May 05, 2010 12:10 AM UTC

BREAKING: Payday Lending Reform Wins Final Passage

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• by: Colorado Pols

That’s the word we just got from the primary sponsor of House Bill 1351, Rep. Mark Ferrandino–the bill to regulate the excesses of the payday lending industry now goes to Governor Bill Ritter to be signed into law. As the longsuffering victims of payday lending spam campaigns in the comment threads of our blog, we are very proud witnesses of this moment.

What’s cool is how we at Colorado Pols are so often accused of manipulating the inner workings of Colorado politics, controlling the media, et cetera, and passage of payday lending reform after we became interested doesn’t exactly dispel our mystique.

That’s right, punks, let it be a lesson to you if you want to keep spamming us.

UPDATE: Statements making their way out now, liberal activist group Progress Now’s after the jump. As for opponents, the Denver Post’s Tim Hoover caught up with Rep. Larry Liston (R):

“This might only put a third of the industry out of business.”

Progressives Celebrate Passage of Critical Predatory Lending Regulations

After three years of fighting for reform, payday lending “loan sharks” must play fair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

CONTACT: Bobby Clark, Executive Director at 303-905-8375

DENVER: Responding to news that Colorado House Bill 1351, a bill to regulate excessive interest rates and onerous terms of the payday lending industry, achieved final passage in the House today by a vote of 33-32, ProgressNow Colorado Executive Director Bobby Clark offered the following statement:

“There are no words to adequately express the gratitude we, and progressives across Colorado, have for legislators who stood up to an onslaught of lobbyists for the payday lending industry and passed House Bill 1351,” said Clark. “For a decade, predatory payday lenders have abused an exemption granted them in Colorado’s usury laws and unfairly lured unsuspecting citizens into giving them tens of millions of dollars. Payday lenders brazenly offered 350% and higher interest rate loans on unemployment and Social Security checks, preying on taxpayers as well as Colorado’s most economically vulnerable citizens.”

“Each year, nearly 200,000 of our friends and neighbors in Colorado become trapped in a cycle of debt by payday lending products that pray on those most vulnerable in our community. The legislation just passed by the General Assembly is not perfect, but it is an important step toward providing far greater protection for our fellow Coloradans against these predatory lending practices. ProgressNow Colorado has fought for payday lending reform every time it has come before the legislature, and thousands of our members made phone calls and wrote letters in support of this legislation.”

“Thanks to the patience and persistence of Rep. Mark Ferrandino, the bill’s primary sponsor in the House, and the bridge-building efforts of key negotiators like Sen. Rollie Heath of Boulder, meaningful reform of predatory payday lending is now a reality. This bill will help break the cycle of debt and provide an alternative for consumers who need credit, keeping millions of dollars right here in Colorado’s economy–dollars that otherwise would be siphoned off by predatory lenders. It’s a huge win for progressives and consumers in Colorado.”

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