LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

 

 

TO:   CEOs, Presidents & Legislative Contacts

FROM:  Charles M. Miller, SVP / Director of Legislation & Regulation

DATE:  February 27, 2009   

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With much of the Governor’s legislative package introduced, many lawmakers have turned their focus to other significant legislation.  One such bill is House Bill 1624.

 

HB 1624 by Rep. David Dunn, D-Forrest City, was filed on Wednesday. The bill would provide a sales tax exemption for fuels used in manufacturing.  A total removal of taxes on the utility bills of manufacturers in Arkansas has long been a goal of the State Chamber of Commerce and industrial developers.  Arkansas is not competitive with our surrounding states on this issue - Mississippi charges 1.5%, Tennessee charges 1.5% or less, while Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri all charge no sales tax on manufacturers’ energy cost.

 

HB 1392 is the bill dealing with lien priority of first lien holders in a proposed improvement district.  As I mentioned last week, we are working on an amendment that balances the interest of banks holding a purchase money lien with the interest of banks that may own the improvement district bonds.  This amendment has been drafted and hopefully will be adopted early next week.

 

HB 1410 clarifies that Mortgage Lien Protection Insurance is not title insurance.  The bill was signed into law on February 20th and is now Act 210.  Many lenders use this product on second mortgages because they believe that it is safe, faster and good for the customer.

 

Another bill we are supporting has become law.  HB 1433, which is the Bank Department’s legislation to establish a protocol for dealing with emergencies, was signed by Governor Beebe on February 25th and became Act 233.

 

During 2007 a bill was passed to address fly by night credit card processing companies that did not adequately disclose the terms of their contracts.  Because banks are otherwise regulated, they were exempted from the legislation.  Unfortunately, the exemption language was unclear.  HB 1607 was introduced this week by Rep. David Dunn, D-Forrest City to clarify the 2007 bill.

 

Several bankers have called to let us know how they feel about certain pieces of legislation we are tracking.  Please remember we are just a phone call or e-mail away if you are concerned about anything happening at the Capitol.