Legislative Victories

Down at the Gold Dome, CBA of Georgia is in the mix every session—showing up, speaking up, and making sure community banks aren’t an afterthought. We work the relationships, push smart policy, and make sure that we fight for those bills that directly impact our community banks. The result: real legislative wins that keep community banks strong and financial decisions where they belong—right here in our Georgia communities.

Here are a few of our successes!

House Bill 586 / Intangible Tax Bill

House Bill 586 (HB 586) was key legislation for CBA in the 2025 Georgia General Assembly session dealing with the intangible recording tax. This is a state tax applied when certain real-estate-secured loans are recorded.

Before HB 586, loans longer than 35 months were subjected to the intangible tax when recorded. When the law went into effect on July 1, 2025, loans with maturities 62 months or less are exempt from the intangible tax. This provides tax savings for many real-estate loans used by consumers and businesses. 

Senate Bill 157

Georgia Senate Bill 157 was a key piece of legislation passed in 2019 with strong bipartisan support and signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp. The bill amended how public funds (like county, school, and municipal deposits) are considered and placed with depositories, enabling community banks in Georgia to compete for and receive local government deposits that previously tended to go to larger, out-of-state financial institutions.

Before SB 157, many community banks were at a competitive disadvantage in securing those public deposits, limiting their ability to grow and lend locally. With the law in place, banks can participate in approved deposit placement programs — with deposits fully insured by the FDIC — allowing them to capture over $1 billion in new municipal funds. That increase has translated into an estimated $700 million to $850 million in new loans supporting small businesses, housing, infrastructure, and community economic activity across Georgia.

In practical terms, SB 157 leveled the playing field for community banks — helping them attract local government business, boost liquidity, expand lending capacity, and keep taxpayer dollars working locally rather than flowing out of community markets. And CBA of Georgia was right there pushing this bill. See a timeline of how this bill became a law here.