Georgia General Assembly Addresses Insurance, Tourism, and Banking With New Bills

The General Assembly continues to engage in discussions over a slew of new bills. All kinds of committees met today to discuss issues with insurance policy, electronic fees, and tourism. Several bills passed with little feedback while others took up to an hour to pass.

House:

The House Insurance Committee started with Senate Bill (SB) 109. This bill seeks to prohibit a life insurance policy from excluding or restricting liability for certain deaths occurring while an individual is an active duty service member. It passed to the Rules Committee with almost no pushback.

The committee moved onto SB 121. This bill seeks to increase the minimum required under motor vehicle liability policies for an individual convicted of driving under the influence or reckless driving. 

SB 121, essentially, wants to increase the severity of punishment for reckless drivers. It will do this by increasing the premium rates that offenders have to pay for car insurance. It passed to the Rules Committee.

Senate:

The Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee began with Senate Resolution 323. This bill prompted the creation of a study committee focused on how to make Georgia the premier state for tourism. The bill passed to the Rules Committee.

House Bill (HB) 159 was up next and it proposes an increase for outstanding bond limits. Specifically, it seeks to change the aggregate amount for mortgage revenue bonds. This is so that they can have up to $6 million instead of $3 million. The bill passed to the Rules Committee.

Finally the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee passed two important bills. HB 240 seeks to prohibit unfair or deceptive practices in consumer transactions related to mortgage trigger leads. It passed to the Rules Committee.

Secondly, HB 241 seeks to implement convenience fees for payment by electronic means. It was specified that this pertains to hourly payment. If a person opts in to receive their earned wage on the hour, they will have to pay a convenience fee. The bill passed to the Rules Committee.

For more on the General Assembly’s recent activity, click here.

For more on the General Assembly’s upcoming activity, click here.