Payday Loans Bill Passes State House
HB 289, limiting citizens to a max of 5 payday loans of $1000 in a 12-month period, passed the Delaware State House on a vote of 26-7. The funniest thing in the News Journal article was State Rep. Mike Ramone (R – Newark) said:
There are people who would do anything, including loan sharking, maybe, and there are some payday lenders who are really trying to do good. There are a lot of good payday lenders out there. They want you to get a good bill.
There are a lot of good payday lenders out there. Still laughing over that one.
Thank you to everyone who called or wrote their representative. This bill required 26 votes and received 26 votes. There were a number of representatives who until yesterday were on the fence. They only needed one more vote to kill this bill. It was a real nail biter. Stephanie Bolden ‘s no vote was a total surprise.
kudos to Keeley, Calistro and the others who have worked hard on this issue.
and kudos to the House!
Unless there’s cooperation from PA, NJ, and maybe MD, I just don’t see how this is going to work.
People, When I was growing up, this was called Loan Sharking and it was ILLEGAL!!! Any “Lender” who participates in this business is completely UNETHICAL, would probably sell their soul (and maybe that of their kids) for a buck and I believe has the moral character of a snail.
Should individuals be held responsible for their past bad behavior and credit practices, absolutely! Is it right to legally allow an operation to charge 650% interest because of those bad decisions, ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Congratulations on achieving the lofty goal of putting lipstick on a pig.
Cooperation from PA, NJ and MD won’t be needed as all three states prohibit payday lending. The Delaware House pulled through for a lot of folks subjected to predatory lending and a lot of credit goes to Keeley and her staff, Calistro and the nonprofit sector voicing its opinion with phone calls and letters to the editor, DL readers calling their representatives, and the News Journal for its hard news coverage and editorial on this important issue. While this is a modest bill, it is a step in the right direction.
This bill is not a “step in the right direction”. A real step in the right direction would be limits on the interest these predators can charge. A consumer-friendly bill would prohibit this kind of loan sharking altogether. What this bill is, is yet more government/nanny state interference in the lives of citizens and more protection for the predators who would lose money if their borrowers default, as they likely will with these outrageously usurious interest rates. It would be interesting to see how many “payday” lenders have contributed to what politicians and in what amounts, and who took care of whom with this shameful bill that limits citizens’ choices but leaves the thieving schemes of these predators intact.
Arthur Scott or someone credible should challenge Stephanie Bolden on that vote alone… hell, even Sens. Bonini and Lawson are on board this one.