--- title: HB 240. Mortgage lenders and brokers; prohibit unfair or deceptive practices in consumer transactions related to mortgage trigger leads collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb240 cite_as: HB 240, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb240 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb240.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb240/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69845 date: 2025-05-13 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb239.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb241.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1029 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb240.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 240 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 sponsors: - Noel Williams - Jason Ridley - Trey Rhodes - Demetrius Douglas - Scott Hilton - Will Wade - Matt Brass text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB240/2025 upstream_id: 1955724 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - mortgage lending - consumer protection - trigger leads - credit reports - Fair Business Practices Act --- # HB 240. Mortgage lenders and brokers; prohibit unfair or deceptive practices in consumer transactions related to mortgage trigger leads ## Text 25 LC 52 0713/AP House Bill 240 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Williams of the 148th, Ridley of the 6th, Rhodes of the 124th, Douglas of the 78th, Hilton of the 48th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 and Article 13 of Chapter 1 of Title 71 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Fair Business Practices Act and2 licensing of mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers, respectively, so as to prohibit unfair or3 deceptive practices in consumer transactions related to mortgage trigger leads; to provide for4 definitions; to provide for a remedy; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective5 date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official C ode of Georgia Annotated,9 relating to the Fair Business Practices Act, is amended by adding a new Code section to read10 as follows:11 "10-1-393.20.12 (a) As used in this Code section, the term:13 (1) 'Mortgage broker' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 7-1-1000.14 (2) 'Mortgage lender' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 7-1-1000.15 H. B. 240 - 1 - 25 LC 52 0713/AP (3) 'Mortgage trigger lead' means a consumer report obtained p ursuant to16 Section 604(c)(1)(B) of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1681b,17 where the issuance of the report is triggered by an inquiry mad e with a consumer18 reporting agency in response to an application for credit. Such term shall not include a19 consumer report on an applicant obtained by a mortgage lender or mortgage broker with20 which the applicant has initially applied for credit or which holds or services an existing21 extension of credit of the applicant who is the subject of the report.22 (b) When using a mortgage trigger lead to solicit a consumer who has applied for a loan23 with another mortgage lender or mortgage broker, it shall be an unfair or deceptive act or24 practice to:25 (1) Fail to state in the initial solicitation that the person is not affiliated with the26 mortgage lender or mortgage broker with which the consumer initially applied;27 (2) Fail in the initial solicitation to conform to state and f ederal law relating to28 prescreened solicitations using consumer reports, including the requirement to make a29 firm offer of credit to the consumer;30 (3) Use information regarding consumers who have opted out of the prescreened offers31 of credit or who have placed their contact information on the federal do-not-call registry;32 or33 (4) Solicit a consumer with an offer of certain rates, terms, and costs with the knowledge34 that the rates, terms, or costs will be subsequently changed to the detriment of the35 consumer.36 (c) Failure to comply with the provisions of this Code section shall be considered an unfair37 or deceptive act or practice which is unlawful and shall theref ore be punishable by the38 provisions of this part."39 H. B. 240 - 2 - 25 LC 52 0713/AP SECTION 2.40 Article 13 of Chapter 1 of Title 7 of the Official Code of Geor gia Annotated, relating to41 licensing of mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers, is amended in Code Section 7-1-1013,42 relating to prohibition of certain acts, by revising paragraphs (10) and (11) and by adding a43 new paragraph to read as follows:44 "(10) Provide an extension of credit or collect a mortgage debt by extortionate means;45 or46 (11) Purposely withhold, delete, destroy, or alter information requested by an examiner47 of the department or make false statements or material misrepre sentations to the48 department or the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry or in connection49 with any investigation conducted by the department or another governmental agency; or50 (12) Engage in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in violat ion of Code51 Section 10-1-393.20."52 SECTION 3.53 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law54 without such approval.55 SECTION 4.56 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.57 H. B. 240 - 3 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. House Bill 240 would make it an unfair or deceptive practice for mortgage lenders and brokers in Georgia to misuse so-called mortgage trigger leads to solicit consumers who have applied for a loan elsewhere. ### Plain-language summary When someone applies for a mortgage, the credit inquiry can generate a 'trigger lead': a consumer report that other lenders can buy and use to cold-call that applicant with competing loan offers, often within minutes of the original application. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.20) that spells out specific ways using trigger leads becomes an unfair or deceptive practice, such as not disclosing you're a different company, not making a real firm offer of credit, contacting people who opted out of prescreened offers or the do-not-call registry, or advertising rates the solicitor knows will later change to the consumer's disadvantage. The bill also amends Georgia's mortgage lender and broker licensing law (O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1013) to add violating this new trigger lead rule to the list of prohibited acts for licensed lenders and brokers, alongside existing bans on extortionate debt collection and falsifying records. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law. ### What it does - Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.20) defining 'mortgage trigger lead' and listing specific practices around its use that count as unfair or deceptive. - Bans soliciting a consumer with a trigger lead without disclosing in the initial contact that the solicitor is not affiliated with the lender the consumer originally applied to. - Bans using trigger leads to contact consumers who opted out of prescreened credit offers or who are on the federal do-not-call registry. - Bans offering rates, terms, or costs the solicitor already knows will later change to the consumer's disadvantage. - Adds violations of this new trigger lead rule to the list of prohibited acts under Georgia's mortgage lender and broker licensing law (O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1013), making violations punishable under the Fair Business Practices Act. - Sets the law to take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or otherwise becoming law. ### Who it affects Licensed mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers operating in Georgia, consumers who apply for home loans and may receive unsolicited competing offers based on their credit inquiry, and the state agencies (such as the Department of Banking and Finance) that examine and license mortgage lenders and brokers. ### Why it matters Consumers who apply for a mortgage often get flooded with calls from unrelated lenders using their credit inquiry data, sometimes with misleading or bait-and-switch offers. This bill gives Georgia regulators a specific legal basis to penalize lenders and brokers who misuse trigger leads this way, adding consumer protections without banning trigger leads outright. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds new Code Section 10-1-393.20 to the Fair Business Practices Act, defining 'mortgage trigger lead' by reference to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and excluding reports from a consumer's own current lender or applied-to lender. - Section 1 lists four specific unfair or deceptive acts tied to trigger lead solicitations: failing to disclose non-affiliation, failing to make a firm offer of credit as required by law, using opt-out or do-not-call list information, and advertising terms known to later worsen. - Section 1 states that violating these rules is punishable under the Fair Business Practices Act's existing enforcement provisions. - Section 2 revises Code Section 7-1-1013 and adds a new paragraph (12) making violations of the new trigger lead rule a prohibited act for licensed mortgage lenders and brokers. - Section 3 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill otherwise becomes law. - Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Noel Williams, Jason Ridley, Trey Rhodes, Demetrius Douglas, Scott Hilton, Will Wade, Matt Brass - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69845 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,029 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb240.md?full=1