The Credit CARD Protection Act of 2009, initiated during the term of President G W Bush, and signed into law by President Obama, requires that consumers "opt-in" to over-limit charges. Some card issuers have therefore commenced solicitations requesting customers to opt in to overlimit fees, presenting this as a benefit as it may avoid the possibility of a future transaction being declined. Other issuers have simply discontinued the practice of charging overlimit fees. Whether a customer opts in to the overlimit fee or not, banks will in practice have discretion as to whether they choose to authorize transactions above the credit limit or not. Of course, any approved over limit transactions will only result in an overlimit fee for those customers who have opted in to the fee. This legislation took effect on February 22, 2010.