State Legislature on Overdrive in the Remaining Days of Session

The state Legislature is at day 35 of the 40-day schedule as of press time, with more than 1,870 bills introduced to date. And while there are a narrow few bills that are still technically active for this year, this is the point of the session where that truly doesn’t matter, as there are many issues being amended onto the moving pieces of legislation. In the remaining week and two days remaining, it will be a flurry of issues, and that is why the efforts to build connections with legislators and lobbyists alike are important to provide credit unions a positive operating environment in Georgia. To see all the bills monitored and addressed, please click here for the tracking system, but below is some of the activity of note from this week:

• Appraisal Management Companies: On March 18^th the full Senate passed HB 192 by Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell), which seeks to bring Georgia law on regulating appraisal management companies into compliance with federal statute. GCUA worked with Rep. Powell last year on this issue to correct language that did not contemplate credit unions’ ever being engaged in this business, and while the bill did not pass last year, this year’s version retains the credit union language. The bill now goes to the Governor for his consideration.
• Auto Dealer-Franchisee Relationships: On March 18^th SB 122 by Sen. John Kennedy (R-Macon) passed the full Senate and travels back to the House for a procedural vote to approve some technical amendments made in the Senate. The bill seeks to update the way auto dealers and franchisees interact with each other, as well as how they protect data. And while it’s narrowly focused, it is monitored closely to ensure that what is sought doesn’t affect lending programs.
• Boat Titling: On March 18^th the Senate Finance Committee made some technical changes and then passed HB 314 by Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), which seeks to create a boat titling procedure in Georgia regulated by the Department of Natural Resources. GCUA will stay engaged in the process; however, the Legislature has considered boat titling for more than 20 years without a successful final passage.
• Encouraging Savings: As of press time HB 193 by Rep. Emory Dunahoo (R-Gainesville) is awaiting selection in the Senate Rules Committee. This bill was introduced to allow Georgia financial institutions, if they so choose, to offer savings accounts that include a “sweepstakes” component (such as the Save to Win program), and is pursued to give credit unions an option to help encourage savings among members and make a dent in the number of individuals who cannot address a $400 emergency. This legislation was amended in the House process to strengthen the bill and make it explicitly clear that it was not “gambling,” and GCUA is working to ensure the bill doesn’t become derailed by possible amendments on gambling expansion.
• Liability Protection & Clear Operations for Funeral Home Payments: HB 490 by Rep. Jason Ridley (R-Chatsworth) passed the Senate Banking Committee on March 19^th. This is the legislation that GCUA and others have engaged to include liability protection and a clear process with funeral home payments. Last year GCUA kept dialogue open with Rep. Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville) on his previous attempts to expedite the payment of funeral expenses (when an individual dies without a will and without a joint member on their account). Presently there is a 90-day waiting period in which the funds must be held before payment, and in 2018 he sought to abolish the waiting period and instruct the financial institutions to pay funeral home expenses first before anyone. However, Rep. Williams has been very open to working with the industry to ensure that what is pursued this year is positive for credit unions. He has modified his original effort to remove the onerous language from 2018, and has included liability protection for the financial institution as well as a clear system in which to apply for payment.
• Lien Bills: HB 387 by Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) seeks to addresses liens for private nonprofit fire departments on properties. This bill is monitored to ensure that it does not impact foreclosure processes, and passed the full Senate on March 21^st.
• Mortgage Licensing Exemptions: On March 18^th the full Senate passed HB 212 by Rep. Clay Pirkle (R-Ashburn) to carve out an exempt for mobile home dealers if they are not facilitating a mortgage. And while it’s directed at federal law changes, in the House committee process they made it more narrow to ensure it did not create unintended consequences for the lending environment in the state. It was monitored to ensure that it does not bring Georgia law out of sync with federal requirements and bring more compliance burdens onto credit unions.
• PACE Financing: SB 162 by Sen. Matt Brass (R-Newnan) is the bill GCUA has been engaged on to educate legislators of the negative issues it creates. While it reads like broadband assistance (an issue popular this session), upon being selected in the Senate floor debate it was uncovered that actually seeks to expand a finance arrangement by allowing home improvement loans via tax assessments that are tied to the property and not the individual, and supersedes the lien priority status of the mortgage holder. This bill seeks to greatly expand PACE financing options in Georgia to include disaster improvements as well as broadband access (Georgia law only permits water/energy conservation projects). GCUA was an active member of a coalition that included the banking sector, the mortgage banker industry and consumer groups to lobby against this bill going forward. Thanks to those efforts, the bill was removed from the debate agenda at the last minute in a March 19^th House Energy and Utilities hearing. This issue is anticipated to return in 2020, but GCUA will stay engaged to help protect the lending process in Georgia.
• Peer to Peer Car Sharing: On March 19^th the peer to peer car sharing regulation bill HB 337 by Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) was removed from the debate calendar in the Senate Regulated Industries hearing as parties still have not come to a compromise on some key provisions. This bill is on hold until 2020, and GCUA will continue to be engaged in the process to ensure that the car is covered by insurance throughout the “sharing” process.
• TAVT Changes: The Senate Finance Committee debated this year’s bill on TAVT changes on March 18^th: HB 365 by Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire). This bill seeks to put autos sold at used and new dealers on the same process for calculating fair market value, as well as lowering the amount of tax required. It was amended in the hearing and will continue to be monitored.
• Tax Executions: On March 20^th a House Ways and Means subcommittee amended one of the tax bills. SB 216 by Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) now includes language that modifies how tax executions are communicated and held, and will continue to be monitored for any tax amendments or amendments that impact the lending or foreclosure process (now that it impacts tax executions).
• Title Insurance Expansion: SB 202 by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) passed the full House on March 18^th and now heads to the Governor for his consideration. This bill seeks to expand what title insurance can cover to contents of a building as well, and was monitored to ensure it is not amended in the final days of the session, as it could open itself to various lending issues.
• Towed Vehicles: GCUA continues to be engaged on a bill that seeks to overhaul the entire section of law that pertains to towed vehicles: HB 307 by Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell). The original version of the bill lengthened the period of time in which a towing facility would notify a lienholder to 20 days; however, GCUA has been working closely with Rep. Powell and interested parties to shorten this to keep credit unions and other from having a delay in realizing that a vehicle had been impounded. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 20^th with some changes, and still may change more in the process.
• Verbal Cancellation of a Guarantee: SB 37 by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) passed the full House Judiciary Committee on March 21^st; this is the bill that seeks to address a Georgia Court of Appeals decision that conflicts with the longstanding legal footing surrounding guarantees (Moye decision). GCUA testified in favor of this bill in the hearings, as this decision allowed for the recognition of a verbal (and not written) cancellation of a guarantee, and could have impacts on lending. This bill seeks to ensure that any commitment (and change to or cancellation of said agreement) to lend, answer for a debt, default, etc., must be done in writing.