Senate passes HB 945 after floor fight over 'debanking' amendment

The Georgia Senate passed House Bill 945 on March 11 after a lengthy floor debate and a string of defeated amendments. The bill, presented by the senator from the 3rd, was described on the floor as an omnibus banking cleanup that would allow financial institutions to place temporary transaction holds to protect eligible adults from suspected financial exploitation, set requirements for virtual currency kiosks, and tighten registration and enforcement for litigation financiers.

"This is the annual cleanup bill for the Department of Banking and Finance," the senator from the 3rd said when introducing the measure. He flagged three priorities: transaction holds to prevent exploitation, heightened disclosures and limits at virtual currency kiosks, and revisions to the litigation‑financing regime including annual registration requirements.

A principal point of contention was Amendment 1, offered from the floor by the senator from the 19th, which would have added a private right of action and minimum statutory damages to prohibit financial institutions and other service providers from terminating accounts or essential services because a person engaged in constitutionally protected activity. "If you think that someone's right to bear arms shouldn't lead to them seeing their bank accounts terminated ... that's wrong," the senator from the 19th argued, urging colleagues to protect Georgians from what he described as commercial "debanking."

Opponents, including the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said the amendment transformed a narrowly focused regulatory cleanup into a broad tort bill that created new litigation risks. "This bill right here has now changed ... and in my opinion, what this bill has become is a lawyer bill," the banking committee chair said, urging colleagues to pass the clean bill without the amendment and to consider any broader debanking proposals separately.

The floor considered and voted on multiple amendment variations (1a, 1b, 1c and the base Amendment 1 as amended). Most proposed changes failed in recorded roll‑call votes. After debate closed, the Senate voted on HB 945 in its unamended form; the bill passed 50–0.

Key provisions described on the floor: - Transaction holds: financial institutions would be able, after adopting policies and training employees, to place up to a 15‑day hold on an individual transaction for an eligible adult if the institution reasonably believes the transaction may involve or facilitate exploitation; an extension of an additional 15 days is allowed while an investigation continues. - Virtual currency kiosks: operators would be required to provide disclosures that transactions are irreversible, to limit fees to 18% for the transaction, cap daily amounts for new customers, and maintain procedures to enable refunds in fraud cases reported within five days; operators would face compliance measures including receipts and blockchain analytics use. - Litigation financing: amendments align the regime to require annual registration, permit regulatory review of ownership and conviction histories for owners/officers, and provide cease‑and‑desist authority for unlicensed operators.

Supporters framed the bill as consumer protection and modernization for new financial products; critics warned that some floor amendments would create broad private litigation and could undermine regulatory objectives. The Senate clerk recorded the final passage at 50 yeas and 0 nays.

The next steps: with passage by the Senate, HB 945 will be sent to the governor if the House concurs with the enrolled text; floor sponsors and the Senate Banking Committee chair signaled interest in further, separate debate next session on any broader proposals addressing service termination for constitutionally protected activities.

Vote and amendment record: the Senate defeated Amendment 1 and its variants in a series of roll calls on the floor before approving the underlying bill (passage recorded as yeas 50, nays 0).