TITLE 7 BANKING AND FINANCE

Section 1. Financial Institutions, 7-1-1 through 7-1-1021.

ARTICLE 1 PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS GENERALLY

7-1-111. Emergency closings.

Whenever it appears to the Governor that the welfare of this state or any region thereof or the welfare and security of any financial institution or the lives of the employees of the financial institution or the safety of the funds of depositors and property of the shareholders are endangered or placed in jeopardy by any impending or existing emergency or other catastrophe, including, but not limited to, economic crises, hurricanes, tornadoes, fire hazards, disruption or failure of utility, transportation, communication, or information systems, or civil disorders, the Governor may proclaim that an emergency exists and such state of emergency proclamation shall authorize financial institutions to elect to close. The Governor may also proclaim that any financial institution or type of financial institution shall be subject to special regulation as herein provided until the Governor, by a like proclamation, declares the period of such emergency to have terminated. The department may declare emergencies in specific cases for cause shown, and its declaration shall remain in effect until terminated by the Governor or the commissioner, whichever occurs first.

(Code 1933, § 14-1811, enacted by Ga. L. 1971, p. 812, § 1; Code 1933, § 41A-501, enacted by Ga. L. 1974, p. 705, § 1; Code 1933, § 41A-502, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1714, § 4; Ga. L. 1999, p. 674, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 344, § 6/HB 184; Ga. L. 2016, p. 390, § 1-5/HB 811.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, in the first sentence, substituted "this state" for "the state" near the beginning and substituted "an emergency exists, which shall authorize the emergency closing of any impacted financial institutions." for "a financial emergency exists and" at the end; added "The Governor may also proclaim" at the beginning of the second sentence; and substituted "may declare emergencies" for "may also declare financial emergencies" near the beginning of the last sentence.

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, substituted "exists and such state of emergency proclamation shall authorize financial institutions to elect to close" for "exists, which shall authorize the emergency closing of any impacted financial institutions" near the end of the first sentence of this Code section.