06 May 2009
Debate over a bill regulating payday lending will determine how much work the Senate gets done on the measure with three weeks left in the session.
If a Senate committee version of payday lending reform advances -- raising loan limits from the industry's self-imposed $300 to $500, with a two-day cooling-off period between loans -- industry critics say payday lenders would win.
If that appears likely, look for an old-fashioned Senate filibuster, said Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland.
"Our goal is to get a bill passed this year, but it's got to be strong, and it's got to protect consumers."
The Senate could set aside the committee bill and cap loan interest rates at or near 36 percent. Many states have imposed caps to reign in high-interest loans. But payday lenders say that would put them out of business in South Carolina.
"There's no question about it," said Jaime Fulmer, spokesman for Spartanburg-based Advance America, the nation's largest payday lender in the nation.
With the state budget finished and stimulus talk on the shelf, the Senate is racing against a waning business calendar to tie up loose legislative ends and adjourn by May 21.
Payday lending reform might be the largest loose end left.
"We have to be careful as to our pursuit of this type legislation, though, particularly in a difficult (economic) time like this," said Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, who wants tougher regulations on the industry.
The House passed a payday lending bill earlier this year that, which also raised set loan limits at $600 and instituted a cooling-off period after 10 consecutive loans. That bill was panned by consumer advocates.
Led by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, and more than 20 co-sponsors, the Senate began work this year on a bill similar to the House-passed version. That version was killed in a Senate subcommittee and substituted with the payday lending reform bill approved by the Senate last year.
That legislation limited payday loans to 25 percent of a borrower's income and installed a seven-day cooling-off period.
In the midst of what appears to be a Senate divided on payday lending this year, the body could revert to last year's bill and go to a conference committee with the House to get a final deal.
Or, the Senate could decide to take a pass this year and opt for a better bill next year.
The search is on for middle ground, said Malloy and Lourie, but if that fails, all bets are off.
"If it looks like they are on the verge of passing a weak bill, any number of us are willing to take the podium and offer some extended debate," Lourie said.
Source:
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/834856.html