Interchange Fees (SB 126)                 Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro
Hearing held in Senate Banking and Financial Institutions on Feb-21
Interchange fees are paid by retailers to facilitate electronic payments made by customers using credit and debit cards.  Currently, interchange fees are calculated on the final purchase amount.  SB 126 prohibits interchange fees from being assessed on the sales tax portion of these transactions.  Point-of-sale systems are not currently programmed to accommodate this requirement and such a wholesale change should be pursued at the federal level, rather than state-by-state.  Proponents of the bill include the NFIB and retailers like Home Depot and RaceTrac. 
 
The financial institutions trade associations issued a joint letter opposing SB 126 to members of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee (Committee).  Click here for a copy of the letter.  David Black with Georgia Banking Company (Atlanta) and Rhodes McLanahan with First American Bank & Trust (Athens) appeared before the Committee on February 21 and testified in opposition on behalf of bankers.  Others testifying in opposition included representatives from the American Transaction Processors Coalition (ATPC), Global Payments, League of Southeastern Credit Unions, MembersFirst Credit Union, Associated Credit Union, and Georgia’s Own Credit Union. 
 
Those testifying in support of SB 126 include the Georgia Retailers Association, the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, the Georgia Restaurant Association, NFIB, and Georgia Food Industry Association.
 
Proponents of the bill are arguing that the interchange fee on the sales tax portion of the transaction is a tax on a tax.  Bankers and those in opposition to the bill are arguing that no tax is being eliminated.  Retailers are wanting banks to process their debit and credit cards but not pay for the service through interchange on the sales tax portion.  In essence, this would be asking one industry to provide a service for free to another industry. 

Crossover Day Fast Approaching
February 16 marked the halfway point of the forty-day session.  The next substantial milestone – Crossover Day – is slated for March 6, in just four legislative days.  Crossover Day is just like it sounds: it’s the deadline for bills to “cross” to the other chamber.  In other words, House bills must be approved by the House and Senate bills must be approved by the Senate by the end of Crossover Day to remain viable for the balance of the session.  This ensures lawmakers have at least twelve legislative days in which to review, amend, and vote on measures from their colleagues across the hall.
 
As the calendar approaches Crossover Day, legislative days will grow longer as lawmakers attempt to make the most of their limited time.  Next week legislators will gavel in Monday through Thursday, with Friday reserved as a committee work day before Crossover the following Monday.

​New Legislation of Interest
Unsolicited Home Sales (HB 471)                                                                    Rep. Clint Crowe, R-Jackson
Assigned to the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Cmte on Feb-21
Provides guidelines and penalties for the unsolicited purchase of real estate.
 
American Dream Workforce Housing Tax Credit (HB 488)                            Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth
Assigned to the House Ways & Means Cmte on Feb-21
Provides for tax credits for certain contributions made by taxpayers to certain mortgage loan originators. 
 
Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act (HB 528)             Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens
Assigned to the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Cmte on Feb-22
Provides for regulation of certain acts and practices of businesses that offer paid subscriptions or purchasing agreements online subject to automatic renewal or continuous service.  Provides for online cancellation.  Provides that certain automatic online renewal offers and online continuous service offers shall be unlawful. Provides that terms shall be clear and conspicuous. Provides that online businesses shall obtain customers' consent prior to authorizing a charge to any debit card, credit card, or consumer's account with a third party. 
 
Discussions were held with the author of this bill to strike the language on lines 161-164 and insert “Any financial institution as defined in OCGA 7-1-4, or any subsidiary or affiliate of such institution, or any holding company as defined by OCGA 7-1-605; or Any foreign bank maintaining a branch or agency licensed under federal law or under the laws of any state of the United States; and”
 
Local Government Investment Policy (HB 531)                                       Rep. Carter Barrett, R-Cumming
Assigned to the House Banks & Banking Cmte on Feb-22
Provides for local government investment policies.  Authorizes additional investment options for school funds.
​

​Other Active Measures
Ad Valorem Taxation of Property (HB 36)                                             Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta
Passed out of the House with a vote of 170-0 on Feb-23
Revises the language required to be included in the notices of current assessments and adds hearing officer review for tax assessments of certain business personal property.
 
Disclosure Statement for Sale of Energy Systems (HB 73)                      Rep. Joseph Gullett, R-Acworth
Passed out of the House Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Cmte as a Substitute on Feb-21
Requires that the seller provide a written disclosure statement with any agreement for the sale of distributed energy generation systems or for the financing of such systems through leases or solar energy procurement agreements.
 
Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act (HB 80)                                               Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton
Passed out of the House with a vote of 174-0 on Feb-21
Provides that unsworn declarations have the same effect as sworn declarations in certain circumstances, including related to the offense of perjury.
 
Internal Revenue Code Conforming Changes (HB 95)                                    Rep. David Knight, R-Griffin
Passed out of the House with a vote of 172-0 on Feb-23
Incorporates certain provisions of the federal law into Georgia law.
 
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) (HB 122)                                Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville
Passed out of the House Higher Education Cmte as a Substitute on Feb-21
*See also HB 1008 from 21/22*
Changes governance of the Georgia ABLE program to the board of directors of the GA Higher Education Savings Plan; removes the maximum amount of contributions currently allowed per beneficiary and authorizes the Board to establish the maximum.
 
Property Tax Exemption Population Brackets (HB 138)                                Rep. Clint Crowe, R-Jackson
Passed out the House with a vote of 170-1 on Feb-23
*See also HB 896 from 21/22*
Updates the population bracket and census date for a certain property tax exemption for certain leased property; applies only to property owned by GA Power in Butts Co.
 
One-Time Tax Credit (HB 162)                                                           Rep. Lauren McDonald, R-Cumming
Passed out of the House with a vote of 170-2 on Feb-23
Governor’s Bill.  Provides for a one-time tax credit for individual taxpayers who filed income tax returns for both the 2021 and 2022 taxable years.
 
Authorize For-Profit Credit Repair (HB 187)                                               Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton
Passed out of the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Cmte as a Substitute on Feb-22
Authorizes for-profit credit repair services and revises the definition on "credit repair services organization."
 
Rate Reeducation for Sale or Harvest of Timber (HR 96)                           Rep. Noel Williams, R-Cordele
On the agenda of the House Ways & Means Cmte for Feb-23
Proposes an amendment to the Constitution to reduce the rate of the ad valorem tax assessment of timber at sale or harvest; requires state appropriations to each county, municipality, or school district affected by the tax rate reduction.
 
Commercial Financing Disclosures (SB 90)                                                        Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford
Passed out of the Senate with a vote of 52-1 on Feb-22
Provides for commercial financing disclosures and requires certain persons who provide commercial financing transactions to make certain disclosures.
 
Georgia Cyber Command Division (SB 97)                                                 Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas
Passed out of the Senate Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Cmte on Feb-21
Creates the Georgia Cyber Command Division under the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.
 
Nonprofit Corporation (SB 148)                                                                    Sen. John Kennedy, R-Macon
On the agenda for the Senate Judiciary Cmte on Feb-23
Provides for the comprehensive revision of the statute related to nonprofit corporations.

Interchange Fees (SB 126)                                                                      
​Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro
On the Agenda for a Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Hearing on Feb-21
Interchange fees are paid by retailers to facilitate electronic payments made by customers using credit and debit cards.  Currently, interchange fees are calculated on the final purchase amount.  SB 126 prohibits interchange fees from being assessed on the sales tax portion of these transactions.  Point-of-sale systems are not currently programmed to accommodate this requirement and such a wholesale change should be pursued at the federal level, rather than state-by-state.  Proponents of the bill include retailers, NFIB, Home Depot and RaceTrac. 
 
The financial institutions trade associations and other interest parties in the payments ecosystem have spent the week lobbying against this measure and are working to educate Senators on the “other side” of the argument.  The Georgia Bankers Association prepared talking points for all of the trade associations so we can have a unified message with our legislators.  Click here for the talking points.  The retailers have instituted their grassroots efforts and have been making phone calls to the author of the bill and their Senators.  Now is the time to make our voices heard.
 
It is Time to Act!  We are asking that all of our community bankers reach out to the author of the bill, the members of the Senate Banking & Financial Institutions Committee, and your personal Senator on this measure.  Please ask that they OPPOSE the bill and explain why this is important for your community bank.  The members to call are listed below:

• Sen. Billy Hickman
• Sen. Carden Summers
• Sen. John Kennedy
• Sen. Mike Hodges
• Sen. Tonya Anderson
• Sen. Clint Dixon
• Sen. Sonya Halpern
• Sen. Emanuel Jones
• Sen. Brian Strickland
• Sen. Horacena Tate

Session Hits Midway Point
​The Capitol was abuzz this week as the House and Senate assembled for Legislative Day 20 on Thursday, marking the midpoint of the forty-day session.  Now entering the third quarter, lawmakers will shift their attention away from introducing bills and towards the vetting process both at the committee level and on the Chamber floors.  The pace of action dramatically increases as session races towards Crossover Day on March 6. 
 
This weekend, lawmakers enjoy their first four-day period back in their districts in over a month.  Session resumes on Tuesday.

​New Legislation of Interest
Lis Pendens (HB 444)                                                                                  Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth
Assigned to the House Judiciary Cmte on Feb-16
*See also HB 554 from 21/22*  Revises when an action may operate as a lis pendens.
 
Premises Liability (SB 186)                                                                         Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Alpharetta
Assigned to the Senate Insurance and Labor Cmte on Feb-16
Limits land owners liability regarding invitees, licensees, and trespassers.  Provides for no landowner liability due to allege constructive notice of prior crimes or violent nature.  Provides for the apportionment of fault.
 
Apex Doctrine (SB 200)                                                                               Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens
Assigned to the Regulated Industries and Utilities Cmte on Feb-16
Relates to general provisions governing discovery under the Civil Practice Act.  Provides for a party or current former high ranking government or corporate officer of whom a deposition is sought to seek a protective order.  Requires a court to prohibit such deposition subject to exceptions.

​Other Active Measures
C-PACER Program (HB 206)                                                                       Rep. Steven Sainz, R-Woodbine
Passed out of House Governmental Affairs Cmte on Feb-15
Commercial Property Assessed Conservation, Energy, and Resiliency (C-PACER) is a public-private partnership that is intended to enable commercial building owners to invest in their property.  Under these programs, a private lender finances energy-saving building upgrades.  The property owner uses generated savings to repay the lender via a special assessment added to their property tax bill.
 
Ad Valorem Taxation of Property (HB 36)                                                Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta
Passed out of House Ways & Means Cmte on Feb-16
Revises the language required to be included in the notices of current assessments and adds hearing officer review for tax assessments of certain business personal property.
 
Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act (HB 80)                                             Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton
On the agenda for the House Floor on Feb-21
Provides that unsworn declarations have the same effect as sworn declarations in certain circumstances, including related to the offense of perjury.
 
Notices to Beneficiaries (HB 91)                                                                  Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville
Passed out of the House with a vote of 171-0 on Feb-15
**See also HB 1350 from 21/22**
Requires personal representatives to send notices to beneficiaries regarding the issuance of letters testamentary or letters of administration.  Revises a definition regarding Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration.
 
Internal Revenue Code Conforming Changes (HB 95)                            Rep. David Knight, R-Griffin
Passed out of House Ways & Means Cmte on Feb-16
Incorporates certain provisions of the federal law into Georgia law.
 
Expand TANF to Pregnant Women (HB 129)                                             Rep. Soo Hong, R-Lawrenceville
Passed out of the House with a vote of 173-1 on Feb-13
Expands temporary assistance for needy families eligibility criteria to pregnant women.
 
Property Tax Exemption Population Brackets (HB 138)                            Rep. Clint Crowe, R-Jackson
Passed out of the Ways & Means Cmte on Feb-16
Provides that unsworn declarations have the same effect as sworn declarations in certain circumstances, including related to the offense of perjury.
 
One-Time Tax Credit (HB 162)                                                                       Rep. Lauren McDonald, R-Cumming
Passed out of the Ways & Means Cmte on Feb-16
Governor’s Bill.  Provides for a one-time tax credit for individual taxpayers who filed income tax returns for both the 2021 and 2022 taxable years.
 
Property Owners’ Associations (HB 220)                                                    Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton
Passed out of the House Judiciary Cmte on Feb-14
Provides that unsworn declarations have the same effect as sworn declarations in certain circumstances, including related to the offense of perjury.
 
Sales Made on Foreclosure under Power of Sale (SB 13)                          Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell
On the agenda for the Senate Floor on Feb-21
Authorizes online public sales under tax levies and executions and provides for a time frame for sales of real estate under foreclosure powers.
 
Homelessness (SB 62)                                                                                       Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele
Passed out of the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations on Feb-13
Prohibits certain local ordinances or policies related to public camping or sleeping.  Provides for a performance audit by the state auditor on public spending on homeless programs.
 
Spam Telephone Solicitations (SB 73)                                                           Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia
Passed out of the Senate with a floor amendment with a vote of 56-0 on Feb-15
Provides for class action suits and for damages against certain persons for violating provisions related to telephone solicitations; provides for and prohibits certain defenses in such actions.

All Eyes on Committees 
While relatively little legislation was considered on the House and Senate floor this week, committees considered over ninety bills in just four days, with meetings beginning at 7:30am and lasting until after 5pm.  The House and Senate have a combined 71 standing committees and rely on just a dozen meeting spaces on Capitol Hill in which to convene.  With limited space and constrained time, meetings constantly overlap and force legislators and advocates to be in two places at once. 
 
This hectic committee schedule will only increase as the legislature races forward.  Next week, they will meet Monday through Thursday, ticking off another four legislative days as the mid-point of the session approaches. ​

New Legislation of Interest 
Offense of Money Laundering (HB 219) Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners 
Assigned to the House Judiciary Non-Civil Cmte on Feb-6 
HB 219 provides for venue for the offense of money laundering and provides for venue for the offense of theft of money held in a financial institution. 
 
Criminal Interference with Critical Infrastructure (HB 227) Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton 
Assigned to the House Judiciary Non-Civil Cmte on Feb-6 
HB 227 provides for the offense of criminal interference with critical infrastructure, defined as a "publicly or privately owned facilities, systems, functions, or assets, whether physical or virtual, providing or distributing services for the benefit of the public, including, but not limited to, energy, fuel, water, agriculture, health care, finance, or communication." 
 
Rate Cap for Active-Duty Service Members (HB 247) Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville 
Assigned to the House Judiciary Cmte on Feb-7 
HB 247 adds new language to Georgia’s Fair Business Practice Act to set a maximum interest rate of six percent on obligations or liabilities incurred by a service member or their spouse jointly while in active military service.  This includes money owed relating to a mortgage, trust deed, charge card debt, credit card debt, or loan with a bank or industrial loan company. 
 
Financial Protections for Elder and Disabled Adults (SB 84) Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome 
Favorably Reported from the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Cmte on Feb-8 
SB 84 is specific to retirement accounts and provides financial protection for elder and disabled adults who may be victims of financial exploitation.  It requires specific reporting and notices and mandates the delay of disbursements or transactions that may result in financial exploitation. 
 
Revenue-Based Financing (SB 90) Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford 
Favorably Reported from the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Cmte on Feb-8 
SB 90 adds a new code section specific to commercial financing transactions, which are defined as a business purpose transaction in which a person extends a business a commercial loan or a commercial open-end credit plan OR that is an accounts receivable purchase transaction.  The legislation comes at the request of the Revenue Based Financing Coalition. 
 
The bill was introduced on Feb-6 and voted out of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee on Feb-8.  It is identical to legislation advocates are also pursuing in the House (HB 84), which also came out of the House Banks and Banking Committee that same day.  Discussions are ongoing to ensure financial institutions are fully exempt from both bills. 
 
Disposition of Unclaimed Property (SB 103) Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Homerville 
Assigned to the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Cmte on Feb-7 
SB 103 relates to the disposition of unclaimed property and provides for the handling of certain wills, specifically as it relates to instances when a will or trust instrument is included in a safe-deposit box.  Similar legislation (HB 1352) was introduced in the 2021-2022 session but was not enacted. 
 
Interchange Fees (SB 126) Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro 
Assigned to the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Cmte on Feb-9 
Interchange fees are paid by retailers to facilitate electronic payments made by customers using credit and debit cards.  Currently, interchange fees are calculated on the final purchase amount.  SB 126 prohibits interchange fees from being assessed on the sales tax portion of these transactions.  Point-of-sale systems are not currently programmed to accommodate this requirement and such a wholesale change should be pursued at the federal level, rather than state-by-state. ​

Other Active Measures 
Annual Housekeeping Package (HB 55) Rep. Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe 
Adopted by the House on Feb-8 
HB 55 is the Department of Banking and Finance’s annual housekeeping package.  The Department has been working with stakeholders, the Governor’s Office, Legislative Counsel, and specific legislators since the summer on this 110-page bill.  It touches primarily on the Department’s supervision of credit unions, banks, trust companies, foreign bank branch offices, and non-depository financial institutions.   
 
It was unanimously adopted by the House on Feb-8 and has been assigned to the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.  It is possible the Senate Committee will delay action on the measure until later in the session in an effort to prioritize Senate bills before Crossover Day on March 6. 
 
C-PACER Program (HB 206) Rep. Steven Sainz, R-Woodbine 
On the agenda for a House Governmental Affairs Subcmte Hearing on Feb-14 
Commercial Property Assessed Conservation, Energy, and Resiliency (C-PACER) is a public-private partnership that is intended to enable commercial building owners to invest in their property.  Under these programs, a private lender finances energy-saving building upgrades.  The property owner uses generated savings to repay the lender via a special assessment added to their property tax bill. 
 
Because of the tax bill component, state law and municipal ordinance must explicitly allow for C-PACE projects.  Georgia currently has a very limited C-PACER program on the books but evidently, very few C-PACE projects have been completed.   
 
Last year, a group of private lenders introduced HB 1413.  CBA and other trade groups representing financial institutions objected to certain provisions within the bill, and it did not advance in 2022.  
 
C-PACER proponents have now introduced HB 206.  This bill reflects changes made by the proponents to mitigate the concerns of the financial trade industry so that if the bill passes banks are in a better position than they were in the previous bill.  Mitigating factors include:  

• Maximum LTV 80%  
• C-PACE loan is capped at a maximum of 25%  
• Tightening of how often these loans can be used by defining resiliency  
• Timing of when a bank is involved from a consent perspective as well as tightening of the waiver language  

  
CBA is in a monitoring position and will neither support nor fight the bill as it stands presently, but will recognize the efforts by the proponents of the bill to work with our industry.    
 
Notices to Beneficiaries (HB 91) Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville 
Favorably reported from the House Judiciary Cmte on Feb-9 
HB 91 requires personal representatives to send notices to beneficiaries regarding the issuance of letters of testamentary or letters of administration.  It revises a definition regarding Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration.  The author had a similar bill last year (HB 1350) but it was unsuccessful in making it to the Governor’s desk. 
 
Curing Defective Deeds (HB 182) Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth 
Favorably reported from the House Judiciary Cmte on Feb-9 
HB 182 incorporates the legislative correction recommended by the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Pingora Loan Servicing, LLC, v. Scarver.  At issue is that an attorney's acknowledgment of a deed was not sufficient to remedy the fact that it lacked the requisite two attestations under Georgia law. 
 
Authorize For-Profit Credit Repair (HB 187) Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton 
Pending in the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Cmte 
Existing Georgia law only allows credit repair services offered by lenders, banks insured by the FDIC, and nonprofit organizations.  HB 187 opens Georgia’s credit repair industry by authorizing for-profit credit repair services.  Industries that rely heavily on credit scores have been weary of past efforts because CRSOs tend to dispute accurate and valid items, potentially diminishing the value of credit scores. ​