Scott Riehl 2017-07-26 06:14:29
ELFA-Inspired Legislation Signed by Governor
LEGISLATION DRAFTED BY AN ELFA WORKGROUP, Georgia HB 290, was signed by Gov. Nathan Deal in a ceremony attended by ELFA, its members and in-state allies on Monday, May 8, 2017.
Th is new law addresses a personal property tax dilemma that has faced Georgia’s family-owned farms for more than 10 years. Th e issue centers on inconsistent application, by both local assessors and state auditors, of the personal property tax exemption for equipment with a lease purchase agreement under § 48-5-41.1(c), which was passed in 2007. The ELFA-backed law provides for consistent treatment across the state and ensures that farm equipment owned or leased by family farmers in Georgia will be exempt from property tax as intended by O.C.G.A. § 48-5-41.1.
ELFA State Government Relations Committee member Karen Lee-Toy of Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation was the first to alert ELFA Vice President of State Government Relations Scott Riehl last June of the problem in Georgia and request ELFA’s assistance.
ELFA spent the summer months briefing and securing support from select members of the Georgia legislative leadership and organizing the ELFA Georgia Tax Workgroup, established with the intent of producing a permanent legislative solution. House Bill 290 was draft ed and introduced on Feb. 8, 2017, aft er the Georgia Department of Revenue turned aside an ELFA effort to resolve the issue administratively. ELFA would like to thank Karen Lee-Toy, ThomIles and the John Deere team and Roy Bowen, President of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers, for their critical support and partnership.
California Lenders License Legislation Dies
Hard work by the ELFA Legislative and Regulatory Subcommittee brought industry concerns regarding California Senate Bill 297 directly to policymakers in the Legislature and was instrumental in abandonment of efforts to enact this legislation as proposed.
SB 297 would have expanded the licensure and regulation of finance lenders and brokers under the California Finance Lenders License (CFLL) to include finders—also referenced as lead generators—engaged by licensees to facilitate a loan by performing activities such as collecting nonpublic personal identification information including a social security number, or introducing or matching borrowers and lenders. Th e sponsor of this legislation, Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa County), has indicated a desire to constructively address continued problems with the CFLL and, as such, ELFA expects to see this bill again next year. ELFA will remain vigilant and continue to advise policymakers should this effort to enact legislation resume.
For more information, please contact Vice President of State Government Relations Scott Riehl at sriehl@elfaonline.org.
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