Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced on October 23rd that the state Legislature will do something it normally does not … they will convene for a special session! This special session, slated to begin on November 13th, will address increasing the budget to provide much-needed support to the areas of the state impacted by the hurricane, as well as other tax issues. And, many of the study committee hearings that have been active in the “off” session will likely hold multiple hearings while all the legislators are back in Atlanta for the special session, so stay tuned. Leading up to this window, the state Legislature has continued its busy schedule of off-session hearings to shape the issues before they are introduced as legislation. Recent hearings of note include:
- On October 15th the House Ways and Means Committee held a working group meeting to analyze how occupational taxes are applied in Georgia. Readers of Creating Influence will recall that during the 2018 session, there were hearings on the topic of the payment and application of this tax (H.R. 1258 by Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) as well as H.B. 858). This issue will continue to be monitored to ensure that it does not inadvertently wrap in credit unions.
- On October 22nd the House Military Affairs Working Group met in Marietta to provide an overview of their legislative priorities for the 2019 session. This group shared several highlights of bills passed, including issues introduced that have yet to move forward. Absent from these was H.B. 676 by Rep. Paulette Rakestraw (R-Powder Springs), which was the 2018 bill that sought to provide foreclosure protections to active military. However, the issue, while well meaning, created conflicts with the federal military law (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) foreclosure protections and opened up the state to judicial foreclosure as it was patterned after a law in a different state that has judicial foreclosure.
- On October 23rd the House Study Committee on Real Property Taxation continued a series of hearings on analyzing the property tax system in Georgia. During the hearing, the committee focused on the process of assessments; however, in the discussion, the topics of foreclosure, taxation and affordable housing were in play. These hearings will continue in the next few weeks and will continue to be monitored closely to ensure that credit unions are not impacted.
