Georgia § 7-1-1016 - Regulations relative to advertising.

§ 7-1-1016. Regulations relative to advertising.

In addition to such other rules, regulations, and policies as the department may promulgate to effectuate the purpose of this article, the department shall prescribe regulations governing the advertising of mortgage loans, including, without limitation, the following requirements: Advertisements for loans regulated under this article shall not be false, misleading, or deceptive. No person whose activities are regulated under this article shall advertise in any manner so as to indicate or imply that its interest rates or charges for loans are in any way "recommended," "approved," "set," or "established" by the state or this article. An advertisement shall not include an individual's loan number, loan amount, or other publicly available information unless it is clearly and conspicuously stated in boldface type at the beginning of the advertisement that the person disseminating it is not authorized by, in sponsorship with, or otherwise affiliated with the individual's lender, which shall be identified by name. Such an advertisement shall also state that the loan information contained therein was not provided by the recipient's lender; and All advertisements, including websites, disseminated by a licensee or a registrant in this state by any means shall contain the name, which shall conform to a name on record with the department, and unique identifier, which shall clearly indicate that the number was issued by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, of the licensee or registrant. (Code 1981, § 7-1-1016 , enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 543, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 570, § 11; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1220, § 13; Ga. L. 2007, p. 502, § 38/SB 70; Ga. L. 2009, p. 252, § 1/HB 312; Ga. L. 2016, p. 390, § 6-1/HB 811; Ga. L. 2020, p. 320, § 22/HB 781; Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 7/SB 429.) The 2020 amendments. The first 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, added "and" at the end of paragraph (1)(B); in paragraph (2), substituted "which shall conform to a name on record with the department, and" for "license number, Nation-wide Multistate Licensing System and Registry" and "which shall clearly indicate that the number was issued by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, of the licensee or registrant." for "and an office address of such licensee or registrant, which shall conform to a name and address on record with the department; and"; and deleted former paragraph (3), which read: "No mortgage broker or mortgage lender licensee shall advertise its services in Georgia in any media disseminated in this state, whether print or electronic, without the words 'Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee' or, for those advertisers licensed in more than one state, a listing of Georgia as a state in which the advertiser is licensed." The second 2020 amendment, effective July 29, 2020, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry" for "Nation-wide Multistate Licensing System and Registry" in paragraph (2). See Editor's notes. Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 54(e)/SB 429, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "In the event of a conflict between a provision in Sections 1 through 53 of this Act and a provision of another Act enacted at the 2020 regular session of the General Assembly, the provision of such other Act shall control over the conflicting provision in Sections 1 through 53 of this Act to the extent of the conflict." Accordingly, the amendment to paragraph (2) of this Code section by Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 7(20)(V)/SB 429, was not given effect.