HB 110: Pawnbrokers; certain protections for current military members and related persons; provide

Georgia law currently allows pawnbrokers to make title pawns, which are loans secured by a borrower's motor vehicle or its certificate of title, with almost any customer. This bill amends Georgia's pawnbroker law (O.C.G.A. § 44-12-137) to add a new protection for a group called 'covered borrowers,' a term defined under a federal military lending regulation (32 C.F.R. Section 232.3) that generally includes active-duty service members and certain family members or dependents. Under the bill, pawnbrokers would be flatly prohibited from conducting any pawn transaction involving a motor vehicle or its title with a covered borrower. A pawnbroker who knowingly breaks this rule would face a civil penalty equal to four times the amount of money originally advanced in the loan. The Attorney General or any local district attorney could sue in court to collect that penalty. The bill does not include a stated effective date beyond the standard process, and it repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds a new subsection to Georgia's pawnbroker law (O.C.G.A. § 44-12-137) defining 'covered borrower' using the definition in a federal military lending rule (32 C.F.R. Section 232.3).
• Bans pawnbrokers from making any title pawn, a loan secured by a vehicle or its certificate of title, with a covered borrower.
• Sets a civil penalty of four times the loan's principal amount for pawnbrokers who knowingly violate the ban.
• Allows the Attorney General or any district attorney to sue a violating pawnbroker in court to recover the penalty.
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with these new provisions.

Pawnbrokers who offer title pawns in Georgia, active-duty military service members, and certain military dependents or family members who qualify as 'covered borrowers.' The Attorney General and local district attorneys would also gain enforcement authority under the bill.

Service members and their families would lose access to title pawns from Georgia pawnbrokers, closing off a type of short-term, high-interest borrowing that ties repayment to losing a vehicle. Pawnbrokers who continue offering these loans to covered borrowers would face a penalty four times the loan amount.

• Section 1 adds subsection (c) to O.C.G.A. § 44-12-137, defining 'covered borrower' by reference to the federal Military Lending Act regulation at 32 C.F.R. Section 232.3.
• Section 1 prohibits pawnbrokers from conducting any pawn transaction involving a motor vehicle or vehicle certificate of title with a covered borrower.
• Section 1 sets the penalty for a knowing violation at four times the principal amount advanced in the pawn transaction, collectible through a civil lawsuit by the Attorney General or a district attorney.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no independent substantive effect.

1. 2026-01-28House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
3. 2025-02-04House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
4. 2025-01-28House Second Readers (House)
5. 2025-01-27House First Readers (House)
6. 2025-01-17House Hopper (House)

• Josh Bonner (R, HD-073)Primary sponsor
• Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)
• David Clark (R, HD-100)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)

• pawnbrokers
• military members' rights
• title loans
• consumer protection