March 08, 2010 06:10 PM UTC

Payday Lending Reform Hits House Judiciary Today

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #3: HB10-1351 passes Judiciary Committee 7-4.

UPDATE #2:: Check out this list of likely NO votes. From what we hear, you can add Democrat Independent Rep. Kathleen Curry — a former co-sponsor of Payday Lending Reform — to the list of likely “NO” votes (Curry is not on the Judiciary Committee, but we’re keeping a list of likely “NO” votes).

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UPDATE: HB10-1351 is scheduled for debate in Judiciary at 1:30PM this afternoon, in the Old Supreme Court chambers (where you schedule stuff expecting a crowd). We’ll update later.

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Far and away our favorite piece of legislation this year, Colorado House Bill 10-1351, a referred measure to cap interest rates charged by the usurious payday lending industry, will see its first test in a hearing today before the House Judiciary Committee. Action alerts are rolling out from a coalition of consumer and activist groups, we’ve reprinted Progress Now’s after the jump.

You’re just sitting there, right? Pick up the phone–these guys have a lot of spam to answer for.

THANK YOU for speaking out in the last couple of weeks against predatory lending in Colorado: the response has been overwhelming, and it’s time to take the next step.

Colorado House Bill 1351, which will refer to the voters a measure to cap interest rates for payday loans at the same rates other lenders are allowed to charge, will see its first debate TODAY in the House Judiciary Committee. Please take a moment right now, this morning, to call members of the Judiciary Committee and urge a “yes” vote on HB10-1351:

Rep. Clair Levy:  303-866-2578

Rep. Elizabeth McCann:  303-866-2959

Rep. Lois Court:  303-866-2967

Rep. Bob Gardner:  303-866-2191

Rep. Daniel Kagan:  303-866-2921

Rep. Steve King:  303-866-3068

Rep. Joe Miklosi:  303-866-2910

Rep. B.J. Nikkel:  303-866-2907

Rep. Sal Pace:  303-866-2968

Rep. Su Ryden:  303-866-2942

Rep. Mark Waller:  303-866-5525

At this time of day, you’ll ether reach voice mail or a friendly legislative staffer–please call and make your voice heard! A brief word of support from a constituent can make a huge difference to individual legislators. There are three key points to make today:

Payday loans are a bad product that harms people.

Payday loans don’t solve a financial emergency, they create a new financial emergency every two weeks over and above the original amount loaned.

Payday loans leave hundreds of thousands (estimated somewhere between 100,000–200,000 Coloradans) in debt they can’t climb out of.

Thanks again for your prompt action! Today’s hearing in the House Judiciary Committee is just the first step for this important bill. We’ll be in touch soon with more opportunities to take action. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, please forward this message to your friends–we’ll need all the help we can get to defeat the payday lending industry’s army of lobbyists.