hosting on April 10 and 12.
The law goes into effect July 1 and every bank must be in
compliance by then. |
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| Grassroots
involvement essential
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Bankers must stay
abreast of changes in state and federal laws to ensure your bank is both
in compliance as well as poised to take advantage of new opportunities.
Many bankers subscribed to GBA’s email alert system this year.
The subscribers to our online e-Legislative
Update and e-Bulletin
continue to tell us of their benefits.
As electronic communication grows in importance, we hope every bank
CEO and anyone else interested in the legislative process will give us
their email address so we can communicate rapidly with you. Simply send an email to GBA’s Lydia
Thomas with your email address.
We are happy to add as many people in your bank as you want to this
distribution list at no cost. The
more people involved, the better represented and informed will be our
industry. |
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Housekeeping
Bill
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Sen. Cheeks
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S.B.
16 by Senators Cheeks, Stokes, Gingrey and Stephens was
the annual housekeeping bill by the banking department.
Among the provisions in the bill:
adding investments banks may make in the Federal
Home Loan Bank, expedited notice provisions of new activities, the
ability to continue certain activities not specifically authorized by
state law after an acquisition, and allowing a limited number of non-US
citizens to serve on a bank board. GBA
supported. |
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Business
Development Corporations
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Sen. Thompson
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S.B.
11 by Senator Thompson extends the authority of
Business Development Corporations to become involved in residential real
estate.
GBA supported. |
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Notice by Delivery
Service
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Sen. Johnson
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S.B.
25 by Senator Johnson allows certain notices required
under current Georgia statute to be delivered as registered or certified
mail to also be delivered by a commercial delivery firm.
Of interest to the banking industry is the notice of the
proceedings to exercise a power of sale in a mortgage, security deed or
other lien contract. GBA
supported.
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Cotton Producers
Indemnity Fund
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Rep. Floyd
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H.B.
361 by Representatives Floyd, Ray, Purcell and Hudson
extends until 2002 the time the funds must be spent from the Cotton
Producers Indemnity Fund. GBA supported. |
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Higher Education Savings Account
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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 was
introduced at the request of Governor Barnes.
GBA supported. |
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Privacy
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Sen. Stokes
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S.B.
205 by Senators Thompson, Tanksley and Stokes is the
privacy bill included in Governor Barnes package of legislative
initiatives. The bill eliminates certain information, including financial
information, from all public records prior to being disclosed through an
open records request. There
are exemptions for the press and other groups that may be seeking this
information. The bill has
been rewritten several times to accommodate a number of requests from
organizations like GBA who routinely use public records. GBA supported.
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Electronic
Signatures
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Sen. Lamutt
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S.B.
24 by Senators Lamutt, Polak, Thomas, Perdue and Mullis
clarifies that any Georgia statute relating to any record other than
electronic, or type of signature other than electronic, shall be permitted
to use electronic records and signatures.
GBA has been supporting efforts like this one which will allow
records used by financial institutions to be electronic.
The bill is awaiting the Governor’s signature.
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Digital Records
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Sen. Tanksley
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S.B.
50 by Senators Johnson and Tanksley authorizes Superior
Court Clerks to maintain their records in digital format.
GBA supported.
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Officer and Board Diversity
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Rep. Walker
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H.R.
435
by Representatives Walker, Parrish, Smyre and Stancil is a House
resolution urging financial institutions in Georgia to provide inclusive
representation on their boards and among their officers which is
reflective of all segments of the communities in which they are located.
GBA monitored.
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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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