Bad news in Arizona
March 17, 2010 | Arizona, industry | Comments (0)From the story:
The nearly 600 payday lending shops in Arizona could be closing their doors in less than four months.
On a 5-3 vote late Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee killed an industry-sponsored measure to continue indefinitely their exemption from state laws which limit interest on loans to no more than 36 percent a year.
That exemption, approved a decade ago, expires June 30. And without it, the fees they now charge, which compute out to more than 400 percent on an annual basis, will become illegal.
Industry lobbyist Stan Barnes told Capitol Media Services he doubts there is any way to resurrect the issue before that deadline.
“We think the facts are with us,” he said, with evidence there is a demand for the short-term, high-interest loans.
“Politics is against us,” Barnes continued, noting some lawmakers said they are unwilling to override a 2008 vote where the public decided, by a 3-2 margin, they no longer want payday lending legal in Arizona. “Politics is not something you can overcome.”
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