# Georgia HB 945: Banking and finance; holds on accounts of eligible adults for suspected financial exploitation; provide

Georgia HB 945, Banking and finance; holds on accounts of eligible adults for suspected financial exploitation; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Johnny Chastain (Republican), Noel Williams (Republican), Bruce Williamson (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB945-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 945
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Banking and finance; holds on accounts of eligible adults for suspected financial exploitation; provide
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Johnny Chastain (Republican), Noel Williams (Republican), Bruce Williamson (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Banks & Banking, Banking and Financial Institutions, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (328 yes, 130 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 16

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Crypto kiosks must strengthen fraud safeguards: benefit, medium. Qualifying virtual currency kiosk transfers fall under Georgia’s money-transmission rules. Operators must keep government-issued identification copies, prevent customers from sharing wallets, and be able to block designated wallets. They must use outside blockchain risk screening and risk-based mon…
- Fraud victims get crypto kiosk refunds: benefit, medium. New and existing kiosk customers who were defrauded or deceived can request a full refund of transaction fees. New customers can also request the full amount of qualifying transactions made during their first 72 hours. For that transaction refund, contact both the operator and a government or law e…
- Crypto customers get warnings and receipts: benefit, low. Kiosk operators must disclose risks and account terms before the first transaction, and transaction details before every transaction. Warnings explain possible irreversible transfers, price swings, public transaction records, no government backing or insurance, and limits on bond coverage. Changed…
- Foreign bank customers get moving notices: benefit, low. A foreign bank’s Georgia representative office must notify the state at least 30 days before moving within Georgia. The notice must include new street and mailing addresses. Customer notices must appear at the affected office and on the bank’s website at least 30 days before the move. The state can…
- Lawsuit funding contracts must identify funders: benefit, low. Lawsuit funding agreements must clearly show the registered funder’s name, unique identifying number, and business address. These details are required in addition to other applicable disclosures.
- Trusted contacts help protect vulnerable adults: benefit, low. Financial institutions may offer trusted contacts for each account an eligible elderly or disabled adult owns wholly or partly. The contact must be a person age 18 or older, and the institution must record the designation. The institution cannot require the contact’s consent. Contacts can be named…
- Banks gain protection from hold-related claims: cost, medium. Financial institutions, officers, directors, and employees gain protection from administrative, civil, and criminal liability for covered exploitation-related actions or delays. That protection requires good faith and reasonable care. They are also generally protected for choosing not to place a ho…
- Covered mortgage borrowers pay closing fee: cost, low. Borrowers pay a $10 fee at closing for each mortgage loan covered by the law. The fee applies whether or not a licensed mortgage broker or lender closes the loan. The secured party listed on the lien document collects it and sends it to the banking department for the state general fund.
- Lawsuit funders face registration and penalties: cost, low. Lawsuit funders must register through the multistate licensing system, submit sworn business information, and pay nonrefundable state-set application fees. The state investigates applicants and can require applicant-paid criminal-history checks for funders and their owners or leaders. Unless the ch…
- Some bank mergers face state objections: cost, low. Merger parties must notify Georgia’s banking department when the resulting bank or trust company will not be Georgia-chartered. Notice is due when they apply to the appropriate regulator. They must provide the application, requested information, and regulators’ approval certificate. The department…
- Mortgage companies face revised oversight coverage: cost, low. Covered mortgage servicers handle at least 2,000 residential loans for others, based on the latest year-end Mortgage Call Report. The count excludes owned whole loans, reverse mortgages handled for others, and loans serviced temporarily before sale. This threshold determines which lenders face cove…
- Crypto kiosks cap fees and transactions: mixed, medium. Virtual currency kiosk fees, commissions, exchange-rate markups, and other charges together cannot exceed 18% of the money exchanged or sent. New customers face a combined daily transaction limit of $2,500 during their first 72 hours. Customers registered with the operator for more than 72 hours fa…
- Fraud protections can delay adults’ payments: mixed, medium. Financial institutions may hold transactions when they reasonably suspect financial exploitation of an eligible elderly or disabled adult. This covers the adult’s account, accounts where the adult is a beneficiary, and suspected perpetrators’ accounts. Written notice goes to authorized account part…
- Mortgage points face flexible benchmark limits: mixed, low. For home loans covered by Georgia’s fair-lending law, qualifying discount points must be knowingly paid and actually lower the interest rate. The rate before points cannot exceed the average prime offer rate by more than one percentage point. The banking department can adopt or reference an alterna…
- Installment lenders face revised licensing coverage: mixed, low. Listed banks and similar institutions qualify for installment-loan licensing exemptions only when their deposits are federally insured. Their wholly owned subsidiaries also qualify. Pawnbrokers and government entities remain listed as exempt persons, but their transactions lose an express exemption…
- Banks face naming and charter rules: mixed, low. Nonqualifying businesses cannot use merchant-acquirer bank terms, subject to the law’s naming exception. State-chartered banks, trust companies, and merchant-acquirer banks follow corporation or limited liability company rules based on their structure. State-chartered credit unions follow nonprofit…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Johnny Chastain (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Noel Williams (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Bruce Williamson (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Mike Hodges (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | MOTION TO RESOLVE DEBATE | pass | 43 | 3 | 5 |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT BY THE SEN FROM THE 19TH AS AMENDED | fail | 9 | 41 | 2 |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | ADOPTION OF AMEND #1A BY SEN FROM THE 14TH TO AMEND #1 BY SEN FROM THE 19TH | fail | 17 | 31 | 4 |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 50 | 0 | 2 |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | ADOPTION OF AMEND #1C BY SEN FROM THE 23RD TO AMEND #1 BY SEN FROM THE 19TH | fail | 21 | 28 | 3 |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | ADOPTION OF AMEND #1B BY SEN FROM THE 35TH TO AMEND #1 BY SEN FROM THE 19TH | pass | 27 | 22 | 3 |
| 2026-02-06 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 161 | 5 | 6 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 478
- 2026-04-06: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-03-10: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-02-06: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- 2026-02-02: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- 2026-01-14: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-01-13: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-01-12: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 945/AP* (v11): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/245690)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 945/AP* (v11) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/245690)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB945-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).