GA Code § 20-3-266 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 20 - Education|Chapter 3 - Postsecondary Education|Article 7 - Scholarships, Loans, and Grants|Part 2 - Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation|§ 20-3-266. Powers and Duties of the Corporation; Conflicts With Federal or State Law; Confidentiality

  In addition to all other provisions of this part and in furtherance of the purposes of the corporation, the corporation shall have the following powers, duties, and functions:   The corporation shall establish and administer a program of guaranteed educational loans to eligible students and eligible parents, to be known as the Georgia Higher Education Loan Program, in accordance with this part and the federal act; and pursuant thereto, the corporation is further authorized:   To adopt rules, regulations, and policies necessary, appropriate, or convenient for the administration of its affairs; the execution of its powers, duties, and functions; and the accomplishment of its corporate purposes, as prescribed in this part and the federal act;   To receive all moneys made available by the General Assembly or otherwise for the purposes of the corporation and to use such moneys in accordance with this part and the federal act;   To enter into agreements and undertakings with the secretary, including guaranty agreements and supplemental guaranty agreements as described in the federal act, as may be required and necessary pursuant to the federal act in order to administer the program in this state, to provide for reimbursement by the secretary of amounts expended by the corporation in discharge of its guaranty obligations, to provide for the payment of federal interest subsidies and special allowance payments in respect of educational loans guaranteed by the corporation, and to provide for its receipt, or receipt by the holders of educational loans guaranteed by the corporation, of administrative allowances and other benefits available under the federal act; and the corporation is expressly authorized to constitute, conduct, regulate, and administer the program so that such program conforms to the specifications for state educational loan guarantee programs set forth in the federal act and in rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal act and so that the provisions for agreements between the secretary and state guaranty agencies set forth in the federal act and in rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal act may be agreed to and complied with by the corporation;   To adopt rules and regulations pertaining to guaranteed educational loans and loan guaranties;   To provide and issue loan guaranties evidencing the guaranty, upon such terms and conditions as the corporation may prescribe within limitations provided by this part and the federal act, of educational loans to be made by lenders, except that no loan guaranty shall be issued unless the educational loan to be made shall be the subject of agreements under the federal act providing for reimbursement by the secretary of amounts expended by the corporation to discharge any guaranty obligation in respect of the loan guaranty to the maximum extent available at the time under the federal act;   To administer federal funds allotted to the corporation or to the state in respect of educational loans guaranteed under the federal act, related matters, and related administrative costs;   To enter into contracts and agreements with lenders upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the corporation or otherwise agreed upon between the corporation and the lender, consistent with this part, the federal act, and agreements entered into between the corporation and the secretary;   To provide for lenders obtaining a comaker, cosigner, or endorser on loans, subject to limitations prescribed in the federal act;   To provide for additional security on loans, subject to limitations prescribed in the federal act;   To provide for the consolidation of promissory notes evidencing loans guaranteed under this part without affecting the guaranty of the corporation thereon;   To enter into contracts and agreements with schools upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the corporation or otherwise agreed upon between the corporation and the school, consistent with this part, the federal act, and agreements entered into between the corporation and the secretary;   To require that schools located in the state shall designate one or more persons who shall be responsible for receiving and controlling and disbursing or delivering, as the case may be, student aid checks or funds that are required to be or which may optionally be disbursed to, delivered to, or otherwise provided to the school under this part for further disbursement or delivery to students enrolled therein, and to provide for matters relative thereto;   To require, in its discretion, that schools located in this state or, with approval of the corporation, a combination thereof jointly shall provide fidelity bond coverage of school employees who have access to checks or funds that may be routed through the school under this part to students enrolled therein in such sums and conditioned in such respects as to the insured as may be reasonably necessary to protect the interests of the corporation and the lenders and to provide for matters relative thereto;   To limit the applicability of designated rules and regulations to schools located within this state, or within this state and states bordering on this state, in that the majority of students for whom loans are guaranteed under this part are attending schools located within such states;   To provide for the application of school refunds to educational loan indebtedness incurred under this part, consistent with the requirements of any other federal or state law, rule, or regulation which provides financial aid to students and for the application of school refunds relative to those programs;   To approve, disapprove, limit, suspend, or terminate the participation of a school or a lender in the program administered by the corporation, consistent with this part, the federal act, and agreements entered into between the corporation and the secretary, and to provide for such formal and informal procedures in regard thereto as may be appropriate;   To collect from borrowers, comakers, cosigners, or endorsers all amounts owed in respect of educational loans on which the corporation has been required to meet its loan guaranty obligation following the inability of the holders of such loans to collect such amounts and to provide for all matters relative thereto;   To provide for the classification of loans purchased from lenders in accordance with the status of borrowers and the current apparent collectability status of such loans from borrowers; and, consistent with the federal act and with the approval of the secretary whenever such approval is required, to consent to the modification of the terms of a note; and to compromise, satisfy, and settle loan amounts due, as to which federal reinsurance payment has been received by the corporation, for less than the amount due thereon; and to waive or release any right, title, claim, equity, lien, or demand relative to a borrower or to any asset, however acquired, whenever deemed to be necessary or best protective of the financial interests of the corporation and the United States; provided, however, that no claim or right of the corporation to payment of any amount due which is the result of an expenditure made by the corporation from funds appropriated by the General Assembly for use by the corporation may be compromised, satisfied, settled, waived, or released for less than the principal amount due without the approval of the Attorney General;   To require that reports, in such form and containing such information as the corporation may prescribe, be furnished to the corporation by schools and lenders as it may deem necessary for the effective performance of its powers, duties, and functions under this part and the federal act;   To prescribe minimum information that must be included in any oral or printed information, announcement, communication, or material that is:   Published or otherwise disseminated by, for, or on behalf of a lender relative to educational loans provided for in this part; or   Published or otherwise disseminated by any person, corporation, association, partnership, or other organization engaged in this state in the business of providing to students or parents of students, in consideration of the receipt therefor of a fee, commission, charge, or other valuable consideration from any source, contingent or otherwise, information about, or assistance in, applying for or obtaining educational loan assistance under this part;     To require that such administrative and fiscal procedures be used by the corporation, lenders, and schools as may be necessary to protect the corporation and the United States from the risk of unreasonable loss and to ensure proper and effective administration of the program;   To keep and maintain, and to require that lenders and schools keep and maintain, such records as may be required by this part, the federal act, or determined by the corporation to be necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the program and to require that such records be made available to employees of the corporation and the United States for examination and inspection, as may be necessary or appropriate;   To secure data, except where specifically prohibited by state or federal law, from any state agency, department, instrumentality, political subdivision of the state, or any other source, for the purpose of verifying information submitted by a student or a parent when applying for or receiving educational loan assistance under this part and to pay costs incurred by the provider of such data;   Except where specifically prohibited by state or federal law, to obtain from each state agency, department, instrumentality, and political subdivision information contained in its records relative to the present or last known address and telephone number of a borrower, comaker, cosigner, or endorser, identified to the provider by name and social security number, and to pay costs incurred by the provider of such information; and each state agency, department, instrumentality, and political subdivision is authorized and directed to provide the information specified in this subparagraph to the corporation upon its request;   To restrict or broaden definitions and provisions contained in this part and the federal act, consistent, however, with limitations imposed by the federal act. By reason of legislative intent expressed in Code Section 7-1-626, the corporation is authorized, notwithstanding other provisions of this part, to broaden the terms "student" and "eligible student," as defined in paragraph (21) of Code Section 20-3-262, to include a student who is not a resident of this state, provided the participating lender is actively making loans under this part to residents of this state, but no state appropriated funds shall be expended relative to loans made to such a student or to the parent of such a student for the purposes prescribed in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph and in Code Sections 20-3-273 and 20-3-274;   To provide for and administer an educational loan escrow disbursement system for the benefit and protection of lenders, students, the corporation, and the United States and to provide for all matters relative thereto, consistent with the federal act;   To gather information on all educational loan funds available from any source to residents of the state and to disseminate such information through such methods of mass or individual communication as may be necessary better to assure that students and parents are aware of the availability of such loan resources;  (AA.1) To advertise or otherwise promote the programs, functions, and purposes of the corporation and to expend funds available to the corporation for such purposes;    To receive funds from any source, public or private, by gift, grant, bequest, loan, or otherwise, either absolutely or in trust, and to hold, use, administer, and expend such funds on its behalf and for any of its corporate purposes; and to acquire from any source, public or private, by purchase, lease, gift, bequest, or devise, any property, real, personal, or mixed, either absolutely or in trust, and to hold, use, administer, and dispose of such property on its behalf and for any of its corporate purposes;   To provide procedures for the filing, hearing, and determination of an appeal made by an aggrieved party of a decision made by the corporation in the administration of the program, and for all matters relative thereto;   To enter into agreements and undertakings as may be necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its powers, duties, and functions under this part and the federal act;   To perform such other acts as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out effectively the purposes of the corporation under this part and the federal act;   To adopt an official seal and alter the seal at its pleasure;   To maintain a principal office and such other offices as may be appropriate;   To adopt bylaws and policies for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;   To bring and defend actions in the name of the corporation and to plead and be impleaded; and   To do any and all things necessary, desirable, convenient, or incidental for the accomplishment of the objectives of this chapter and to exercise any power usually possessed by private corporations performing similar functions which is not in conflict with the public purposes of the corporation or the Constitution and laws of this state, including, but not limited to:   The power to retain accounting and other financial services;   The power to purchase all kinds of insurance, including, without limitation, insurance against tort liability and against risks of damage to property;   The power to indemnify and hold harmless any parties contracting with the corporation or its agents from damage to persons or property; and   The power to act as a self-insurer with respect to any loss or liability and to create insurance reserves;       The corporation shall have the power to service or contract for the servicing of educational loans, including the servicing of such loans by the corporation on behalf of others, to contract in advance for the servicing of educational loans, and to contract for the performance by the corporation of any portion of the program;   All provisions of this part to the contrary notwithstanding, the corporation is authorized to guarantee service cancelable loans made to students by the authority pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-3-374 even if such loans do not meet all requirements of the federal act. In this event, conditions prescribed by the corporation for the guarantee of such loans shall, to the maximum extent deemed practicable, be the same as otherwise prescribed in this part relative to loans guaranteed by the corporation pursuant to the federal act;   Each applicant who, as of the date of application for financial assistance under this part, is required but has not registered with the Selective Service System of the United States pursuant to 50 U.S.C. Section 453, as amended, shall be ineligible to receive financial assistance under this part. Each applicant shall, under penalty of perjury, certify compliance or noncompliance with the registration requirements of the Military Selective Service Act of the United States and provide such other information as the corporation may reasonably require;   If any conflict exists between this part and the federal act or any rules or regulations promulgated under the federal act, which conflict will result in a loss by the corporation of any federal funds or other funds that would otherwise be available to it for carrying out its purposes under this part, including, but not by way of limitation, federal and other funds available to the corporation under the federal act as administrative cost allowances; as retainage of a portion of moneys collected from borrowers, comakers, cosigners, endorsers, or others on guaranteed loans purchased from lenders or holders by the corporation; and as reimbursement for amounts paid by the corporation in the discharge of its guaranty obligations, the corporation is authorized, empowered, and directed to adopt appropriate rules, regulations, and policies, consistent with the federal act, to remove such conflict and thereby to provide for the receipt or retainage of such funds; provided, however, that such rules, regulations, or policies are not in derogation of the Constitution or laws of the state, other than this part, or any contract to which the corporation is a party and are wholly in conformity with the purposes of the corporation as set forth in this part; and   To the extent that this part is inconsistent with any other general or special law of the state or with any rule or regulation, this part shall be controlling.     Pursuant to Code Section 50-18-70, the corporation shall not disclose and shall keep confidential, in each case unless identifying information has been redacted:   Records that include information identifying a student or former student by name, address except for ZIP Code, telephone number, or emergency contact; and   Records that reveal an individual's social security number, mother's birth name, credit card information, debit card information, bank account information, account number, utility account number, password used to access his or her account, financial data or information, insurance or medical information in all records, unlisted telephone number if so designated in a public record, personal e-mail address or cellular telephone number, or month and day of birth.      (Code 1933, § 32-3307, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 835, § 2; Ga. L. 1981, p. 735, §§ 11-20; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 20; Ga. L. 1986, p. 759, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 378, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1119, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1001, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 1995, p. 961, § 4; Ga. L. 1997, p. 143, § 20; Ga. L. 2005, p. 1134, § 1/HB 298; Ga. L. 2015, p. 935, § 2/HB 320.)    The 2015 amendment,  effective July 1, 2015, designated the existing provisions of this Code section as subsection (a) and added subsection (b).   Code Commission notes.   - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1996, "collectability" was substituted for "collectibility" in subparagraph (1)(R).   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   Editor's notes.   - In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions under former Code 1933, § 32-3305 (Ga. L. 1965, p. 217), and former Code 1933, § 32-3306, which were subsequently repealed but were succeeded by provisions in this Code section, are included in the annotations for this Code section.    Section must be presumed to be constitutional.  1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-205 (decided under former Code 1933, § 32-3306, which specified who could make loans).   Program of guaranteed educational loans authorized.   - Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation is authorized to establish and administer a program of guaranteed educational loans to eligible parents; but the guarantee of and payment of interest on loans to parents who are not Georgia citizens must be by private, not state appropriated funds. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-153.    Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation may invest default reserve funds  with federal savings and loan associations and with state-chartered building and loan associations which are insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-215 (decided under former Code 1933, § 32-3305 (Ga. L. 1965, p. 217)).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 63C Am. Jur. 2d, Public Funds, § 4. 72 Am. Jur. 2d, States, Territories, and Dependencies, §§ 77, 78, 94, 104.   C.J.S.   - 81A C.J.S., States, §§ 28, 149, 150, 152, 158, 161, 219, 220, 236, 314, 315.