ATLANTA -- The Georgia House Banks and Banking Committee heard testimony last week on HB 1456, which deals with unfair practices of credit card companies regarding interchange. The hearing before the full committee was significant in that usually such late session bills are "buried" in subcommittee, which was exactly what credit card companies want to happen.

Instead Committee Chairman James Mills, who co-sponsored the bill, decided to let the full committee hear testimony on the interchange issue. The result was a very positive hearing for retailers.

Darryl Wiley, a small grocery store owner and a constituent of Chairman Mills, did a great job of explaining how his interchange fees had multiplied over the years with no corresponding increase in the value of the services. A representative from Georgia-based Home Depot also testified that even a company of their size had no leverage regarding interchange and that their rates had increased a number of times since the beginning of the year.

Opponents of the legislation flew in a former legislator from Illinois (who also testified in the Vermont hearings), who tried to explain how much competition was in the marketplace, etc. Committee members unsuccessfully attempted to get answers to questions posed on the frequency of rate increases or why U.S. interchange rates were amongst the world??s highest.

No vote has been scheduled for this bill, given that the crossover day had already passed when the model legislation became available. However, the closing statements from Mills indicated that this would not be the last time that the committee took on interchange. Mills also strongly encouraged the parties to seek some common ground on the issue.