Other Bills GBA Monitored Passed This Session
Here’s a list of the major bills we were involved with this session that passed and are awaiting the Governor’s signature:
Power of Attorney. HB 221 by Rep.
Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) is essentially a rewrite of the current power of attorney statute. Our thanks to Rep. Efstration for making a number of changes we recommended in the legislation. GBA supports.
Livestock Dealers and Auctions – Surety Requirement. HB 49 by Rep.
Clay Pirkle (R-Ashburn) adds letters of credit, certificates of deposit and other instruments issued by lending institutions to the surety bond options for livestock dealers and licensed auction houses to use as bond to cover losses resulting from the failure to pay the purchase price for animals being sold. GBA supports.
Tax Credits – Rural Georgia Revitalization. HB 73 by Rep.
Penny Houston (R-Nashville) provides tax credit incentives to promote the revitalization of vacant rural Georgia downtowns by encouraging investment, job creation, and economic growth in long-established business districts. GBA supports.
Fair Business Practices – Solicitation of Real Estate Conveyance Instruments. HB 197 by Rep.
Sam Teasley (R-Marietta) would require any mail solicitations for services to obtain a copy of an instrument conveying real estate to be in large type and contain specific language indicating the mailing is a solicitation, not a bill. GBA supports.
Corporate Registrations. HB 87 by Rep.
Brad Raffensperger (R-Johns Creek) makes the current annual corporate registration requirement good for three years. GBA monitored.
Maps, Plats, Plan Filings. HB 76 by Rep.
Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) makes several changes to legislation passed in the 2016 session creating a more user-friendly system for the filing of maps, plats and plans for real estate. This bill mostly deals with condominium projects and land surveyors. GBA monitored.
Eminent Domain. HB 434 by Rep.
Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs) would revise the current statute to include provisions related to blighted property. GBA monitored.
Electronic Lien and Title – Commercial Vehicles. HB 412 by Rep.
Timothy Barr (R-Lawrenceville) expands the current electronic lien and title program to certain commercial motor vehicles. GBA supported.
Statewide Tax Lien Registry. HB 337 by Rep.
Bruce Williamson (R-Monroe) was unanimously passed by the Senate this week clearing the bill for the Governor’s signature. The bill creates a new process by which state tax liens will be registered at the state level. The bill is a priority of the Department of Revenue. GBA monitored.
Appraisers, Real Estate Agents, Salespersons – Disciplinary Action. HB 39 by Rep.
Alan Powell gives a 10-day period for any of the affected licensees to notify the licensing board of convictions of certain offences and replaces the requirement for automatic revocation of a license to a permissive process. GBA monitored.
Firearms Licensees Right to Financial Services. HB 292 by Rep.
Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) was introduced to update several provisions of the Georgia code related to firearms. The bill was amended in the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Sen.
Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro) to include a provision he requested that establishes for the first time in Georgia law, a protected class for anyone having a federal firearms license. The bill, if signed by the Governor, will require any individual or business to provide financial services to a licensee unless there is a reason not to, other than the fact they are holding a firearms license. Sen. Stone included language we requested last year removing a private right of action and having the Attorney General enforce the statute. He also included preemption language requested by the Banking Department should the provision be ruled inapplicable to nationally-chartered banks by the OCC. GBA monitored.
Bankruptcy – Extinguish Liens/HSAs, MSAs. SB 87 by Sen.
Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro) creates a new process to extinguish certain liens against property after the debtor has been discharged from his debts in a bankruptcy proceeding. Sen. Stone was able to get the House to amend onto this bill, language from another of his bills,
SB 71 that adds Health Savings Accounts and Medical Savings Accounts to the list of property that is exempt from bankruptcy. GBA monitored.
GBA’s 125th Anniversary. Our thanks to Sen.
William Ligon (R-Brunswick) and Rep.
Greg Morris (R-Vidalia) for being the lead sponsors of
SR 455 and
HR 648, companion resolutions in their respective chambers honoring GBA and recognizing the contributions of our state’s banks to the benefit of all Georgians on the occasion of GBA’s upcoming 125th anniversary.