March 30, 2011 07:57 PM UTC

"Payday Payback" Races Through House

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• by: Colorado Pols

Who says the Colorado General Assembly can’t get anything done?

If you’re referring to the late bill to substantially increase profits for the usurious (and spammy) payday lending industry and weaken reforms passed last year, House Bill 11-1290, note that the GOP-controlled Colorado House knows how to take really swift action. After a very brief debate in which (some) Democrats complained as much as they could about the abbreviated process, this bill won initial passage in the House this morning–after introduction only last Friday.

Proponents of the bill are clearly hoping to get it passed with as few attendant news cycles as possible, jamming it through on the insistence that making hefty payday loan origination fees nonrefundable–reversing the Attorney General’s implemented rules from last year’s reform bill, and creating a situation where payday loans could cost more than before reform–is nothing more than a “minor technical fix.”

Opponents, on the other hand, barely had the resources to get the original reform bill passed, and have nothing with which to oppose this rapid back-door attempt to undermine it. The only thing they have to hope for is that the bill can be slowed down enough in the Senate for a meaningful debate to take place. There’s a better chance of that than in the House, but trepidation is growing. Events so far suggest the wheels might already be greased there as well.

If that’s what happens, we would encourage you to not forget the responsible parties.