Now that lawmakers have shot down efforts to cap annual interest rates for payday loans, supporters for stricter regulations of the storefront lenders are rallying behind another strategy.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Now that lawmakers have shot down efforts to cap annual interest rates for payday loans, supporters for stricter regulations of the storefront lenders are rallying behind another strategy.
They're backing a bill by Bogalusa Sen. Ben Nevers that would limit borrowers to 10 payday loans per year. It awaits a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee.
That wasn't the first choice of organizations that sought tougher restrictions on payday lending. They wanted limits on the fees that could be charged for the short-term, high-interest rate loans.
But the idea has been rejected in House and Senate committees and by the full House. Lawmakers sided with the industry's concern of being shut down.