Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
In yet another example of how the authoritarian GOP doesn't give a damn about the will of the voters of this state — who rejected predatory payday loan lenders – Rep. Jim Weiers (R-Phoenix) is promoting a new predatory loan scheme. "I can't quit you!" Lawmaker proposes new consumer loan to fill gap left by payday lenders – East Valley Tribune:
Saying the demise of payday lending left a gap, a veteran legislator is proposing a new kind of consumer loan, one with higher interest rates than now allowed.
Rep. Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix, said the 2008 decision by voters to kill payday lending in Arizona left a "huge void" in the market, particularly for people whose credit history does not give them access to more traditional sources of borrowing.
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[HB 2550] is set for a hearing on Wednesday before the House Commerce Committee, which Weiers chairs.
Actually, Mr. Weiers, what is leaving a "huge void" in the lives of Arizonans is the economic catastrophe wrought upon this state by Republican economic policies. Arizonans need a job and a decent paycheck so they do not need predatory lenders.
What Weiers is proposing is new rules for loans of between $200 and $3,000.
Interest rates would be on a sliding scale, from 4 percent a month for the first $750 up to 1 percent for anything between $2,250 and $3,000. On top of that, lenders could charge an acquisition fee of up to 10 percent of the loan or $75, whichever is less.
These loans can be renewed up to three times. And companies that give these loans cannot provide more than one loan at a time to any borrower.
And now for the reality check:
Rep. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, said what Weiers is proposing in HB 2550 is little better than the high-interest, short-term loans that voters rejected.
"The bill is just one more form of predatory lending," she said. "The sponsor of the bill seems to have missed the election in 2008 when the voters said ‘no' to triple-digit interest rates."
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"These companies train their people to roll the loans over before they're paid off," she said. "They literally move the balance forward into a new loan so the consumers pay that interest over and over again. That's part of the problem."
She also rejected Weiers' contention that people who don't have bank accounts, good credit and credit cards need options like this. McCune Davis said there already is one: joining a credit union which has to live within the current interest rate caps.
You know what to do: contact your state legislators and submit your public comments on this bad bill.