Credit Report Freeze Bill Shot Down in Georgia

The state legislative body in Georgia, the Georgia General Assembly, has two bills before it that would allow consumers to freeze their credit reports in the event of identity theft. A House bill was killed in committee yesterday, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

House Bill 966 was introduced by Rep. Rob Teilhet (D-Smyrna) and would have allowed consumers to freeze their accounts in such a manner that no new credit lines could be opened in that person’s name. The House Banking Committee struck down the bill.

The second bill, House Bill 1389, sponsored by Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson), is similar to HB 966. But Benton’s bill allows a consumer freeze only in the case of identity theft.

Another key difference in the bills is the tepid support given to Benton’s bill by Equifax, an Atlanta-based credit reporting firm. Equifax led the opposition to Teilhert’s bill. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that in a separate hearing on Monday, Equifax gave Benton’s bill a “lukewarm endorsement.”