Update on Ohio Payday Lending
Date: Wed, 04/09/2008 - 13:19
Husted wants payday lending bill passed within 2 weeks
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 3:52 PM
By Jim Siegel
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
House Speaker Jon Husted said today he wants a payday lending bill passed within the next two weeks, and he senses growing support in his caucus for an interest rate cap.
A trio of bills proposing varying degrees of regulation of the short-term, high-interest loan industry have been pending in committee for months. Though the joint sponsors of House Bill 333, which proposes a 36-percent annual interest rate cap on payday loans, have said there is support for the cap, others around the Statehouse have disagreed.
“I think that prior to some of the discussions I've had over the past week, I probably would have said there isn't any support for a rate cap,†Husted said. “But now, I think as people are starting to really get focused on it and learn more, they think there needs to be a definitive cap of some type.â€Â
Husted would not say if there are discussions include something other than a 36-percent cap, or if he personally is pushing for it. The payday industry has argued that a 36-percent cap would quickly put them out of business in Ohio.
Action on payday lending is heating up as House Democrats search for a unified position on the issue. Members were surprised this week to learn that House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty's husband, Otto, has been working as a lobbyist in Virginia for Dublin-based CheckSmart.
CheckSmart executive James Frauenberg II is president of the Ohio Association of Financial Service Centers, the organization that has been fighting legislation proposing a 36-percent rate cap on payday stores.
Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller, D-Columbus, who also has been pushing for tougher payday lending regulations, recalled that when the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus held a retreat late last summer, it was held at Otto Beatty Jr.'s law office.
He said Otto Beatty, who held the Columbus House seat prior to Joyce Beatty taking over, was not around for most of the caucus discussions. But when talk turned to payday lending, he came into the room to listen.
Miller said Otto Beatty did not participate in the discussion, though Miller said he was unaware until reading media reports this week that he was lobbying for CheckSmart.
“Full disclosure is very important in the legislative process, that you make your colleagues aware of the relationships that you have,†Miller said. I think there were members who did not know that relationship existed.â€Â
But Miller is not dwelling on the issue.
“My bottom line is to get the bill passed,†he said. “It seems like the revelations are helping to speed the passage of the bill.â€Â
Beatty this week said she would support an interest rate cap, if that is what her caucus agrees on.
But while Husted said he senses more support for a rate cap, Rep. Christopher R. Widener, R-Springfield, the chairman of the House Financial Institutions Committee, said that's not the vibe he is getting.
“Most of the members that I talked to do not want to eliminate this business, and they believe a 36-percent rate cap does that,†he said. “They also believe it's a business that needs a lot more regulation and needs to be tightened up.â€Â
Opponents of payday lending, Widener said, have convinced many members that the industry business model does trap too many people in a cycle of debt  a sentiment echoed by Husted. But, he said, lawmakers should find a way to ensure the credit remains available without getting people trapped.
“There are a lot of good elements of all three bills that get to more consumer protections,†Widener said.
source: dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/04/09/payday.html?adsec=politics&sid=101
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 3:52 PM
By Jim Siegel
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
House Speaker Jon Husted said today he wants a payday lending bill passed within the next two weeks, and he senses growing support in his caucus for an interest rate cap.
A trio of bills proposing varying degrees of regulation of the short-term, high-interest loan industry have been pending in committee for months. Though the joint sponsors of House Bill 333, which proposes a 36-percent annual interest rate cap on payday loans, have said there is support for the cap, others around the Statehouse have disagreed.
“I think that prior to some of the discussions I've had over the past week, I probably would have said there isn't any support for a rate cap,†Husted said. “But now, I think as people are starting to really get focused on it and learn more, they think there needs to be a definitive cap of some type.â€Â
Husted would not say if there are discussions include something other than a 36-percent cap, or if he personally is pushing for it. The payday industry has argued that a 36-percent cap would quickly put them out of business in Ohio.
Action on payday lending is heating up as House Democrats search for a unified position on the issue. Members were surprised this week to learn that House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty's husband, Otto, has been working as a lobbyist in Virginia for Dublin-based CheckSmart.
CheckSmart executive James Frauenberg II is president of the Ohio Association of Financial Service Centers, the organization that has been fighting legislation proposing a 36-percent rate cap on payday stores.
Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller, D-Columbus, who also has been pushing for tougher payday lending regulations, recalled that when the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus held a retreat late last summer, it was held at Otto Beatty Jr.'s law office.
He said Otto Beatty, who held the Columbus House seat prior to Joyce Beatty taking over, was not around for most of the caucus discussions. But when talk turned to payday lending, he came into the room to listen.
Miller said Otto Beatty did not participate in the discussion, though Miller said he was unaware until reading media reports this week that he was lobbying for CheckSmart.
“Full disclosure is very important in the legislative process, that you make your colleagues aware of the relationships that you have,†Miller said. I think there were members who did not know that relationship existed.â€Â
But Miller is not dwelling on the issue.
“My bottom line is to get the bill passed,†he said. “It seems like the revelations are helping to speed the passage of the bill.â€Â
Beatty this week said she would support an interest rate cap, if that is what her caucus agrees on.
But while Husted said he senses more support for a rate cap, Rep. Christopher R. Widener, R-Springfield, the chairman of the House Financial Institutions Committee, said that's not the vibe he is getting.
“Most of the members that I talked to do not want to eliminate this business, and they believe a 36-percent rate cap does that,†he said. “They also believe it's a business that needs a lot more regulation and needs to be tightened up.â€Â
Opponents of payday lending, Widener said, have convinced many members that the industry business model does trap too many people in a cycle of debt  a sentiment echoed by Husted. But, he said, lawmakers should find a way to ensure the credit remains available without getting people trapped.
“There are a lot of good elements of all three bills that get to more consumer protections,†Widener said.
source: dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/04/09/payday.html?adsec=politics&sid=101
Ohhhhhh I hope hope HOPE it will pass! The pdl companies will be
Ohhhhhh I hope hope HOPE it will pass! The pdl companies will be crying the blues if it does. YAY!!
me to Shazzers. I hope this will also put all internet payday l
me to Shazzers. I hope this will also put all internet payday loan businesses out of business period. It appears to me that they are not aware of how the internet companies are operating, just store fronts.
