07 LC 34
1281
House
Resolution 827
By:
Representative Harbin of the
118th
A
RESOLUTION
Creating
the House Study Committee on Unbanked and Underbanked Consumers; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
there is a substantial population of Georgia consumers that do not have access
to traditional sources of consumer credit or financial services;
and
WHEREAS,
consumers that do not have or maintain traditional bank accounts are considered
"unbanked"; and
WHEREAS,
consumers that have impaired or inadequate credit files are considered
financially "underbanked"; and
WHEREAS,
estimates indicate that as many as 3 million Georgia consumers are considered to
be unbanked or underbanked; and
WHEREAS,
this constitutes approximately one out of every three adult Georgians;
and
WHEREAS,
the majority of financial institutions rely on the scoring system of the Fair
Isaac Corporation (FICO) to determine the creditworthiness of consumers;
and
WHEREAS,
FICO scores range from a low of around 300 to a high of 850; and
WHEREAS,
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) considers consumers with FICO
scores of 660 and below to be "sub-prime" credit consumers; and
WHEREAS,
Georgia has an average FICO score of 665; and
WHEREAS,
federally regulated banks are limited in the amount of risk that can be
undertaken in servicing consumers with FICO scores below 600;
and
WHEREAS, the access to credit is a key enabler to wealth; and
WHEREAS, the access to credit is a key enabler to wealth; and
WHEREAS,
a consumer's FICO score affects many fundamental aspects of daily life;
and
WHEREAS,
the economic development potential of Georgia is limited by the large number of
unbanked or underbanked consumers; and
WHEREAS,
both the National Black Caucus of State Legislatures (NBCSL) and the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) have adopted resolutions supporting
increased access to financial services for unbanked and underbanked
consumers.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that there is hereby
created the House Study Committee on Unbanked and Underbanked Consumers to be
composed of five members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the
Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Speaker shall designate a member
of the committee as chairperson of the committee. The chairperson shall call
all meetings of the committee.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the
conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and
recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or
appropriate. The committee's area of study shall include, but not be limited
to:
(1)
Providing a mechanism to transition and graduate consumers from sub-prime to
prime credit scores in order for them to be able to accumulate
wealth;
(2)
Developing a new business model and set of regulatory policies and procedures to
provide all Georgia consumers access to mainstream financial
products;
(3)
Requiring financial service organizations to report consumers' payment histories
to major credit bureaus;
(4)
Supporting a process to assist consumers in accessing financial literacy
training; and
(5)
Offering credit products to consumers that take into consideration an
appropriate financial return related to the risks associated with extending
financial services to unbanked and underbanked Georgia consumers.
The
committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may
deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its
powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this
resolution. The members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided
for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The
allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of
the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized.
The funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come
from the funds appropriated to the House of Representatives. In the event the
committee makes a report of its findings and recommendations, with suggestions
for proposed legislation, if any, such report shall be made on or before
December 31, 2007. The committee shall stand abolished on December 31, 2007.