Georgia Senate OKs GFLA Revision

The Georgia State Senate has approved legislation that amends or repeals certain parts of the Georgia Fair Lending Act, including the assignee liability provisions.The bill conforms to one passed by the state's House of Representatives that was less restrictive than the Senate's original reform efforts. Reaction from one mortgage industry opponent of GFLA was positive. Vincent Terry, president of the National Minority Mortgage Bankers Association, said the new law answers all of his group's concerns about the previous version and has prompted the group to drop its lawsuit against the state. According to the Washington law firm of Lotstein Buckman, the key provisions of the amended bill include a repeal of the category of "covered loans." The bill does not alter the "high-cost home loan" category. For the secondary market, it repeals assignee liability for violations, so long as assignees have policies prohibiting the purchase of high-cost home loans. It requires the seller to represent and warrant that the loans being purchased are not high-cost home loans, and that the seller has otherwise exercised due diligence to prevent the purchase of high-cost home loans.